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Celebrating 40 years of supporting our community.
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
10:00 A.M. – 2:00 P.M. - catered complimentary lunch & refreshments
Carriage Hall & Event Centre
265 5th St, Hanover, ON N4N 3X3
Featuring guest speaker Eddie LeMoine
Workforce Capacity Strategist & Award-Winning Keynote Speaker
Eddie LeMoine is a Workforce Capacity Strategist and award-winning leadership keynote speaker who helps organizations solve critical workforce challenges, including recruitment pressure, retention risk, productivity constraints, and AI-driven capacity opportunities.
Beyond Headcount: Build More Capacity With the Team You Already Have
A few hours away from the business should send you back with ideas worth using. Beyond Headcount is designed for owners and leaders facing a familiar problem: the work keeps growing, good people are difficult to find, and the team is already carrying a heavy load.
Workforce Capacity Strategist Eddie LeMoine will show how organizations can create more capacity without treating another hire as the only answer. The session explores how clearer leadership, stronger engagement and better use of people's natural strengths can improve the way work gets done and support retention.
It will also expand the search for resources beyond the traditional job posting and examine where practical AI, automation and everyday technology can remove repetitive work. This is not about asking people to work harder. It is about reducing friction, making work easier and giving people more room to contribute where they create the most value.
The keynote is part of SEDC's 40th Anniversary Celebration on Thursday, October 22, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Carriage Hall and Event Centre in Hanover. A catered complimentary lunch and refreshments are included.
RSVP to bobbi@sbdc.ca by October 14.
Kourtney Spang - The Barking Brew
RELEASE DATE: October 9, 2026
What does it take to build a successful business from the ground up? Entrepreneur Kourtney Spang of The Barking Brew shares her insights in our latest podcast episode.
About this episode:
The hardest part wasn’t making the product. It was educating people on what it actually was. I talked with Courtney Spang, founder of The Barking Brew, about building a brand that looks playful on the outside—but is very real in the market. Her product started with a simple idea: a non-alcoholic, shelf-stable, beef-bone-broth beverage for dogs and cats. But turning that idea into a business meant learning fast. She had to find manufacturers. Reformulate when the original product was too strong for indoor hospitality spaces. Solve trucking, pasteurization, packaging, temperature control, and logistics. At one point, a fan belt blew on a rented truck during her first run. So she did what founders do—she fixed it and kept going. What stayed with me most was this: The product may get attention. But the brand earns trust by showing up in the right places, with the right message, and enough grit to keep educating people until they understand it. That takes patience. And a thick skin. Maybe that’s the real business.
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Podcast Links:
Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywnaDHLSa0Y&list=PLsJYf5F0RDLmvgYlqdkbkifFIeL6f3CN0&index=11&t=600s
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/33Ljd0WNZNlEUJjsOWVbpQ
Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/partnerships-that-work/id1896269457?i=1000789084442
SEDC exists to promote sustainable economic and social development throughout, Arran-Elderslie, Chatsworth, Brockton,
Grey Highlands, Hanover, Minto, South Bruce, Southgate, Wellington North and West Grey.
After a very successful 6th summer, Saugeen Connects wishes to thank the sponsors,
participants and contributors who made this summer’s 2025 Student Start-Up Program possible!
FedDev Ontario has launched the Regional Defence Investment Initiative (RDII), a $357.7 million national program supporting southern Ontario businesses in accessing domestic and international defence supply chains. The initiative helps companies with dual-use products or those pivoting into the defence sector build innovation and growth capacity.
