July is coming to a close and we’ve got some fun initiatives, exciting projects and engaging events to share with you this month.
Whether you’re enjoying the summer outdoors or keeping cool inside, we hope you find this newsletter a great way to stay connected with everything happening in our Village.
New to the team 🌟
We welcomed the following new Villagers to our team in July:
Spaces community manager Lacy Atalick
Oakville News and The Trillium senior account executive Charlene Luis
Village Media directory and classifieds coordinator Jenna Naccarato
Welcome!👏
Readers are voting for who is tops ✅
Our annual Reader Favourites program is back! Voting is now open for readers to weigh in on who they think deserves top honours across 14 of our communities.
Designed to recognize the best local businesses in almost 100 categories, the program offers a way for readers to show love to their favourite local organizations.
Voting closes on August 30, after which the businesses with the most votes in their categories will be named a Reader Favourite 2024 award winner!
Hot deals were had in this year’s Summer Gift Card Auctions 🌞
The auction fun isn’t just for the Christmas holidays! BayToday.com and Subdury.com hosted Summer Gift Card Auctions last week with over $70,000 in local gift cards up for grabs.
Readers enjoyed simmering savings, with hundreds of gift cards up for auction, starting at half the face value of the card.
Our next chance for big local savings will be when the holiday auctions hit our sites at the end of November.
Spaces launch approaching 🚀
With our new community manager Lacy Atalick on board, Spaces is full steam ahead!
Lacy is busy planning our first Spaces topics, coordinating hosts and planning for a tentative October launch in our first community.
Sault Ste. Marie will be our inaugural Spaces community and the anticipation is building for our new, homegrown social network.
In the meantime, our developers are busy working on fine-tuning a platform that is user-friendly, community-focused and fun to use!
✨ Spotlight on sponsorships ✨
July sponsorships included fun-filled events in a dozen of our communities.
AuroraToday
Polo in the Lavender, Aurora Farmer's Market
BarrieToday
Angus Pop-Up Markets
CambridgeToday
Rockton RAM Rodeo
FlamboroughToday
VR Pro: Canada Day Races, Rockton RAM Rodeo
HaltonHillsToday
Prism Pride Parade
MiltonToday
Milton Fair Grounds: Canada Day Event, Prism Pride Parade
NewmarketToday
Polo in the Lavender
OrilliaMatters
Orillia Scottish Festival
PelhamToday
Welland Float Fest
SooToday
Soo Football Club Coppa Giovanni Soccer Tournament, Rotaryfest, Algoma Veterans Associaton Golf Tournament, Village of Hilton Beach Arts on the Dock & Classic Car Show
Sudbury.com
Her Northern Voice SPG, Northern Lights Festival Boreal
TimminsToday
Rock on the River
Spotted around the Village 🌎
For the second year in a row, Sudbury.com reporter Jenny Lamothe participated in the Sudbury Blueberry Festival blueberry pie-eating contest on July 19!
Our Cares team snapped a photo with representatives from our local Chamber of Commerce and Sault Pride organizations, who co-hosted the Take 5 Love Local: Pride at 5 event with SooToday, held at the Village Media head office in Sault Ste. Marie.
We are getting jazzy with sponsorships in Cambridge 🎷
FlamboroughToday represents at the Waterdown Farmers Market.
Job openings 🔎
There are 17 opportunities on the Village job board. Take a look!
Pawesome Villager of the month 🐾
Meet Bandit! 😻
Bandit is a sweet little tuxedo kitty! His owner Michelle just so happened to adopt him at the same time that Jenna Naccarato (our newest addition to the Client Services team) adopted his biological sister, Luna.
Coincidences are like cats—just when you think you've figured them out, they curl up somewhere unexpected!
Proud pet parent: Michelle Bujold
Until next month!
