Over 100 people attended a Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours event at the Brantford Municipal Airport on Wednesday, September 18, 2024.
Collaboratively hosted by the Brantford Flight Centre, the Brantford-Brant Chamber of Commerce and the County of Brant Chamber of Commerce, the event brought together members from both Chambers for a casual night of networking.
During the two hour event, the local business owners and non-profit organizations mixed and mingled over food and drinks, introduced themselves to new members, reunited with old connections, or checked out one of the general aviation planes parked outside of the hangar.
David Prang, CEO of the Brantford-Brant Chamber, and Sherri Barna, President of the County of Brant Chamber, also both welcomed attendees to the event.
“We are here to build our businesses so make sure you talk to one another,” said Barna. “Tonight, the two Chambers are blending, which I think is the coolest thing ever and I think this might be the first time it’s happened so take advantage of that.”
After a few introductions of new members, both Barna and Prang gave a rundown of upcoming events throughout the region like Small Business Week activities, Brant Eats, the Harvest Lunch with David Bailey, Mayor for the County of Brant, and more.
A short while later, Prang invited Ed Johnston, Board President of the Brantford Flying Club and an involved member of COPA (Canadian Owners and Pilots Association) 148, to speak about the medical travel assistance program, Hope Air. Throughout the event, attendees partook in a 50/50 draw in support of the program.
“Hope Air is a nationwide Canadian charity that basically arranges flights into and out of hospital zones, which in Ontario, is London, Hamilton, Toronto and Ottawa,” said Johnston. “Really, the flight is only one part of the patient experience because when you’ve got a traumatic experience going on in your family, you don’t want to have to worry about transportation, hotels and food, and so Hope Air does that for you.”
As the event started wrapping up and guests continued to mingle, Prang later handed out various draw prizes including bottles of wine, Brantford Flight Centre t-shirts and hats, as well as a few sightseeing flights or first introductory flight lessons with the Brantford Flying Club.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
