More than a dozen water filling stations will be installed this year with a campaign to support their use. 

Over $70,000 was raised to purchase water filling stations for installation at 14 locations, including:

A communications campaign will encourage visitors and residents to reduce the use of single-use plastics by using the new water filling stations, which provide FREE water.

ROTARY SEEKS YOUR HELP 

1. Review how your business could change to support the use of the water filling stations
2. Encourage your patrons to use the stations. 
3. Tell the Rotary what you're doing to support this initiative. They want to recognize and help promote your efforts!

Contact Mike Romanchuk at  [email protected] or call  416-418-5596 (cell).

For Consideration: We have two member businesses who provide logo'd promotional items, including reusable, refillable water bottles/containers you could have marked with your logo and for sale at your location:

• RPM Promotions, Ron Plasschaert, rpmpromo.ca, 1-877-606-6004
• The Swag Guy, theswag-guy.com, Dave Finley, 1-800-265-2607 ext. 306

Ad Booking Deadline October 18, 2019

Get an Ad, Get Mapped, Get Found!

People come into the Welcome Centre asking for "It Starts at the Beach" by name! Our brand is known and understood as the GOTO source of area information thousands of residents, cottagers and visitors rely on.

Combine your ad with a hiking trail sponsorship, a web badge ad campaign, e-newsletter ad, literature board ad or an Own The Town logo placement for additional impact.

Book and pay for your ad by July 31, 2019 and save 10%. Order multiple ads and save 20% on the second and succeeding ads. 

Call Judy or Barry to book your ad today:

• Judy: 519-235-4115, [email protected]
• Barry: 519-852-5009, [email protected]

Download the 2020 It Starts at the Beach Advertising & Marketing Program brochure.

The Welcome Centre was constructed through the generous donations of Chamber Member's and local residents in 2001. Lindsey Ashworth-Ducharme was manager, Paul Ciufo was Board President and Gordon Noels was the Construction Project Chair. The land on which the Centre sits was contributed by the Municipality (at the time the Village of Grand Bend).

No surprise then that after 18 years the Centre needed some work.

New Flag Poles

Thanks to Troy Hogg's generous donation, owner/operator of The Colonial Hotel / Gables, the Welcome Centre now sports two new flag poles that enable us to easily swap flags. Using the flag's cord pulley system, the flag can be brought down to the ground and switched out. This major change means we no longer have to manually lift and dismantle a pole to replace a flag, a task made impossible during winter months due to ice and frozen metal.

New Landscaping

Thanks to the Grand Bend Horticultural Society's donation of time and planting materials, the Welcome Centre now boasts Lambton Shores Communities in Bloom colours ( purple, orange and lime green) set against a field of mulch for weed control. A special thank you to the volunteers who drop by and plant, mulch and water.

Thanks to Garrett Pedlar, Re/Max Bluewater Realty, who donated and installed the paving stones in front of the Map/Literature Board to encourage folks to walk up and the Board.

New Roof

The Welcome Centre also now features a new roof. Nik Jeromkin of  West Shores Roofing and Repair replaced our old, worn and peeling roof tiles for new. 

Newly Painted Play Icons

On the side of the building there are four activity-based seasonal icons giving some idea of the breadth of things to do in the area. Thanks to Teresa Marie Jeromkin and her team of Grand Bend Art Centre students who replaced faded dusty versions with newly painted bright blue signs.