NewsNow Podcast

Episode 20: Handling Specialty Royal Caribbean Contract ft. Tom Beach

Handling Specialty is a Grimsby-based company that manufacture all sort of custom material handling machines. This means more than just shipping lifts however. As this week's guest, Tom Beach, president of Handling Specialty explains, his company works in a diverse number of fields. This includes entertainment, aerospace and more.

On this episode, Beach talks about contract his company has to create world-class, custom water-stages for entertainment events on Royal Caribbean's new line of cruise ships. All this work and design is done by folks from right here in West Niagara who work at Handling Specialty.

For more stories from West Niagara, visit us by following this link.

Episode 19: The Niagara Gateway Information Centre ft. Brian Purdy

Although Summer is already beginning to wane, Niagara tourism is still going strong.

For most tourists coming from the GTA area and beyond, Grimsby is the first stop before heading into the rest of the region. That's what makes the Niagara Gateway Information Centre so perfectly placed. The tourism info centre sits right at the entrance to the Niagara Gateway building and exists to help direct visitors from all over towards various sites through out the Niagara Region.

Brian Purdy has run the info centre since it first launched in 2017, and has his fingers on the pulse of all things Niagara Tourism. This week he sat with Mike to share what the Centre will be doing now that it's reopened.

Episode 18: Sessanta Miglia ft. Rob Hattin

The 7th annual Sessanta Miglia exotic car drive has come and sped off into the sunset for another year. However, 2021 will remain a particularly special year, not only because it's one of the first large events as the Covid Pandemic fades, but also because this year the event raised more than $125,000 for the WLMH.

To get a sneak peek under the hood, Mike invited on Sessanta co-founder and yearly organizer Rob Hattin to run through the highlights.

This episode is a supplement to a story that was originally printed in the Aug 12 edition of NewsNow, which can be read here.

Episode 17: Motors N' Music Festival lookahead ft. Ron Baker

West Niagara's newest car festival pulls into Grimsby's Southward Park this Labour Day weekend. Motor N' Music will be an event that combines a car show with a music festival and will be full of fun for the whole family.

For this episode, Mike invites on Ron Baker, the man behind this new festival as well as other car shows across the Golden Horseshoe to give listeners a peek under the hood of this new event.

This episode is a supplement to a story originally published in the NewsNow August 5 edition.

 

Episode 16: The New Lincoln Museum & Cultural Centre ft. Jasmine Proteau

The new Lincoln Museum & Cultural Centre building in Jordan is finally completed and open to the public. Residents can explore the state of the art facility and its tremendous collection, as well as once again visit the Jordan Schoolhouse and the Fry Family House.

Lincoln exhibitions and collections curator Jasmine Proteau came on the podcast this episode to recount the saga of building the museum building, consolidating its 14,000 piece collection into a state-of-the-art archive, and as well as give a verbal tour of the new facility's exhibition.

This episode is a supplement to a story originally published in NewsNow.

Episode 15: Comedy Nights in Grimsby ft. David Green

Comedy is coming to Grimsby! The DIA has teamed up with Garden City comic David Green to put on a series of weekly, outdoor comedy shows in Coronation Park. Anyone looking for a good laugh can come down to the park on Wednesdays from 7 to 8 p.m. Bring your own chair, of course!

These shows feature a line-up of veteran stand-up comedians who have been featured on shows like Just for Laughs, the Debaters, and many other venues.

This was all possible thanks to David Green, who leveraged his network from a long career in funny business to get these comics on board.

In this episode, David discusses the inaugural Comedy Night in Grimsby with Mike, as well as its bright future.

For more on this upcoming event, check out NewsNow's coverage by following this link.

Episode 14: Nelles Manor Re-opening ft. Linda and Barry Coutts

As the province gears up to re-open so too is the Nelles Manor Museum. Plans are already underway for the Museum to offer tours starting July 31 and special events starting in August.

In this episode, Mike invites on Linda and Barry Coutts, the owners and custodians of the heritage museum house to give some previews of the upcoming re-opening.

To read more about Nelles Manor and its past special events, visit: wn3.ca

Episode 13: Funding announcement for PK Centre & WLMH RFP

Following an announcement that the Province will make a $16 million grant to Grimsby for an expansion to the Peach Kings Centre,  Minister of Infrastructure Kinga Surma and Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff joined Mike in the NewsNow office to discuss what the new grant means for Niagara West.

During the conversation, Mike and his guests also touch on the news that the WLMH pre-construction process is in the homestretch now that a shortlist of companies for RFPs has been selected by the Province.

To read more on the Hospital announcement, check out our story here.

Episode 12: All things WLMH ft. Dr. Gary Benson

Today, Canada Day 2021, also marks the release of NewsNow's special edition One Team, One Dream magazine. The publication is a 64-page volume that celebrates the history of the West Lincoln Memorial Hospital- and the hope for its future.

To further the Hospital theme, Mike invited on Dr. Gary Benson. The retired doctor has been with WLMH for much of the institution's history and he shared this unique perspective for this episode.

To further explore the history and impact of WLMH, be sure to read NewsNow's One Team, One Dream, available now!

Episode 11: Big Brothers Big Sisters events ft. Nicole Boccia

Big Brothers Big Sisters of North and West Niagara is on the hunt for mentors. The organization have a number of boys signed up who have yet to match with a Big and its looking to equalize the situation.

In this episode, Mike chats with BBBS Marketing & Communications officer Nicole Boccia about how her organizations is reaching out to potential male mentors through the '30 Guys in 30 Days' campaign.

They also discuss the various fundraising events BBBS has undertaken and what events are coming up as the province continues to re-open.

For a look into how BBBS mentorship relationships change lives, read 'BBBS searches for 30 in 30' in the June 24, 2021 edition of NewsNow or online by visiting: https://www.wn3.ca/2021/06/25/bbbs-searches-for-30-in-30/