Live music and community spirit dominated the night on May 6, with the annual Realtors Rock event in support of Habitat for Humanity Chatham-Kent.
This year the event was opened to the public for the first time, drawing a large crowd – including attendees who travelled from as far as Toronto to take part in the fun and fundraising.
The night featured live performances from The Courtney Wells Band, Karaoke Bob, and a group of special guest realtors who took to the stage to showcase their musical talents.
In addition to the lively entertainment, the evening included a silent auction and a 50/50 draw, helping to raise more than $1,600 for Habitat for Humanity Chatham-Kent.
Barbara McCaughrin, President of Chatham-Kent Association of Realtors, was happy with the night’s success.
“I am always amazed at the community support and generosity realtors bring to this event. Our team of volunteers pulled out all the stops in support of Habitat for Humanity CK. This partnership embodies our main focus of everyone having a place to call home,” she said in a media release.
Good job, Goodal
Red Barn Brewmeister Steve Goodal recently finished second as Canadian Brewer of the Year in the Canadian Brewers’ Choice Awards.
“From day one, Steve has poured his heart into every batch at Red Barn Brewing. Whether it’s crafting crowd favourites for our local regulars or creating bold new brews that surprise our city visitors, Steve continues to push boundaries — even with our small brewhouse and tight tank space,” Red Barn’s Denny Vervaet said in a media release. “Since opening in 2020, we’ve released over 100 different beers under Steve’s direction — including our first-ever Holiday Advent Calendar this past year featuring 24 unique beers! That took a lot of long nights, innovation, and dedication.”
Vervaet said Goodal’s commitment to quality and creativity is unmatched.
“We’re lucky to have him leading the charge in the brewhouse,” Vervaet said. The barn wouldn’t be the same without you!”
Senior sizes at What’s 4 Dinner
What’s 4 Dinner now offers a variety of seniors’ portion selections.
These meals are ready-made in Chatham, then frozen, ready to heat and serve in minutes.
The variety changes on a regular basis but there’s always a good selection of meals.
Jail tours still offered
The new owners of the old Chatham Jail in Chatham are turning it into one- and two-bedroom apartments.
The facility is still hosting tours through the month of June.
Several retired jail guards lead the tours through the old jail and courthouse.
Project manager Les Losnbury contacted the guards last summer to see if they were interested in organizing tours of the more than 170-year-old building.
Tours began last summer and strong demand prompted them to be extended to the end of October 2024.
Since the renovations aren’t planned to start until July 2025, it was decided to offer the tours again, starting In April of this year and continuing until June 28, 2025.
The tours will be led again by four retired correctional officers.
The tours, led by Loris Arthurton, Phil Gavin, Dave Arnold and Bob Picard, are being held twice daily on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and once on Saturday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Tours are limited to 10 people and tickets are available for $20 plus fees at eventbrite.com by searching Chatham-Kent Courthouse and Jail Tours.
The tours are open to people of all ages. Unfortunately, they are not wheelchair accessible, as they include multiple staircases.
Cool care
June 13 is National Long-Term Care Day in Canada and this year Meadow Park is celebrating it with an ice-cream event and entertainment at 2pm.
Residents can enjoy a cool, sweet treat, along with cool entertainment.
RBC supports nursing training
Local nurses will benefit from a recent RBC foundation donation.
The foundation is pledging $750,000 to support local and regional nurses.
The donation benefits both London Health Sciences Foundation and Children’s Health Foundation, and enables training to be brought directly to nurses and frontline workers at 33 hospitals in the region.
The donation is part of a national RBC Foundation campaign rolled out to support up-skilling and resiliency training for nurses and frontline health-care providers.
According to Deborah Wiseman of the London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), the gifts are timely as experienced nurses are retiring at an accelerated rate and early-career nurses are advancing into critical roles faster than ever. According to Wiseman, medical teams across surrounding smaller urban and rural hospitals are also facing a changing workforce and rising pressures.
In order to help local nurses and other health- care providers meet this upskilling challenge, the RBC Foundation donation will be used to support two training programs: BETTY (Bringing Education and Technology to You) and PROP (Paediatric Regional Outreach Program).
PROP will impact frontline medical professionals across the region.
It will be available at no-cost to hospitals in Chatham and Wallaceburg.
- Business Voice is a bi-monthly column in The Chatham Voice that highlights some of the achievements made and efforts underway in Chatham-Kent’s business community. Send your information to [email protected].
