Mental Health in the Workplace Breakfast Workshop – Oct 12/23

In recognition of World Mental Health Day, the Blue Mountains Chamber of Commerce proudly partnered with Alta Vista Planning Partners and Bruce Wine Bar on October 12, 2o23 to present a Mental Health in the Workplace Breakfast Workshop. Members of the local business community joined us for a morning of education, connection and discussion as our panel of speakers shared strategies and resources for fostering a psychologically well workplace.

The morning kicked off with Erin Fordham, VP of Employee Benefits at Alta Vista, who provided simple and effective ways to champion a mentally healthy workforce. She also outlined valuable resources that are part of the Chambers Plan group benefits coverage and which help employers attract, retain and support an engaged and flourishing team. Next we heard from Paola Accettola, Founder and CEO of True North HR Consulting, who explained how a robust, clearly communicated mental health program can ultimately result in higher productivity and innovation, significant cost savings, and improved employee well-being, job satisfaction and loyalty. Rounding out the panel was Dr. Jennifer Fawcett, a multifaceted health care professional and owner of Bayside Wellness, who shared her personal story of overcoming obstacles and drawing strength from enormous challenges to thrive as a mother, entrepreneur and inspiring leader of her team.

Topping it all off was a truly decadent breakfast (so much incredible food!), generously provided by Bruce Wine Bar and complemented by delicious coffee and tea from Good Grief Coffee Roasters. An enormous thank you to our sponsors, Property Valet and Lighthouse Group, who helped make the morning possible, and to Turner Hospitality Group, Business Development Bank of Canada, Alta Vista Planning and Property Valet for donating fantastic raffle prizes to some very happy winners. Adding the perfect touch to the day was a wonderful self-care gift, provided to each attendee by Bayside Wellness and Grey 13 Wellness, who have recently partnered to open a new location in Clarksburg. Our gratitude to Nicole Paara, member of the BMCC Board of Directors and co-owner of Bruce Wine Bar, for being our MC for the event.

And a special thank you to Alexa Jackson of Alexa Jackson Creative. Alexa offers branding, photography, social media content creation and coaching services to help small businesses create a strong online presence in their marketing, and she generously donated her time and talents to photographing the event.