{"id":26341,"date":"2020-04-09T18:50:34","date_gmt":"2020-04-09T22:50:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=26341"},"modified":"2020-04-09T18:50:41","modified_gmt":"2020-04-09T22:50:41","slug":"town-chamber-team-up-on-business-continuity-task-force","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/town-chamber-team-up-on-business-continuity-task-force\/","title":{"rendered":"Town, Chamber team up on Business Continuity Task Force"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The COVID-19 pandemic has upended operations for\ncountless businesses \u2013 large and small \u2013 across the country, and, here at home,\nbusiness leaders are lending their expertise to help businesses make sure they\ncan open their doors again once normalcy returns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Town of Aurora and the Aurora Chamber of Commerce\nhave announced the establishment of the Aurora Business Continuity Task Force,\nwhich will bring together business professionals with global, national and\nlocal experience to \u201chelp find creative ways to assist Aurora\u2019s small\nbusinesses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI recognize these are challenging times for our local\nbusinesses and we are committed to actively helping our residents and\nbusinesses during this pandemic,\u201d said Mayor Tom Mrakas in a statement. \u201cThe\nTown has already announced tax and water bill deferral programs for those in\nneed to ease demands on the community. While this is a small offering during a\ntime of great need, it is something that we can do quickly and within our local\nauthority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis pandemic will likely be impacting us for several\nweeks and businesses will need support from community leaders to steer them\nthrough this uncharted territory. To that end, with the support of the Aurora\nChamber of Commerce, we will be assembling a task force of business and\ncommunity leaders to focus on our local economy and the small businesses that\nare the backbone of Aurora. As a group, we will be looking for creative and\ninnovative ways to support local businesses and help them through these\nchallenging times.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These were sentiments echoed by Sandra Ferri, President\n&amp; CEO of the Aurora Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI am pleased to launch this much-needed task force\nwithin the Town of Aurora to support our local businesses through this global\nhealth crisis. The Chamber and the Town recognize the challenges that local\nbusinesses are facing and we have made it a priority to ensure this task force\nlooks at all possible supports available to businesses. We care about the\nhealth and welfare of our business community and by collaborating together we\nare a stronger voice on behalf of local businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Membership in the Aurora Business Continuity Task Force\nincludes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Aaron McCarthy, Executive Vice President &amp; Chief Human Resource Officer, Magna<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Al Wilson, Vice Chair, Aurora Chamber of Commerce<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Debra Wilson, Chair, Aurora Chamber of Commerce<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Councillor Harold Kim<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Joanne Russo, Chair, Aurora BIA<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Marilee Harris, Vice Chair, Economic Development Corporation<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Nicolas Fidei, President, Treasure Hill<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Raz Khamissa, Business Owner, Omars Shoes and Clothing<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Sam Palmerio, Manager \u2013 Government Relations, Desjardins<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Sandra Ferri, President &amp; CEO, Aurora Chamber of Commerce<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Tim Hammill, Chair, Economic Development Corporation<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Mayor Tom Mrakas <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI just want to give the perspective of an independent,\nsmall retailer,\u201d says Mr. Khamissa. \u201cI think having that voice is good for\npeople to realize our side of the story. There are a lot of companies that are\nable to send their workers home and they can still get things done. Little guys\nlike us can\u2019t send everybody home because that is who we are. I am hoping that\nby being added onto this task force that I can give a different perspective\nthat some people might not necessarily have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Task Force is expected to meet regularly by video\nconference and members of the public can also get involved by providing\nfeedback directly to Mayor Mrakas at tmrakas@aurora.ca. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEvery idea is worth considering, no matter how small or\nlarge the potential impact,\u201d says the Town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information, visit aurora.ca\/businesstaskforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>By Brock Weir<\/strong><\/p>\n\r\n<a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-24 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-facebook nolightbox\" data-provider=\"facebook\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Share on Facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newspapers-online.com%2Fauroran%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F26341&#038;t=Town%2C%20Chamber%20team%20up%20on%20Business%20Continuity%20Task%20Force&#038;s=100&#038;p&#091;url&#093;=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newspapers-online.com%2Fauroran%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F26341&#038;p&#091;images&#093;&#091;0&#093;=&#038;p&#091;title&#093;=Town%2C%20Chamber%20team%20up%20on%20Business%20Continuity%20Task%20Force\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:24px;height:24px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px;margin-right:5px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Facebook\" title=\"Share on Facebook\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-share\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"display: inline;width:24px;height:24px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/48x48\/facebook.png\" \/><\/a><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-24 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-twitter nolightbox\" data-provider=\"twitter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Share on Twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newspapers-online.com%2Fauroran%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F26341&#038;text=Like%3F\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:24px;height:24px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px;margin-right:5px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"twitter\" title=\"Share on Twitter\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-share\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"display: inline;width:24px;height:24px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/48x48\/twitter.png\" \/><\/a><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-24 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-mail nolightbox\" data-provider=\"mail\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Share by email\" href=\"mailto:?subject=Town%2C%20Chamber%20team%20up%20on%20Business%20Continuity%20Task%20Force&#038;body=Like%3F:%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newspapers-online.com%2Fauroran%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F26341\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:24px;height:24px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"mail\" title=\"Share by email\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-share\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"display: inline;width:24px;height:24px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/48x48\/mail.png\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The COVID-19 pandemic has upended operations for countless businesses \u2013 large and small \u2013 across the country, and, here at home, business leaders are lending their expertise to help businesses make sure they can open their doors again once normalcy returns. The Town of Aurora and the Aurora Chamber of Commerce have announced the establishment [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-6QR","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-13 15:16:34","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26341\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}