Three Women from Oxford County Have Won the "Spark" Mentorships and Grants Program

Tuesday, 19 January 2021 11:38

Aggie Armstrong (Contemporary Art Workshops)

Aggie Armstrong, Cheryl Haskett and Kelly Goodwin beat out 8 other local entrepreneurs for a $3,000 grant and will be connected with a mentor to help their tourism vision become a reality.

OXFORD COUNTY - Three local entrepreneurs have been awarded a $3,000 grant through the "Spark" Mentorships and Grants Program.

On top of the money, the trio will also be partnered with a mentor to help them with their vision. The program is a partnership between the Ontario Tourism Innovation Lab, Southwest Ontario Tourism Corporation, Tourism Oxford, and Community Futures Oxford.

Tourism Specialist with Tourism Oxford Meredith Maywood says 8 people submitted an application for the grant program.

"This is a program that comes into communities to come and pitch the next exciting tourism idea. So basically people came forward in the fall and pitched their ideas. 5 were selected as finalist and 3 were chosen to receive grants and mentorship to help make their new tourism ideas a reality.

They held a virtual pitch session on January 7th and the panel of judges selected the following 3 winners:

- Aggie Armstrong, who is a Contemporary Artist who offers workshops on her farm property.

- Cheryl Haskett, the owner of Udderly Ridiculous a local goats milk ice cream that is manufactured in the area.

- Kelly Goodwin who is an avid cyclist with the Woodstock Cycling Club Ladies of the Pine.

Stay tuned for more details about the ideas, the three entrepreneurs are developing at this time. They are in the early stages at this time and Tourism Oxford will release more information when they are ready to launch.

Maywood adds these entrepreneurs really demonstrate the creativity and the opportunity that is available in tourism in Oxford County.

"Congratulations to the three winning innovative entrepreneurs! We look forward to seeing their new tourism ideas grow and develop in Oxford County. Made possible through the support of FedDev Ontario and Southwestern Ontario Tourism Corporation, the “Spark” mentorship program is an excellent opportunity to support tourism development in Oxford."

Program Lead for the Ontario Tourism Innovation Lab Justin Lafontaine wanted to congratulate the 3 winners.

"We congratulate the 3 winners of the Oxford County Spark Program, and are excited to work with them to help develop new and exciting tourism initiatives in the region."