10-plus Years of Ambassadorial Excellence
The following explores Team Cornwall’s history via a timeline.
| 1996 | Bob Peters, at the current time the Economic Development Officer for the City of Cornwall, comes up with the idea of Team Cornwall. He is promoting the City at a trade show. Nearby are economic development officials from Iowa, who are promoting the fact that the movie Field of Dreams was shot in their region. They are using baseball-card themed business cards.Peters envisions a similar program for Cornwall, but on much broader and longer term scale. Instead of municipal officials using the cards, local business leaders would become goodwill ambassadors for the City. |
| 1996 | Bob Peters runs the idea before Paul Fitzpatrick, Manager of Economic Development, who suggests private sector leadership. The idea is pitched to Terry Landon, owner of Re/Max Cornwall Realty, who is looking to attract new companies to take up vacant industrial and commercial space. Landon likes the idea and suggests the input of others. He brings up the idea at a round-table session on economic renewal being hosted by the Chamber of Commerce. Chamber members Paul Lefebvre (Best Western Parkway Inn), Bryan Merkley (Academy of Learning) and George Assaly (Jay-Gee Shoes) are among those who are asked to help develop the program further. |
| 1996 | The Cornwall Chamber of Commerce is approached for support. Executive Manager Lezlie Strasser immediately offers administrative assistance. |
| 1996 | Terry Landon heads the business group exploring the idea of Team Cornwall. Their first priorities are to develop the parameters of the program and to seek members. |
| 1997 | Team Cornwall is included in the annual budget of Cornwall Economic Development as a supported program . |
| 1997 | Team Cornwall is publicly unveiled at the Chamber’s Economic Renewal Committee meeting on February 19th. |
| 1997 | Rick Eamon, Cornwall Chamber President, is made Honourary Team Captain. |
| 1997 | Paul Lefebvre is elected the first official chair of Team Cornwall. |
| 1997 | The first batch of 36 Team Cornwall cards roll off the presses in March. The cards are designed by local ad agency Persuasive Design. Included in this first batch are André Pommier, Phil Lamarche, Denis Thibault, Brian Hunt, Nick Gray, Denis Carr, Bruce Maynard, Rich Shaver, Diane Wallace, Helmut Kolbinger, Carolyn Dexter, Brian Sylvester and Peter Padbury. |
| 1997 | The inaugural meeting of Team Cornwall is held on March 19th, 1997. 150 people attend – 122 commit to joining the team. The inaugural themes are “Gathering the Region’s Best” and “Together we can do it”. The meeting is started off with a song titled “This Town Was Made for You and Me”, written and performed by Ernie Seguin, then principal of St. John Bosco school. |
| 1997 | More Team Cornwall cards are printed. Distributing new cards are Peter Gault, Bob Kilger, Jim McClennan, Susan Carter, John Markell, Claude Macintosh, Mark Smelko and Rory MacLennan – to name just a few!. |
| 1998 | George Assaly is elected the second chair of Team Cornwall. |
| 1998 | Team Cornwall meeting are held quarterly, and new companies investing in the City are welcomed publicly, helping to ease their establishment in the City. |
| 1999 | John Diviniski is elected the third chair of Team Cornwall. |
| 2001 | Gilles Latour is elected chair of Team Cornwall. |
| 2001 | Economic Development manager Paul Fitzpatrick addresses the team on local economic activity. It is the first of what is to become an annual “Year in Review” report. |
| 2002 | The official website of Team Cornwall, TeamCornwall.com, is launched. |
| 2002 | Olympic gold medalist Lori Dupuis is made Honourary Team Captain. |
| 2002 | PriceWaterhouseCoopers, one of Canada’s leading consultancy firms, recognizes Team Cornwall as a “highly successful ambassador program” whose “credibility is tremendous”. |
| 2002 | Prime Minister Jean Chretien is made an Honourary Team member. |
| 2003 | World-class gymnast and future Olympian Melanie Banville is made Honourary Team Captain. |
| 2005 | New members continue to join Team Cornwall, pushing the membership over 250. Team Cornwall cards can be found in the hands of people on several continents. |
| 2006 | Prime Minister Stephen Harper is made an Honourary Team member. |
| 2006 | CTV legend Max Keeping is made an Honourary Team member. |
| 2006 | Team Cornwall celebrates its 10th year anniversary. |
| 2009 | Astronaut Andrew Feustel is made an Honourary Team member. |
| 2011 | Boxer Tony Luis is made an Honourary Team member. |
| 2011 | Broadcaster Kurt Stoodley is made an Honourary Team member. |
| 2012 | Soccer star Christina Julien is made an Honourary Team member. |
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