Not too many of us can claim the work we do every day affects the lives of hundreds of thousands of people of every age, ethnicity, gender, and socio-economic background — but Lesley Heighway can.

As President and CEO of the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) Foundation, Lesley works hard to bridge the ever-increasing gap between government funding and the necessary costs of providing high-quality care at our region’s hospital.

For seven years, Lesley has led a team of professionals and volunteers who raise between $5 and $7 million every year for PRHC — more than $25 million over the past five years alone.

“Many people don’t realize the government does not fund hospital equipment or technology,” she says. “That’s why the most generous communities have the best hospitals.”

These community donations fund the tools and technology that form the backbone of patient care at PRHC and help bring new lifesaving services to our region. Not only that, but a hospital’s ability to fund state-of-the-art equipment and technology is key to attracting and retaining the best and the brightest health care professionals, and to keeping the standard of care at PRHC on par with the top hospitals across Canada.

A tireless advocate and ambassador on behalf of PRHC, Lesley is clearly passionate about health care philanthropy. She’s personally helped thousands of people understand the tangible ways their donations are transforming health care.

“Donors are touching the lives of people they’ve never met every day,” she says. “Our role as a foundation is to give donors an opportunity to give back, while at the same time seeing how their donations are making a real difference in the lives of patients and their loved ones.”

The PRHC Foundation is committed to supporting the hospital’s Regional Centres of Excellence for cancer care, cardiac care, and vascular surgery — some of the fastest growing and most innovative areas of health care, and which serve a population of up to 600,000 people from across Peterborough County and beyond.

With her wealth of business knowledge along an MBA specializing in leadership, Lesley aspires to match the private sector for innovation and creative thinking when it comes to fundraising, while still maintaining the warmth and compassion that fuels inspiration among her team.

In the last two years alone, Lesley has successfully led efforts to fund:

• Three new mammography machines needed for breast cancer screening in PRHC’s Breast Assessment Centre, part of a $1.9 million campaign.
• A $1 million investment in upgrading nine of PRHC’s 12 operating rooms for minimally invasive surgery, enabling PRHC to begin to transition from performing 35% of all surgeries using minimally invasive techniques to performing 80% that way.
• An $850,000 investment in upgrading and expanding the Cardiac Cath Lab with vital technology upgrades that have significantly reduced procedural radiation exposure for both patients and PRHC physicians and staff, as well as technology that’s brought brand new cardiac treatments to our community for the first time.
• $1.5 million in state-of-the-art laboratory equipment investments that enable faster, more accurate diagnosis and treatment, particularly in cancer care.
• Other vital investments in patient care areas across the hospital from the Emergency Department to ICU, in Women’s and Children’s, Diagnostic Imaging, Cancer Care, Palliative Care and more.

VIDEO: Amy Semple shares how donors helped her survival

While the success of PRHC Foundation’s fundraising efforts speaks for itself, Lesley’s passion for philanthropy extends far beyond our community. She is involved with an advocacy and advisory group of regional hospital foundation CEOs from across the province. As one of Peterborough’s foremost experts in legacy giving (giving through estate plans), she takes a lead role in working with financial and legal advisors.

She also shares her extensive knowledge and experience with the community through a wide range of board and advisory roles with other organizations and service clubs, as well as a variety of coaching and mentoring relationships with up-and-coming fundraising and young business professionals.

While Lesley is the first to acknowledge that the success of the PRHC Foundation is not hers alone, there’s no denying the impact of her expertise in leadership, motivation, and workplace culture in that success.

“I’m extremely proud of my team and I’m dedicated to supporting them to achieve their highest potential,” she says. “It’s all about creating an organizational culture that fosters passion as well as results.”

The Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) Foundation is located at One Hospital Drive in Peterborough. For more information about the PRHC Foundation and how you can make great health care possible in our community, call 705-876-5000, email foundation@prhc.on.ca, or visit www.prhcfoundation.ca. You can also connect with the PRHC Foundation on Facebook, Twitter, and Vimeo.

“I feel like I have created a story for myself in Peterborough,” Catia Skinner says.

Entrepreneur. New Canadian. Wife. Mother. Volunteer. Catia’s story is about constantly seeking out and overcoming new challenges.

Catia is the CEO of The Venue, a downtown Peterborough location for hosting events. She’s also owner and CEO at Mega Experience, a full-service marketing agency that specializes in brand experience.

Born in São Paulo, one of the largest cities in Brazil, Catia completed a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in marketing. Her work has taken her from Joinville, a relatively small city in Brazil, to Vancouver, and she is now firmly settled in Peterborough with her husband and their two children.

Catia arrived in Peterborough in 2009 after her former employer suggested she pursue an opportunity at Operitel, a Peterborough-based technology company now owned by OpenText. She worked at Operitel until 2015 when she took on her current role as CEO of The Venue.

The Venue is a unique, multifunctional event space in Peterborough that can host weddings, galas, fundraising events, sporting events, conferences, and more.

Catia believes the versatility of the space is what sets it apart from other venues, and she praises her team for their ability to quickly transform the space for different purposes.

“It’s always neat to see how the space is transformed,” says Catia. “We turned it into four different events in one weekend. There was a conference, then a concert, then a boxing event, and then a wedding. We have a strong team and they work hard to pull it all off.”

Always seeking new challenges, Catia continues to look for ways to grow her current businesses. The Venue will be offering packages for business meetings and is also undertaking a rebranding campaign with a new website in the works.

Catia’s other venture, Mega Experience, is handling the marketing for The Venue as it undergoes rebranding. Catia explains that Mega Experience focuses on assisting companies to develop their brands through a comprehensive marketing campaign.

“Marketing is not just about graphic design, it’s about the whole experience that the customer is going to have when dealing with a company,” says Catia.

In order to deliver for her clients, Catia believes a marketing strategy must consider all factors that contribute to business success both currently and long-term. Mega Experience takes a personalized approach to figuring out what a business needs and empowers their clients to implement strategies that will lead to lasting success.

“We focus on the results,” says Catia. “We want to make sure that the clients get the results they asked for. We want to know that we are meeting their goals.”

A testament to the success of this approach, Catia’s company was recently named a finalist in the Marketing & Promotion category of the Peterborough Chamber of Commerce 2018 Business Excellence Awards. Mega Experience has been a finalist in the category twice before, winning the award for the first time in 2015.

Catia first encountered Mega Experience — originally a Brazilian company — while working in marketing in Brazil for a software company. Despite the winding road that took her to Vancouver and then to Peterborough, Mega Experience was never far from her mind.

“Mega was always on my radar,” she says. “Marketing is my passion. Without marketing you don’t see your business succeed.”

Despite her success, Catia sees a new challenge waiting for her.

“I want to grow Mega in Canada,” she says, noting that the company will be moving to a new location on September 4, 2018 and will also unveil its new logo.

Catia is quick to credit those who have helped and inspired her, including Lorrie McMullen, the Director of Operations at The Venue, and her husband, Michael Skinner.

“My husband is my mentor,” says Catia. “When we met, I admired that he was a young and successful entrepreneur. And he admired me for coming to a new country where I am a third language speaker and building a career for myself.”

Recently, Catia celebrated becoming an official Canadian citizen.

“I love Peterborough,” she says. “I have been here for nine years and on June 20th I became a citizen. I am very fortunate to be here. I came here to work, but I have made so many friends.”

Catia credits the Women’s Business Network of Peterborough (WBN) with helping to make those connections, noting it was the first organization she joined when she moved to Peterborough. Catia was on the board for a few years and she says being involved in the community is important to her.

“I think everyone should volunteer,” she says. “Choose an organization and do something meaningful for them.”

Catia is currently involved with the Bears’ Lair Entrepreneurial Competition and she’s on the board at Peterborough Pregnancy Support Services. She is also the co-chair of the New Canadians Centre. Recently, Catia and three other local women launched 100 Women Peterborough, a group that raises money for local charitable organizations.

With all that Catia has accomplished in the nine years she’s been in Peterborough, her story is still just beginning.

“I’ve built all this in Peterborough and I want to continue,” says Catia.

“I’m grateful to be here and I would like to give back. I want to help people and organizations. I want to get involved in anything that I can to help the community grow stronger.”

The Venue is located at 286 George Street in downtown Peterborough. For event inquiries, call 705-876-0008 or email events@kegi.ca. For band bookings, email concerts@kegi.ca. For more information and to find out what’s happening at The Venue, you can visit www.venueptbo.com or connect with The Venue on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Mega Experience Canada is now located at 150 King Street in downtown Peterborough. For more information, call 705-243-6989, email contact@megaexperience.ca, or visit www.megaexperience.ca. You can also connect with Mega Experience on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Tracey Ormond, the woman behind That’s A Wrap Catering, has a huge heart for food — and for people.

She says she learned this from her family and whether it’s catering a party, a funeral, or even volunteering with food security organizations, this energetic caterer is infusing her special flavour of love and caring into every bite she serves.

And now, she’s got more opportunities to share her nature to nurture with her expansion into Classic Cooking, a local healthy meal delivery service.

From waitressing to working in institutional kitchens, Tracey has been cooking up compassion for as long as she can remember.

Even when she enjoyed life on the road, as a long-haul trucker, her mind stuck on the idea of making convenient, healthy wraps that are super-easy to eat with one hand.

When she was looking for commercial space to grow That’s a Wrap, her catering company, she found out about the Ashburnham Funeral and Reception Centre and it was a perfect partnership. Tracey now provides comfort food for funerals and she even makes sure
that there are fresh cookies available when the funeral directors meet with grieving families.

That’s a Wrap Catering is busy with private parties and functions but a few months ago Tracey partnered with Sally Harding of Nightingale Nursing to purchase Classic Cooking, a meal delivery service that delivers tasty, good-for-you home-cooked meals in the Peterborough area. Knife and fork meals, as Tracey calls them.

Tracey beams when she talks about her Classic Cooking clients. They’re mostly seniors, most live alone and she absolutely loves the connection she has made with them.

“I was breaking down chickens for stock this morning,” Tracey laughs. “It’s not very sexy but I do it with love and I’m really putting love into the food.”

And her clients appreciate it. Like the one senior who says he hasn’t eaten so well in 30 years or another client who greatly appreciated that Tracey sourced special lactose-free cheese — just for her.

And that’s the kind of person Tracey is. She understands that even the smallest gesture can make her community better and stronger, which is why she joined the Rotary Club.

“They’re about service above self,” she explains. “I don’t have the big cheque book but I can donate my time and Rotary gives me that.”

Through Rotary she helps with One Roof, a full-support community centre as well as a local breakfast club and Food Share.

Her list of volunteer commitments is long, but Tracey doesn’t seem to think it’s a big deal. Like the great smells in her kitchen, it’s just who she is and what she does.

“This is who I am,” she says. “I’m not some business person in a suit. I love my community. This is just who I am.”

Tracey gives credit for her love of food and people to her family.

This is who taught her how to cook good, simple foods but with special touches — like pan frying meatballs until they develop a real crust before letting them simmer in a sauce for hours. Although Tracey is quick to explain that her Irish Gramma’s meatballs are a bit different than Italian ones. It sounds like there is a secret ingredient, but Tracey just laughs and says it’s love.

This simple food with a special touch is the foundation for Classic Cooking. There are some recipes on the fridge in Tracey’s kitchen and they have great names like “Fabulous Roast Ham,” which Tracey admits is actually a fancy cottage roll. There are also recipes for “Meatloaf Madness” and “Chicky-Licky Casserole,” that boasts ingredients like mushrooms, cream, and pimento. Tracey says with a firm nod that it is served with red pepper jelly.

And because all this work feeding clients is not taking up every single minute, the volunteer roles are still expanding.

She’s the President of the Women’s Business Network in Peterborough (WBN) for 2018-19 and her theme for this year is “better together,” so when she heard a Canadian Blood Services call for help on the radio, she picked up the phone and got in touch. Now she and the other members of the WBN are sponsoring a blood donor clinic where they will promote the event and they will also be donating blood.

Tracey is also involved with a women’s build through Habitat for Humanity.

“They’re building at Curve Lake and I’ve got my hardhat and I can’t wait to do this,” she enthuses.

Giving new meaning to what it is to nurture and care for people, Tracey Ormond hopes that through all her partnerships, meals prepared, parties catered, and cookies served that she can help her home town be a little bit better, one bite at a time.

“I just love what I do,” she says.

And it shows.

That’s a Wrap Catering is located at 840 Armour Road in Peterborough in the Ashburnham Funeral and Reception Centre. For more information, call 705-768-7168, email info@thatsawrapcatering.ca, or visit www.thatsawrapcatering.ca. You can also follow That’s a Wrap on Facebook and Twitter, and connect with Tracey on LinkedIn.

“A lot can change in a year,” says Shannon Gray, owner of Sugar Me Right! Beauty Studio.

Last year, the studio was celebrating the move to a bigger space on Sherbrooke street in downtown Peterborough, a relocation that was prompted by a tremendous growth in clientele.

“We’ve been consistently growing, and the new space has allowed us to add more services and more staff,” says Shannon.

For those unfamiliar with the process, sugaring is a gentler and safer form of hair removal that can be used on all parts of the body. Shannon uses Alexandria Professional Body Sugaring products, which are all natural, so clients don’t have to worry about harmful side effects.

“Sugaring is a safe and effective way to remove body hair,” says Shannon. “I give my full attention to all my clients. I ensure they feel comfortable during the process and that they leave satisfied with the results.”

In addition to body sugaring, Sugar Me Right! Beauty Studio now offers lash lifts, semi-permanent mascara, lash and brow tinting, a dead-sea salt body smoothie, a Sweet and Plump facial, and the Alexandria Professional full body facial.

But these aren’t the only changes that have been taking place at Sugar Me Right! Beauty Studio.

Shannon started her sugaring business in 2011 after years of using the home sugaring products on herself. She began offering sugaring services out of her home in Buckhorn, then moved her business to a couple locations in Peterborough before settling on the current location.

After moving to the larger space, Shannon thought it was the perfect time to undertake a comprehensive rebranding campaign.

Last August, full-service marketing agency Mega Experience designed a new logo for Sugar Me Right! Beauty Studio, which had been operating under the original brand logo Shannon developed herself in 2011.

The new logo symbolizes the natural elements of sugaring, and the new business cards are soft to the touch — just like your skin after sugaring.

Despite how effortlessly it all seems to be coming together, Shannon is quick to note that rebranding is not a simple undertaking.

“It’s important for us to show in our brand what we are all about,” she explains.

“We wanted to convey the softness in your skin in the rose-style symbol. The confidence sugaring can bring is shown in the bold new look. We started working on this project last May. We wanted people to know we were more than sugaring by just looking at the logo. But just working on the website alone takes a long time, so altogether it’s a big challenge.”

Shannon emphasizes that the rebranding campaign has been a collective effort. In March of this year, staff spent five days painting the whole studio to match the new brand colours. The year’s work culminated in a brand launch on August 29, 2018, where members of the public were invited into the beauty studio to witness the unveiling of the new store signage.

But rebranding is not just about new designs, new paint, and new signs. It’s representative of growth, success, and provides a foundation for the future.

“These changes show me that we’re succeeding in what I set out to do,” Shannon says. “The new brand is visually stunning, but it represents so much more than that.”

The rebranding campaign has also provided a professional space for Shannon to focus on her other passion: education.

Educating clients, other sugarists, and the public is important to Shannon, which is why in April of this year she completed the Alexandria Master series training and become an Executive Educator in Alexandria Professional body sugaring products. This training allows Shannon to certify others in the masters courses.

Making the decision to become an Executive Educator seems like a natural next step, given that Shannon has been leading the way in body sugaring in the Peterborough area for years now.

She prides herself on providing in-depth training to her staff and has already been teaching as an Alexandria On-Call Educator.

“I tell my students that I’m their mentor,” says Shannon. “I’m available to them after the class ends. I provide them with information that goes beyond Alexandria Professional training. Some students are just starting out like I was, and I can help them with the entrepreneurship process as well.”

Shannon’s advancement in certification not only enhances her credibility, but it also allows her to run more advanced classes to educating other beauty professionals.

“I want other spas, salons, and studios to know we have courses that will help advance their staff skills and service menus,” Shannon says.

She isn’t worried about competition — she sees only positive outcomes to educating and training others.

“When sugarists do their jobs correctly, the client has a positive experience with sugaring and then they tell others about their experience,” Shannon explains. “What I don’t want is someone having a negative experience and then thinking negatively about sugaring in general, because that affects everyone’s business.”

VIDEO: Shannon Gray of Sugar Me Right! Beauty Studio

Though the practice itself is centuries old, the sugaring industry today is gaining widespread recognition as an effective and safe form of hair removal. As Shannon says, this is the result of educating people and she’s happy to be part of it.

Shannon has hopes of one day becoming the Alexandria Professional Academy in the Peterborough area, which requires extensive training and educating on a regular basis.

“We’re making headway to that,” she says. “My mindset is always focused on growth, new opportunities, and educating people.”

With all that Shannon has been able to accomplish in the nearly eight years since starting her business, the possibilities seem endless.

“It’s been a great year, and I’m excited to see what the next one will bring.”

Sugar Me Right! Beauty Studio is located at 161 Sherbrooke St., Unit 2 in downtown Peterborough. For more information and to schedule an appointment, call 705-742-6000, email info@sugarmeright.ca, or visit www.sugarmeright.ca. You can also follow Sugar Me Right on Facebook.

Paula Kehoe is a storytelling machine. From Red Rock Communications in Peterborough, she creates content, manages media relations, produces social, and turns regular events into compelling storylines that engage and entertain.

And it all starts with listening: first to her heart and her gut, and then to others.

Paula started Red Rock Communications in 2016 after she had relocated to Peterborough with her husband. She had worked for years as a journalist and then as a corporate communications consultant but when her son was diagnosed with autism, she made a decision to work for herself so she could be present for her son and her family.

That tough decision has now, a few short years later, turned into a long list of grateful clients and unexpected business opportunities.

You can still hear Newfoundland in Paula’s voice. There’s a warmth and that musical lilt that draws you in as she talks about her business and the long hours and constant creative output that are just a regular part of her life.

“I don’t believe in balance,” she says. “As a working mom, the mindset that I live by is work-life integration, meaning the choices that I’m making are based on what’s a priority for me at that moment.”

And this integration might just be the secret to her success. It’s about working long hours on projects she connects with, for clients she respects, and taking the time to enjoy friends, family, community, and whatever else makes her feel content.

Paula works most days writing strategic and compelling content. She chooses words — spoken and written — with the frugality of someone who clips coupons. There is a plan with every phrase and each syllable has value.

Her projects are many and her clients are diverse. She works with agencies in team environments and she supports individual clients in collaborate relationships while keeping a mindset to see opportunities — which is how she recently ended up as the VP of Marketing and Communications for a virtual reality startup.

SoftCoverVR is a digital marketing agency that works with the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors to create virtual reality, augmented reality and 360 degree video experiences. According to their website, written by Paula, they “create impactful stories for clients that inspire empathy, build deeper relationships with consumers and empower their business.”

“This is becoming the next great storytelling medium to engage people, allowing an entirely new interpretation and expression of a brand experience,” Paula explains.

Every platform that Paula crafts content for requires different language, style and methodology so she stays sharp by listening to podcasts and catching up on what’s new in the industry.

“You need to keep learning,” she says. “You need to keep honing your craft and understand what it takes to write great content. I believe it’s important to have great mentors and to learn from the best.”

Paula also learns from her two kids, who are a source of joy and inspiration.

“My kids are quite active now and they like to go for hikes and it helps me get out,” she laughs. “They keep me present and they are really funny. I like to tap into their sense of humour. They are really funny little human beings.”

Laughter is a theme for Paula. She’s always interested in sharing a laugh and a beer with her husband or friends and she believes that good people fuel her creativity.

She volunteers a lot, having just finished up her second term on the Women’s Business Network of Peterborough board of directors and recently joined the International Women’s Day Conference committee for a third year as communications lead. And although that adds to her plate, as she describes it, this helps keep her mind fresh and taps into her desire to keep building meaningful relationships which is something that has spilled over into her work life.

Paula doesn’t really advertise, and most of her contracts come through word of mouth. She chooses her clients carefully and only works with people she thinks she can have great relationships with.

Paula is also realistic in how she looks at work and the opportunities that she has. After years of creating a cozy niche, she understands the importance and the value of what she does.

“How can anyone do it all?” she asks. “You can’t. That’s why you specialize.”

Red Rock Communications is located in Peterborough. For more information, visit redrockcommunications.ca. You can also connect with Red Rock Communications on Twitter and Instagram.

After reading this, you might wonder: is there anything Jenn Scates can’t do?

Jenn is the Vice President/Marketing at Central Smith Creamery, a local staple along Lindsay Road just outside of Peterborough, which she co-owns with her husband, Ian Scates.

Jenn officially started in the family business four years ago. Since then, she has been a motivating force for the Central Smith team.

“I think I have an ability to bring people together with a common goal and I’m able to execute a plan to meet any challenge,” she says, noting that though her official involvement began only a few years ago, she’s been helping from the sidelines for several years.

Central Smith has been in the Scates family since 1978 when Jenn’s in-laws purchased the property. The ownership officially transferred to Jenn and Ian about a year ago with the passing of Ian’s father.

“Ian and I are the second-generation owners, and our daughter Jillian is now the third generation working in the business,” says Jenn, explaining that her daughter now works as a Sales and Operations Analyst at Central Smith.

When Jenn came on board, one of her main goals was to take Central Smith from a “Ma and Pa” store to a national competitor in the ice cream industry. She helped to revamp the company’s marketing strategy and online presence to create a more professional image.

Jenn also took on the role of managing the parlour store, which employs around eight staff members throughout the summer months. She encourages the public to visit the store to sample the wide array of ice cream flavours.

In all her roles at Central Smith, Jenn says it’s important to get people to believe in a common goal.

“I try to act as a leader. When you carry yourself that way, people form around you. Sometimes things don’t go as planned, but it’s your ability to be resilient that often matters most,” she says.

Central Smith has been shipping coast to coast for approximately 15 years, and Jenn’s vision is to continue delivering ice cream across Canada and to expand into new markets.

And, her track record shows she’s more than capable of leading the team towards this vision.

Prior to her current role at Central Smith, Jenn honed her planning, organization, and people management skills as a public school teacher and also at the Arrowsmith school in Peterborough. As a teacher, she looked forward to organizing special events.

“I liked seeing it all come together,” says Jenn.

Jenn has also put these skills to use in her many volunteer roles within the local community.

In 2011, Jenn was the Event Coordinator for “Dancing with Docs: Disco Fever”, held to support the Closer campaign of the Peterborough Regional Health Care Centre Foundation.

In 2013, she was on the organizing committee for the Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada Peterborough event. She held the role of Banquet Coordinator, which required a great deal of planning to ensure the evening went smoothly — especially in a snowstorm.

“We put on a huge event … the banquet dinner just happened to be on the night of the biggest snowstorm in Peterborough’s recent history,” says Jenn.

“But,” she adds, “every single person showed up, including Don Cherry and Ron Maclean,” which is testament to her ability to bring people together, even under less than desirable circumstances.

Jenn has been involved with Heather Doughty’s Inspire: The Women’s Portrait Project, and also volunteers with the Special Olympics as the Swim Team Manager.

Jenn credits these community experiences with enhancing her leadership skills, which have translated well to her role at Central Smith. While the company has turned its attention to external markets and expansion, the business is careful not to forget its roots.

“There are so many local people and organizations who have helped us get to where we are. It’s a pleasure working with our community partners, and with the community members who share my passion for organizing local events to benefit our community,” says Jenn.

And when she’s not busy with work, family, and volunteering?

“I like to run,” says Jenn. “It’s my meditation time.”

Central Smith Creamery is located at 739 Lindsay Road in Selwyn (one kilometre west of Chemong Road on the Lindsay highway). For more information, call 705-742-5867 (1-800-461-1464 toll free), email info@centralsmith.ca, or visit www.centralsmith.ca. You can also follow Central Smith Creamery on Instagram and Facebook.

When you arrive at the Highland Park Funeral Centre in Peterborough, there is an immediate sense that everything has been considered and that every detail matters.

The grounds are manicured, the gardens are perfect. The entrance is well marked, and music is playing outside the accessible building, softly.

The interior of Highland Park is decorated beautifully; natural light floods in through the windows and the staff are warm and eager to assist. This place just feels different and that’s intentional.

Mary McGee is the Chief Executive Officer of the Little Lake Cemetery Co., which operates both the Highland Park Funeral Centre and Cemetery and the Little Lake Cemetery in Peterborough and the Lakeland Funeral and Cremation Centre in Lindsay.

For over 160 years, the Little Lake Cemetery Company has been a not-for-profit and non-denominational cemetery. Mary and her team are proud to be a locally owned, not-for-profit, non-commissioned funeral home offering funeral and cemetery pre-planning, funeral and memorial services, cremation services, and a wide variety of burial and cremation options.

The long list of services aside, Mary says that when people come in with heavy hearts, her team has one job to do. They work to lighten the load.

“All of us feel that we do important work,” Mary says. “We only have one chance to do our best. There are no do-overs.”

This trust and responsibility are the weight that every team member carries.

“Every decision we make here is a cautious decision,” Mary says. “There are different standards here. We’re a cemetery so that means we’re going to be here forever.”

This shift to “forever” thinking was a big deal for Mary when she joined the company as CEO six years ago and she has enjoyed the experience immensely.

As CEO, Mary makes decisions that will keep the company thriving for the long-term while staying on top of the changing expectations and needs of clients in the short term — because needs are changing. From multicultural considerations to an increased need for unique and specialized services, the whole way we celebrate lives lived is going through a big shift.

At Highland Park, they are honoured to coordinate a traditional mass but they’ve also been asked to plan a pig roast, with a live band and full bar service. And no matter what is requested, Mary and her team are ready to work with clients to achieve the best possible commemoration of their loved one.

“It is so important to take the time and pause,” Mary explains. “It’s important to gather together in whatever way feels right and this taking pause helps to move us through the stages of grief.”

After memorials are done, there are still decisions that need to be made. Highland Park has recently added mausoleums and scattering gardens and Mary’s team also helps people years later.

“With cremation not everyone uses a cemetery for burial, so we’re often working with families to help find a place for the urn and sometimes, after a while, that need changes,” Mary explains.

Working in this environment has shifted Mary to forever thinking in the business sense but also, it has caused a shift in how she thinks about her own life and how she lives, mostly by placing a greater value on her personal relationships.

“This is valuable work that we do,” she says. “It can also be difficult.”

Mary and her team are well supported with workshops provided by Hospice, mental health awareness training and there is always a focus on managing stress, so everyone can be at their best while supporting local families who are might be at their worst.

“We want to know that when a family leaves, that they feel better,” Mary explains. “Even if it is only a slight nudge. Our goal is for them to feel better.”

Feeling better is done through offering service, options and providing answers to questions that families might not even know they have to ask. Through the aftercare process, families are gently guided through the paperwork required by the government, discussions about identity theft and fraud, timelines and the need for legal assistance.

The years of experience that live within the company make the days, weeks and months following the loss of a loved one so much easier for those who are dealing with grief.

And that experience is inevitably why Mary encourages people to always choose to commemorate a loved one in some way — even if their loved one did not want any kind of memorial.

“Even if Mom said she didn’t want anything, that part, that gathering, the storytelling, the support from your community … that is for you,” Mary explains. “There is no wrong way to do that and we will help.”

Highland Park Funeral Centre is located at 2510 Bensfort Road in Peterborough. For more information, call 705-745-6984 (1-800-672-9652 toll free), email info@highlandparkfuneralcentre.com, or visit www.highlandparkfuneralcentre.com. You can also find Highland Park Funeral Centre on Facebook.

Special to kawarthaNOW.com.

Cody & James CPAs, a local firm that provides full-service accounting for small to medium-sized businesses, will now be able to provide assurance engagements (reviews and audits) through their new association with Porter Hetu International.

Suzanne and Gwyneth are very excited about the new direction of their firm, although they will remain true to their clients by continuing to offer a full suite of accounting services — everything from financial statements, corporate and personal tax returns, bookkeeping, and payroll — in their personable, approachable manner and in a language the clients can easily understand.

“Meeting deadlines, staying on top of government and institutional deadlines, assisting clients in growing their business, even getting their business in shape for retirement: these are all things we do, regularly,” Suzanne says. A lot of the businesses Cody & James CPAs help are in growth stages and it’s important that the owners understand the details.

“Translating financial details into language that is useful to our clients, whether they are business owners, professionals, retirees, or people who want a professional accurate tax return filed,” she adds. “That’s what sets us apart from other firms.”

Cody & James CPAs is the accounting firm that came into being in 2013 after Suzanne bought half of Gwyneth’s business. Gwyneth had grown her firm to the point that she needed help. Suzanne came on for a year under contract, until it was evident that the pair complemented one another well and created an undeniably effective synergy.

“It’s like getting married,” Gwyneth explains. “You gotta get it right. Suzanne and I do get along and we are friends, but more importantly we bring different skill sets to the table.”

Suzanne moved from Toronto to the area in 2005, making her preferred holiday location from early childhood her permanent home. She has had a family presence in the area since 1973.

“The beautiful scenery and the neighbourly people are why I chose this area,” she says.

She has been in the accounting profession for more than 20 years, working for more than 10 years in a corporate setting as a financial analyst and liaison from the IT department. In addition to being a CPA, she has a diploma in Computer Programming and System Analysis which gives her a unique blend of financial knowledge and technical savvy.

In her spare time, Suzanne is a hockey mom and donates time as a team manager and treasurer.

Gwyneth came to to Peterborough in 1997 with her two young boys.

She worked for more than a decade for Nexicom as their Controller. Then in 2009, she bought an accounting firm and her business took off quickly with a second block of clients acquired three years later.

Yet it’s not just about the numbers for Gwyneth; it’s about community.

“Peterborough had offered me so much,” she says. “When you first arrive in a new city, you’re scrambling, especially with little children, to know what services are available and find some extra help. You feel like you’re constantly taking.”

Once the children were a little more independent, Gwyneth says she wanted to give back.

Which she did and still does in the form of working with not-for-profits and volunteering. Over the years she has served on many Boards of Directors in both economic and social service oriented organizations.

And she loves dealing with new entrepreneurs.

“They are pioneers,” Gwyneth says. “That’s what keeps it fresh for me. I love knowing that I have helped some local people realize their dreams and that those new businesses will potentially result in more employees and a better economy for Peterborough.”

She sees her job as helping an entrepreneur understand the potential cost of their dream and to help them temper their enthusiasm, but also to see the million-dollar business that it could become.

“I’m an entrepreneur at my core,” Gwyneth says, adding that she hadn’t always wanted to be an accountant. “My dad was an accountant, but I always thought I’d go into medicine.”

You might even call Gwyneth and Suzanne physicians of business: they help keep local businesses healthy and thriving.

And when Gwyneth’s not administering to the business community, she doctors her gardens, preferring the broad swatches of colour to the black and white she sees at work.

She loves to see her clients’ companies grow like her gardens.

“That’s where we really shine,” she says. “We will take all your accounting needs off your hands so you can focus on what you do best.”

Cody & James CPAs is located at 260 Milroy Dr. #1 in Peterborough. For more information, call 705-876-6011, email info@codyandjames.ca, or visit www.codyandjames.ca. You can also find Cody & James CPAs on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

You can also follow Gwyneth on Twitter at @ghj_cpa and connect with her on LinkedIn. You can follow Suzanne on Twitter at @scodycpa and connect with her on LinkedIn.