Paro Centre Celebrates 108 Circles
by Scott A. Sumner
The Enterprising Women
2017 Winners
New Business of the year Amber Kivisto and Miranda Lock from Bionorth
Solutions Inc.
Young Entrepreneur of the year Ashley Janzen Ephesians Designs
Change Maker Entrepreneur of the year Anne-Marie Calonego from Prime
Gelato
Established Business of the year Valerie Midley of the Whole Nine Yards
PARO Building Bridges of the year Loraine Reguly of Wording Well
PARO Partner of the year Women's Economic Council
Woman Leader of the year Jennifer Horton of Curvy Chick
PARO Fundraising Circle award the Borderland Babes
I asked two of the winning companies about their products.
Change Maker Entrepreneur of the Year
Anne Marie Calonego President of Prime Gelato
“We have been open almost 1 1/2 years at the corner of Cumberland and Red River Road and face the waterfront. Prime Gelato makes fresh gelato from scratch using as many local ingredients as possible. We use local milk from this region, blueberries, local honey, flour for our waffle cones and local beer.”
“ We trained with the gelato university in Italy so we can make authentic gelato the way they used to make it from fresh natural ingredients. Primme Gelato is a licensed dairy plant so that we are
able to sell our gelato pints outside of our store. To date we supply 13 different stores locally and want to eventually sell gelato in Southern Ontario.”
“ There has been good growth since we started. In March we were able to sell gelato outside of our location. Right now we have 12 people working and about 20 in the summer.The store has opening windows which makes us feel more connected to the Waterfront and downtown.”
“ It is very exciting being an entrepreneur and also very busy. I also have three kids, 5 and under, which makes it difficult to keep a work life balance.”
New Business of the Year
Amber Kivisto and Miranda Lock of BioNorth Soloutions
“Our product is a spill kit that has bacteria in it used to clean up oil spills. Typically people dig up a contaminated area and bring it to the land fill relocating the problem and not solving it. Our approach
it to eat the oil with micro bacteria and break it down to carbon dioxide and water. It is a lot better for the environment and a lot easier to use. You just rake the product into the soil and it begins to work.
There are other companies that have the product but it works best at over 30 celsius. Our product works from 15 to freezing.”
“Miranda developed the product with 14 years experience and doing a PHD at Lakehead University. We met doing the PHD programs. We can have up to 4 part time employees.”
“ We are hanging in there. Our product is new and requires customer education but we are starting to get some good clients like Resolute and Musslewhite Mine. It is a natural product that we had to figure out
ways to break down solvates with not the acid drainage. There is a lot of potential for us in Canada and other Northern climates like Finland.”
