Spring Newsletter 2013
President's Message
Exciting news! We are delivering our first E-newsletter and I know you will find it informative. It will provide event updates, member profiles, CIBPA National updates and other exciting information for the benefit of our members.
As far as our past, we should be very proud of our achievements. Our Chapter has been in existence now for just over 2 years, and is approaching close to 140 members. We had two very successful Business/ Professional Excellence Awards Gala events held in September 2011 and 2012, where we celebrated the successes of outstanding entrepreneurs of Italian heritage. We were also fortunate to have keynote speakers such as celebrity chef David Rocco and hockey legend Phil Esposito to tell their stories growing up in an Italian family. For 2013, we plan to hold our awards gala on September 23rd, and nomination forms will be available shortly.
At present, our young-professional group (Oggi as they have branded themselves), a subcommittee of CIBPA HH continue to grow and now represent almost 40% of our membership base. I attend their committee meetings and get so excited to see the energy, ideas and discussions that occur between these young business professionals. They will be the future of CIBPA HH as the “seniors” move on.
We continue to support post-secondary education through our scholarship programs for academic excellence for students of McMaster University (Italian studies) and Mohawk College (School of Business). Award recipients receive 1,000 in cash reward and are recognized at our annual Awards Gala.
As far as the future goes, we are well positioned to grow with our active and engaged Board of Directors who volunteer their time in the best interests of CIBPA HH. We have subcommittees; communications/marketing, speakers/events, membership and finance who will continue to work in their areas to further the efforts of our chapter. We recently hired a part-time administrative assistant Giovanna Vieira who has been a great addition to ensure that as a Chapter we serve our members. Also, stay tuned for other exciting initiatives that we also will be introducing in 2013 for the benefit of our membership.
We will continue to work in the community to be seen as the pre-eminate business/professional networking organization, where we will create experiences that will profile successful entrepreneurs of Italian heritage.
I want to thank all of our board members for their volunteer time, and look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events. We wish you continued success in your business endeavors!
Sincerely,
Bennie Esposto
News from CIBPA National
As the Hamilton-Halton Chapter of CIBPA, we are one of 12 Chapters across Canada who form part of a National Group. CIBPA National meets quarterly, they have an annual AGM, and their membership is made up of all the Chapters across Canada.
Each chapter reports to the National Board giving an update with membership and activities where ideas are shared to help each Chapter better promote itself.
CIBPA National is in the process of starting a new initiative to introduce a $1,000 Entrepreneur Bursary intended to promote and support youth entrepreneurs ( under 30), where members from each Chapter can participate. It will be an application type process where each Chapter is to solicit candidates and select winners. The winners are to be profiled on the CIBPA National website, in their newsletters, etc. Stayed tuned for more details!
National also keeps regular contact with the Italian Ambassador in Ottawa to gain insight into activities of the government as it impacts businesses and professionals. CIBPA National has been fortunate to be regularly invited to his personal residence in Ottawa.
CIBPA HH will continue to be an active member of National, supporting the initiatives and directives as agreed upon at our meetings. The next meeting will be held in September in Montreal where the Annual General Meeting ( AGM) will be held.
2013 CIBPA OGGI Young Professionals
2012 OGGI year in review
2012 was a monumental year for the OGGI group. It was the first year of operation for the Chapter’s young professional group. This is the only
young professional group in any CIBPA chapter in Canada. The mandate of OGGI is to increase exposure of the Chapter’s young professional talent, and to create mentorship opportunities for those within CIBPAHH and the greater community.
There’s strength in numbers, currently, OGGI makes up nearly 30% of CIBPA HH membership. This shows that many of the younger generation have an affinity to the Chapter- with some even sitting on the main CIBPAHH Board of Directors. The excitement surrounding this group was put on display last July when OGGI hosted its first networking event- Aperitivo Night, that drew over 110 participants.
Finally, through its quick organizational abilities and enthusiasm, also became a member of the Hamilton Hive- Hamilton’s pre-eminent young professional network, and was given the responsibility of overseeing the membership function of CIBPAHH as well as its social media initiatives.
OGGI is continuously looking for more members (40 years of age and under), so if you or if you know of someone who would like to get involved, please email hh@cibpa.ca or any of the board members below.
2013 CIBPA OGGI Board Listing
|
Chair |
Peter Graceffa |
Peter.graceffa@investorsgroup.com |
|
Vice Chair |
Angie Nesci |
anesci@midgleywest.com |
|
Secretary |
Dave Antonucci |
Dantonu@gmail.com |
|
Director |
Stephanie Ammendolia |
stephanie.ammendolia@gmail.com |
|
Director |
Rob Cagnin |
rob@robcagnin.ca |
|
Director |
Sonny Ciufo |
sonny.ciufo@gmail.com |
|
Director |
Lisa Dalia |
lisa_dalia@hotmail.com |
|
Director |
Adrian Di Pietro |
adipietro@sutton.com |
|
Director |
Louis Grilli |
lgrilli@agrozaffiro.com |
|
Director |
Frank Russumanno |
frankrussumanno@remaxescarpment.com |
|
Director |
Vince Vaccarello |
vvaccarello@tripemco.com |
Business Breakfast Series
Reserve your seat now to hear Marco Marrone, the Chief Operating Officer of Canadian Tire Retail and Executive Vice President of Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited. He will be speaking at our Business Breakfast Series on Tuesday, May 14th.
Welcome to our Newest Members
CIBPA Hamilton-Halton is a growing organization and are proud to introduce our newest members:
Kelly Anderson - Urban Hippo
Larry Dilanni - LDI Consulting
Vince Cappella - Galileo's Garden
Tony La Rocca - St. Joseph's Healthcare Foundation
Pat Piro - P&A Health Services
Silvio Sozio - Reliance Security Alarms
Daniel Tessaro
BUSINESS EXCELLENCE AWARDS GALA (BEA) – 2013
The Canadian Italian Business and Professional Association of Hamilton Halton Awards of Excellence were established to recognize and pay
tribute to those individuals in the community who continue to make a difference in their professional and entrepreneurial fields. The recipients of the 2013 Awards of Excellence will be honoured at the 3rd Annual Business Excellence Awards Gala on Monday, September 23rd, 2013 at Carmen’s Banquet Centre in Hamilton, Ontario.
Click here for Nomination Form