A business development coordinator has been hired to facilitate the Town of Minto’s creative business incubator initiative.
Mayor George Bridge announced at the Feb. 3 council meeting that Minto native Karisa Downey (formerly Karisa Ross) has been hired for the position, which is funded jointly by the town and the Minto Chamber of Commerce.
Downey, a Palmerston resident, previously worked with the chamber as a co-op student.
She studied community recreation and leisure studies at Brock University, minoring in public administration and is currently studying human resources management at Conestoga College
The business incubator will assist start-up businesses during the first years of operation by providing such services as affordable rental space, shared resources and management and organizational training.
The coordinator’s duties include community outreach, recruitment activity and soliciting and reviewing applications by prospective incubator tenants.
Also at the Feb. 3 meeting, the town approved appointment of a board of directors for the incubator project.
Directors include Hope Robertson, Glen Hall, Ralph Drost, Nichola McEwan, Andrew Gowan, Shannon Duff, Randy Ruetz and councillor Mary Lou Colwell.
The board’s mandate is to provide recommendations to council on strategic direction and ongoing projects, with the goal of becoming a separate entity by Dec. 31, 2014.
