TBB April 2021

Great Year at the Port of Thunder Bay!

INSIDE When Customers Ignore You Stop Paining That Same Old Tune WHAT IS A CONSTRUCTION LIEN? North Superior Publishing

@tbay25

FedNor funding helps local manufacturers modernize their operations and create 22 jobs

The Snowmobiles Of Today Are Different!

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FedNor funding helps local manufacturers modernize their operations, scale up and create 22 jobs Manufacturing is one of Canada's most important economic sectors, contributing a large share (1.7 million) of Canada’s fulltime, well-paying jobs across a wide range of industries. With the help of the Government of Canada, Northern Ontario companies are innovating and modernizing their processes to stay on the cutting edge.

This involves transforming their operations, adopting new technologies, improving productivity and maintaining a highly skilled workforce.

Marcus Powlowski, Member of Parliament, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, on behalf of the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages and Minister responsible for FedNor, recently announced a Government of Canada investments totalling $848,748 to help three local businesses expand their operations, enhance competitiveness and boost profitability.

Once complete, these strategic initiatives are expected to help create 22 high-quality jobs in the City of Thunder Bay. The three local companies that will benefit from investments provided through FedNor’s Regional Economic Growth through Innovation (REGI) program and its Steel and Aluminum Initiative, include: Nu-Tech Metals Sales & Service Ltd. , Thunder Bay Hydraulics and, Heartbeat Hot Sauce Co. COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of innovation in manufacturing. With the support of the Government of Canada, industries are reassessing their models and

adapting their operations to better serve clients, while continuing to find opportunities for development and growth. As we safely reopen Canada’s economy, the government will continue to support manufacturers in developing new technologies and creating highly skilled jobs for Canadians.

Quotes “Thunder Bay—Rainy River has a wealth of manufacturing expertise and I’m thrilled that FedNor is lending its support to help maximize our region’s economic potential. I had the opportunity to see first hand how Nu-Tech Metals and Thunder Bay Hydraulics are using this investment to diversify their operations and create good jobs here in Northwestern Ontario.

Heartbeat Hot Sauce has had amazing success as a relatively young company in our community and this investment will be put to good use as they expand their production and productivity and put their famous hot sauce and Thunder Bay on an even larger map than they already have.”

• Marcus Powlowski, Member of Parliament, Thunder Bay—Rainy River “Today’s announcement is further proof of our government’s commitment to supporting manufacturers through these challenging times. With the help of our regional development agencies, like FedNor in Northern Ontario, we are making investments that enable manufacturers across Canada to expand their operations, enter new markets and take their businesses to the next level.”

• The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official

Jamie Crozier Thunder Bay Hydraulics and MP Powlowski Languages and Minister responsible for FedNor “Thunder Bay’s manufacturing sector continues to fuel our recovery efforts and drive our economy forward in a meaningful and positive way. Today’s announcement alone will create 22 local jobs and help three innovative firms scale up. The boost in production and increased sales these investments will help achieve are significant and will deliver lasting economic results for our region.”

• The Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Health, and Member of Parliament, Thunder Bay-Superior North

“We are thankful for this Government of Canada support through FedNor as it will assist us in growing our business and becoming more competitive. The purchase of a state-of-the-art fiber laser cutting table will not only help us to better service our clients, but it will also introduce a new dimension to the metal fabrication sector throughout the region.”

• Robert Felbel & Glen Major, Owners, Nu-Tech Metals Sales & Service “Expanding into the commercial hydraulic scissor lift market is a game changer for our company. FedNor support is allowing us to expand our product line and upgrade our facilities. We fully expect this expansion will allow us double our annual sales and production, helping to take our business to new heights.”

• Jamie Crozier, Manager, Thunder Bay Hydraulics, Inc. “Heartbeat Hot Sauce has become so popular that we need a bigger building, more capacity, larger workforce, and upgraded production processes to keep pace with demand. We have a hot commodity on our hands and we’re thrilled that FedNor is partnering with us to make this expansion possible.”

• Nancy Shaw, Owner, Heartbeat Hot Sauce Co.

Quick Facts • The funding announced today is provided through FedNor’s Regional Economic Growth through Innovation (REGI) program, as well as its Steel and Aluminum Initiative.

• Funding made available through the Steel and Aluminum Initiative is provided on a non-repayable basis to steel and aluminum users for investments in innovative projects that create jobs and enhance business productivity and/or competitiveness.

• Accounting for approximately $174 billion of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP), manufacturing represents more than 10 per cent of Canada's total GDP, which includes more than $354 billion in exports each year.

• Since 2015, FedNor has invested over $47 million in 69 manufacturing projects across Northern Ontario.

THUNDER BAY BUSINESS APRIL 2021

Publisher’s Note Scott Sumner

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Exercise Anaerobic- your muscles!

Once you have a good plan of attack on Aerobic exercise- your heart, the other kind of exercise involves developing your muscles. It just makes basic sense that by putting your body muscle groups through a workout, you will develop strength. Muscles need activity to grow and usually our daily activity level won't be enough to reach their potential. In the past I started with a personal trainer who really specializes in building and developing muscle mass. His certification as a fitness trainer has provided him with special knowledge in muscle development.

Muscle training is really about isolating a muscle group you are working on, and challenging yourself by lifting

weight's that will start the growth process. You always begin with lighter weights and through a gradual process work up to higher weights and concentrated repetitions.

To witness your own muscle development is a huge benefit for your overall fitness level and quality of life. Many of our day to day activities are easier when we feel stronger. The body has many muscles, but they can be broken down into large groups. Perhaps the largest muscles are in our legs. I guess it makes sense as we use them to walk.

Next, the back has muscles that help maintain our posture. The chest allows us to lift, along with our shoulders. Lastly, our arms and biceps, and

triceps which are smaller, but frequently used muscles.

Each muscle group can be exercised and developed. Today there are are many pieces of equipment that can be used to isolate and work these muscles with the resistance of weight. In addition, the use of free weights allow an excellent working of these muscles. I think the development of muscles is an area of some complexity, but generally breaks down to working isolated muscles with a gradual increase of resistance. You must also provide muscles time to regenerate, which means not training everyday. It is best to train every second day, or work on different muscle groups each day.

Generally, in weight training you work in sets of repetitions. For example, you could do 3 sets of 12 repetitions on eight different machines on your back and shoulder muscles for example. You should be challenging yourself to gain results by lifting weights that are making you work.

If you can hire a personal trainer, a complete program is a good idea which will cover all muscle groups. Usually it will cost you $40 to $70 per session, but I believe it would be some of the best money you could ever spend. My philosophy is spending money on your health is an investment in YOU! You will gain great dividends. www.scottsumner.com

Stop Paining That Same Old Tune Pain can come in many different forms: sharp and stabbing to dull and achy, constant or intermittent, excruciating or mild. Pain is supposed to be informative and protective to make you stop doing things that may hurt you.

Informative pain is due to some tissue damage. However, as we will see, long term pain can occur even when there is no longer any tissue damage. The feeling of pain is 100% created in your brain. That does not mean it is not real. But understanding that pain is a brain experience may help those with chronic pain to understand better how to get rid of it.

There are millions of tiny sensors all around your body at the ends of the thousands of nerve cells that you have.

Various different senses respond to mechanical forces (stretch or touch), temperature (hot and cold), chemical changes (externally like smells, tastes

On the cover top: left Christian Chukwu, Operations Coordinator and right Tim Heney, CEO Port of Thunder Bay

and poisons or internally like inflammation and hormones). All the information from all of these sensors is sent to your central nervous system so that your brain can figure out what is going on inside and outside your body. The easiest way to think about how this all works is to think of your nerves like musicians with different instruments.

Their instruments are the sensors, and all the musicians play their tune so that your brain can listen to what is going on in and around your body. These tunes get put together like an orchestra playing a symphony in your brain.

When some of the parts of your brain get messages in a specific pattern, your brain decides to make you feel pain to warn you that something might not be right or that you may be in danger.

Several parts of your brain are involved in playing this particular pain music that together are called the pain matrix. But your brain can play many tunes not just a pain tune. The brain can also learn new tunes. Your nerve cells talk to each other through little connections called synapses. These synapses can be talking non-stop or totally silent. How these nerves talk to each other determines what music your brain will hear. Each synapse is surrounded by an immune cell which can influence the synapse itself as well as about 100,000 surrounding synapses working together in a very complex way. All the different systems of your body can be influenced by the music that your brain will play such as the pain tune and thus are interconnected.

Your brain can learn to be in pain, particularly if you pay a lot of attention to the pain tune. Your nervous system has two important subsystems that impact

the pain tune in a big way. One focuses on fight and flight responses (sympathetics) and one is used for digestion, and healing (parasympathetics). When your sympathetic system is active your heart beats faster and your brain mobilizes your body's energy stores and primes your big muscles for a fight or to run away. You become more alert, and you even sweat more. When your brain plays the pain tune your sympathetic system will also activate. This is great if you have an immediate threat that you need to respond to, but this can become a problem over the long term because it will create persistent high levels of adrenaline pumping through your body. Prolonged high adrenaline can change your nerves and contribute to amplifying the pain matrix tune in your brain, making the pain signals seem greater and more constant. If these muscles don’t actually get a workout from fighting or running away, overtime they start to feel achy and sore. This is the reason why exercise is such a great therapy for pain. It helps to release the adrenaline and sends different messages to your brain other than the same old pain tune. If pain limits your activity, you can still help yourself by imagining those movements.

Neuroscience research proved that imagining a movement influences the brain in a very similar way to actually doing the movement. This can help to retrain your brain to understand that the movement is not dangerous because imagining doing the movement will not hurt you. It can basically trick your brain into giving you back pain free movement.

Other lifestyle changes that will also help change that pain tune include better sleeps, better nutrition and positive thinking.

James DiGiuseppe is a local chiropractor with a busy family and wellness practice. For more health information or to contact Dr. DiGiuseppe visit: www.portarthurchiropractic.com

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Great Year at the Port of Thunder Bay!

BY SCOTT A. SUMNER

Thunder Bay BUSINESS It was a great year at the Port of Thunder Bay last season mostly due to grain according to Port of Thunder Bay CEO, Tim Heney. “ The pandemic was probably the cause of our increase as a lot of the countries were restricting grain exports to protect their food supplies so that left

Canada. We have to export because we have a huge amount of grain we export every year. It became positive leaving the European market open for us,”said Tim Heney. “ The European vessels had very little work around the world as the market collapsed, so they became available in large numbers and that helped us out as well. We had the second highest number of ocean visits in our history since the 1800 hundreds. We had over 400 ships last season in total.”

There were no larger European ships coming to the Port of Thunder Bay until the opening of the Seaway just over 60 years ago.

The Port is mostly a grain Port and everyone did well last season said Heney who expects a good start to the 2021 shipping season. “ The warmer weather has helped but shipping doesn’t start until the opening of the Seaway- March 24th, 1 day earlier than normal for the first time ever. It shuts down January 15th each year.

That is the maximum time frame the Seaway wants to open,” said Heney.

There isn’t much ice, only in the harbour this year and the Port has an agreement with the Americans that Canada

will ice break the lower part of the lakes and they do the upper parts. The American ship at Thunder Bay came from Duluth, MN “ We had 4 ships in port over winter, 3 here and 1 in the shipyard. They will start moving and loading grain next week as soon as the ice is broken up.

The first laker ship is hoped to come

March 25th and ocean ships three or four days later,” said Tim. “This season should be good with grain starting strong and some predictions that the whole pandemic market situation will start to even itself out by the end of the year and go back to normal. It is hard to predict grain as weather is a factor including other countries weather.”

According to Heney the grain harvest has been bigger the last 6- 7 years. The change of the wheat board has had an effect and the growing of grain has been more efficient with yields per acre up with fertilizer and better growing techniques overall.

Continued

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Great Year at the Port of Thunder Bay! Continued “ We are seeing some non grain cargo with wind turbines and the oil sands. I think you will see infrastructure spending with pipes and rail coming through the port from Europe. Loading freight, not grain, is more labour intensive so that creates more employment at the Port. Grain is easier to load.” said Heney. “ Also we are starting to get some fertilizer shipped from Africa here last year to help with grain. The fertilizer is the newest thing for us. Trump put a duty on fertilizer coming through the states where it is provided from African and Russia. There was also a new factory in Africa so now get fertizer from Africa.

It could be a big volume for us, 1.3 million tonnes per year, and we may get a

piece of it. Grain is about 9 million tonnes per year but it matches well up

with ocean ships that come here so they can bring fertilizer here and take back grain. I think the year will be positive.”

The new 50,000 square foot warehouse building atthe Port of Thunder Bay which was finished in 2020 is open and

now full with demand from courier companies as their business has taken off with the border closure with the pandemic.

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Excellent Shipping Season Highlights Importance of Grain to Seaway The Port of Thunder Bay shipping season last year was the most successful year in over two decades. Annual cargo volumes tallied 10.2 million metric tonnes (MMT), exceeding the ten million mark for the first time since 1997.

Much of the success in 2020 was attributable to the port’s strategic position as Western Canada’s gateway to Eastern markets for grain. Thunder Bay is the western terminus of the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Seaway System, a 3,700 kilometre marine highway for shipping bulk cargo to and from North America via the Atlantic Ocean. Overseas grain demand drew over 150 foreign ‘saltie’ vessels to Thunder Bay for grain in 2020 – the second-highest tally at the Port since the Seaway opened in 1959.

Several factors contributed to the grain surge, including significant carryover of grain stock from the large 2019 harvest, and worldwide stockpiling of staple

foods during the pandemic. Greater diversification of crops, particularly in Manitoba, is having an impact in Thunder Bay as well, as markets demand more variety. Canola and soybean orders in Europe, for instance, have grown at a higher rate than those for traditional durum wheat. The grain story bucks the downward trend of virtually every other cargo on the Seaway in 2020, signaling the important role the Port and Western farmers play on the System.

Late-season developments have port officials optimistic for further growth and diversification in 2021. The first import shipment of phosphate fertilizer was handled at Keefer Terminal in early December. The fertilizer is being stored inside and railed to Prairie farms to cultivate the grain that will be exported from Thunder Bay elevators in the next harvest.

Says Heney, “This shipment required

considerable planning between the freight forwarder, the Port, and Logistec Stevedoring who was responsible for the

safe and efficient discharge and handling of the fertilizer at the terminal.”

Continued

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Excellent Shipping Season Highlights Importance of Grain to Seaway fits the model and affirms our strategy.”

The season’s last vessel, MV Saginaw departed Thunder Bay with a grain cargo to be discharged at an elevator in Windsor, Ontario. Four vessels did undergo winter maintenance and repairs in Thunder Bay: MV Algoma Guardian, MV Algoma Strongfield, and MV Frontenac have laid up at Keefer Terminal; MV Blair McKeil is berthed at Heddle Shipyard.

Continued Given the success of the arrangement, forwarders are planning to send further shipments in the spring. “This cargo represents an opportunity to increase inbound shipments in Thunder Bay, capitalizing on the large volume of outbound shipments and available capacity, improving the bottom line for shippers. We have invested heavily in infrastructure and marketed a twoway route that adds value for businesses shipping to and from the West. This cargo

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Winners of the Port of Thunder Bay Let’s Sea it Your Way Photo Challenge Revealed Last year the Port of Thunder Bay was pleased to announce the winners of the Let’s Sea it Your Way Photo Challenge.

The contest was launched in October and invited both amateur and professional photographers to participate by entering their favourite camerawork for judging.

Over 300 images were posted for submission, capturing Thunder Bay’s vibrant maritime industry and the harbour landscape in its most vivid forms. A winning photograph was chosen in each of the four categories. The winners are as follows: 1.

Best Saltie: Jon Nelson 2.

Best Laker: Michael Hull 3.

Best Ship with the Sleeping Giant: Mike Hanchar 4.

Best Superior Sunrise/Sunset featuring the Port of Thunder Bay or Harbour: Jack Hamlin “The number and variety of submissions were very impressive. The Port of Thunder Bay is proud to share these local images that all individually share visions that inspire, inform and awe;” Says Chris Heikkinen, Port of Thunder Bay Communications Coordinator. “Thunder Bay residents enjoy some of the best lake views in the world, and we often overlook the exciting shipping activity that happens in our world-class port.”

“Congratulations to all the talented photographers who entered the Let’s Sea it Your Way Photo Challenge. The Port of Thunder Bay is pleased to create a platform to celebrate local photography and highlight the port industry amidst the natural beauty Thunder Bay harbour has to offer.”

A panel of judges comprised of local, well-known, and experienced photographers selected the winning photo submissions. Challenge winner Michael Hull, who has previously lived in Hawaii, Florida and Colorado, explains that he really enjoys documenting the city through photography and believes that Thunder Bay is one of the most beautiful places he has lived. “The port is a huge part of our history and every day there is something new and unique happening.

Whether it be the tugs working to get a ship in or out of a dock, a bald eagle, a seaplane taking off or a majestic sunset, there is always something going on at the port.”

Hull says his first memory of a ship was as a child while visiting the Port of Thunder Bay. His interest in the industry was recently reignited while taking photos for fun during the pandemic. His winning submission features the Saginaw arriving to the port with assistance from a tugboat.

Each winning photographer received a Superior Prize Pack sponsored by the

Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission, George’s Market and Thunder Bay Hydraulics.

The prize included a painting of each winning photograph by local artist Vik Wilen. Wilen created abstract pieces that are very vibrant and creative, capturing the original photograph using acrylics and watercolours.

“I didn’t realize there was so much activity in our harbour until I started to try and take pictures of every ship.

Standing next to a ship is quite simply awe-inspiring and a very powerful experience. Some of these ships date back to World War II and there’s a silent power that can be felt while around them. Once you factor in the history of the ships and the element that some of the Salties travel back and forth between various continents with tremendously large cargo loads, it just puts me in amazement of what humankind can accomplish,” continues Hull.

“I also think our Port is a significant point of pride for Thunder Bay. This has been especially evident during the global pandemic with this year’s shipping season being one of the busiest on record.

Quite literally, Thunder Bay is helping the world survive this pandemic and I believe the Port of Thunder Bay is playing an integral role.”

The paintings of the winning photography will be available for purchase at vikwilen.com with a portion of the proceeds being donated to the United Way of Thunder Bay.

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When Customers Ignore You 5 business building tips that cost nothing Remember the days when people noticed good customer service, talked about it, and most importantly – rewarded you for it? Happy customers would return and spread the word. In today’s fast paced world however, people are so rushed moving to the next thing, or so distracted by their mobile devices, that good customer service is overlooked. Fortunately, as I share in my seminars, there are several easy things you can do that will enhance your service and boost your business which your customers will actually notice. Best of all, they cost you nothing. Here are five for starters…

Be the voice of reason Here’s an insider secret I discovered when clients started bringing me in to assess and offer feedback on their call centres. You can generally tell within 10 seconds whether the service rep will calm the customer or irritate them.

It’s not what the employee says – it’s the sound of their voice when they say it. Employees who have thin or high voices, mumble, or add useless words (ya know, kinda, sorta, fer sure) garner less respect from customers than those who are more articulate.

Conversely, when you lower your tone and enunciate – by crispening-up your consonants and rounding-out your vowels – you’ll be perceived as more reasonable and intelligent. By watching your language you’ll transition in the customer’s mind from being merely a clerk or order taker into becoming a Trusted Advisor.

Show-off your homework Today’s customers are so busy trying to juggle the demands of work, home, family, finances, and errands, that they are amazed when someone goes to the trouble to do some homework and find out about them. So, before a client meeting, spend a few minutes doing a web search on the customer and the company. Start the conversation with a few comments along the lines of, ‘I read that you have…’? ‘I noticed on your website…’? It’s a wonderful way of demonstrating your intelligence while focusing on the customer. In the customer’s mind that makes you brilliant.

Listen loudly Customers are impressed by your knowledge; not your product knowledge per se – that’s taken for granted.

Customers are more impressed by your knowledge of their unique individual needs. Today’s customers are assaulted by information coming at them: tweets, emails, sound bites, and micro-ads.

That means you’ll be noticed more if you if you’re a good listener rather than a smooth talker. It’s not enough to just listen to customer needs and then offer solutions. You need to be perceived as listening. Fortunately, this is

as easy as saying two words after your customer explains their needs: ‘Sounds like…’? Starting your comments with sounds like forces you to paraphrase your understanding of their needs. It’s also a great lead-in to expressing empathy, as in, ‘It sounds like you’ve had a frustrating time trying to fix

this.’? You’ll be seen as someone who truly gets your customer. That’s listening loudly. And customers do notice.

‘I’ll send it first thing in the morning.’? Contrast those responses with, ‘You’ll receive it within 24 hours.’?

The 24 hour statement sounds like a stronger commitment because it’s specific. And it sounds faster because you’re talking hours not days. By changing your wording you appear to

make time shrink. Customers will take notice.

Close the loop

Make time shrink Imagine a customer or co-worker asks you to send them information that might normally be sent the next day.

You could say, ‘I won’t be able to send it to you until tomorrow.’? Or perhaps,

In attempting to grow our business we are often so focused on gaining more customers that we neglect those we already have. Case in point is when we deliver a product or service without any follow-up. Closing the loop can be

as simple as leaving a 20 second voice mail message with the customer stating that you’re making a courtesy check-in call to ensure that everything’s OK with their purchase. Heck – forget 20 seconds – next time a co-worker sends you an email request, once you’ve completed it, take five seconds and reply to their email with one word.

‘Done’?. Again, you will be noticed.

Bottom line… These tips for getting noticed by customers and coworkers simply require a few adjustments to the way employees communicate. It isn’t complicated. Which is why I call this approach to enhancing internal and external customer service Influence with Ease ©.

Jeff Mowatt is a customer service strategist, Hall of Fame speaker, and bestselling author. For more tips, training tools or to inquire about engaging Jeff for your team visit www.JeffMowatt.com

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WHAT IS A CONSTRUCTION LIEN? © 2021 Brian Babcock

Spring is here, and with it, the smell of construction liens is in the air.

Most of you will have heard the term “construction lien” before, but we find that

Legal Matters many people have a misconception about what a lien is.

A lien may arise on a construction project of any type or size. The rules regarding

public projects may vary slightly, but the basics are similar. It is a charge for the amount owing to a sub-contractor, worker or supplier to a project, against the holdbacks or additional amounts required to be retained by an owner when payments are made.

Contractors are wary of the possibility of liens, which may be fatal not only to the project, but to their business.

The lien also gives the unpaid claimant a claim against the value of the owner’s interest in the lands, if the proper holdbacks are not maintained.

The basic holdback is equal to 10 of the price of the services or materials as they are supplied. A separate holdback also

exists of 10 percent of the price of finishing work (after substantial completion).

The holdback usually must be retained until all possible liens have expired, been satisfied through payment or discharged.

The amount the owner is required to holdback is also increased if the owner receives written notice of any liens. Then the owner must also retain the amount claimed for the lien. Once the owner receives notice, payments on the project may grind to a halt. Often arrangements can be made to resume payments (for example by posting security).

Sophisticated commercial construction contracts contain provisions for the dealing with holdbacks, and how liens that are registered will be discharged. If the contractor

is solvent, but there is a legitimate pay dispute, the owner’s interests are protected and the project can be completed.

If your contract does not contain such terms, then you have to follow the framework in the Construction Act. The Act also contains important terms governing prompt payment, adjudication, and trust funds we do not have space to discuss here.

This overview of construction liens is very general, and how they apply to you is not something you should try to sort out from this article. If you need advice regarding any aspect of construction law, contact my colleagues at Weilers Law.

United Way of Thunder Bay in Partnership with Port Arthur Rotary Launches Popular Catch the Ace Lottery You can now try to catch the ace in support of United Way of Thunder Bay and Port Arthur Rotary. The organizations are thrilled to present the latest addition to their fundraising lineups, announcing an online Catch the Ace progressive jackpot raffle.

Catch the Ace has a guaranteed prize winner every week and a progressive jackpot that goes to the winner who catches the Ace of Spades. Says Krysta Logozzo-Daniele, President, Port Arthur Rotary; “Port Arthur Rotary is proud to partner with United Way of Thunder Bay to bring the Catch the Ace raffle to Thunder Bay and beyond!

Building on both organizations’ com-

Next Issue: Thunder Bay Business Main Topic Construction Ad Copy Deadline April 23,2021 Contact Sylvia @807-629-7095 www.thunderbaybusiness.ca

mitment to addressing a wide range of community needs, this initiative is a strong example of community collaboration.”

Tickets are available online at: www.tbayace.ca to Ontario residents only and start at $10 for 10 raffle numbers, $20 for 60 numbers, $40 for 200 numbers and $80 for 500 numbers. By purchasing a ticket, participants will then have the opportunity to select an electronic envelope where they believe the Ace of Spades is hidden. If your ticket number is selected in the weekly draw, you win the weekly prize and your envelope is checked to see if it contains the ace. If the card selected is not the Ace of Spades, it’s removed from the deck and the progressive prize continues to grow. Following each draw, a new weekly draw is launched with the updated Progressive Jackpot and players can buy new raffle tickets for the following week. Weekly Prize draws continue until the Ace of

Albert Brulé, CEO of United Way of Thunder Bay, Jake Behse (Ace of Spades) of United Way of Thunder Bay and Jim Madder, President Elect of Port Arthur Rotary.

Spades is discovered and the Progressive Jackpot, with a guaranteed minimum prize of $5,000, is won.

Says Albert Brulé, CEO of United Way of Thunder Bay, “United Way of Thunder Bay continues to rethink our approach to fundraising. The Catch the Ace Raffle is a creative and engaging way to help meet the urgent needs of the community as the demand for social services skyrockets in our city.

Playing Catch the Ace is a fun and a safe way to help support individuals and organizations that are struggling to make ends meet, with a chance to win a lot of money too. Enjoy the thrill of chasing the ace! ” With 52 cards in a playing deck, the Catch the Ace ra ffle could run a maximum of 52 weeks. 50% of all proceeds raised will support various programs and initiatives that address the immediate needs of local people and families to ensure that they have access to much-needed food, housing, clothing, crisis counselling services and more.

Today United Way of Thunder Bay and Port Arthur Rotary also announced that

Our Kids Count, Roots to Harvest, Shelter House and St. Andrews Soup Kitchen at the Dew Drop Inn will be the first four charities to benefit from the raffle.

“The past few months have tested all of us in ways we could not have ever imagined. We have friends and neighbours who were already vulnerable, struggling to make ends meet or put food on the table. It’s been exceptionally difficult and sometimes heartbreaking. The need for vital supports only continues to increase,” says Brulé, The Catch the Ace Raffle draw dates will be every Thursday at 8:30 pm starting April 1st, 2021. Special thanks to TELECO as a supporter for the first draw.

Lottery License: RAF1201852

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The Snowmobiles Of Today Are Different!

BY SCOTT A. SUMNER

Thunder Bay BUSINESS It was the winter of 1968 in Manitouwadge,Ontario. This is where I grew up. My father was a mining engineer at Noranda Mines, which was a booming enterprise then.

Quite often my Dad and I would go ice fishing in nearby lakes. One cold weekend

we could get a Ski Doo. He decided it would be fun and in the fall of 1969 we drove to Bagdon’s Esso in White River to pick up a brand new 1969 Ski Doo Olympic 12.3. It cost $695.00 and was the coolest thing I had ever seen. There were many rides in the Manitouwadge area after that, sometimes on the ice fishing trips with my Dad and a neighbour Sylvio Chartrand, who had built a sleigh to pull

2021 Polaris Matryx sleds at J & J Sports Thunder Bay! we were walking in to the lake when this bright yellow machine drove up to us. It was Carson Hoy, a mine employee and

trapper my Dad knew. He was riding his brand new 1968 Ski Doo Olympic 16 HP on route to his trap line.

My eyes lit up when Carson asked me if I wanted a ride. I immediately yelled YES. That ride was all I needed to get me hooked on the sport of snowmobiling. I was 11 then and through the summer I remember asking my Dad many times if

for us. It was fun!

The sport is changing but still fun. Today’s sleds are amazing. The technology has advanced so much. They are light with elaborate suspensions and high tech engines. I love it.

The trend today for snowmobiles is to become narrower, like a motocross bike, to allow the rider to maneuvur more easily and control the sled especially off trail.

Another trend in the industry are elaborate larger engines and better instrumentation.

All this has resulted in much higher pricing where a top level sled now can easily cost over $20,000 with taxes. That is a far

way from my beginnings in snowmobiling over 50 years ago. Of course once you get into the sport it’s one you do for life!

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