The Leaders Corner
From Your Co-Leads Laurie Harley & Vlad Haltigin
It’s hard to believe we’ve
already completed a third of the 2026 season!
Visitor traffic is
increasing, the summer temperatures are returning, and we’re saying “goodbye”
to rainy days (we hope!).
From the NOTL In Bloom
weekend in May until the end of June, you engaged with over 21,500 people. That’s an increase of 17% compared to the
same period last year. While the numbers are impressive, it’s the quality of
those connections that matter the most in creating lasting memories and extraordinary
experiences for visitors.
Thanks to the Mentorship
Team, our new cohort of Ambassadors is fully trained and “on the street”. Ongoing learning continues at a record pace
with 18 sites visited by the end of June, and more planned over the
summer. We’ve experienced everything
from historic walks, to wineries, to Niagara Takes Flight, to a lavender farm
and introductions to the story of honey bees.
The line-up of things to learn about in NOTL never ceases to amaze us!
Speaking of learning, it’s time for us to
gather feedback on how we’re doing, share our experiences, and talk about
what’s planned for the remainder of the season.
Mark your calendars for Wednesday,
August 5, from 2 until 3:30 pm for the mid-season Ambassador Checkpoint
meeting. You told us after last year’s
meeting it was good to share experiences during the season and we valued the
feedback we received. The meeting will be
virtual so you can join in from wherever you are. Watch for an email with an invitation and
link closer to the event.
As we head into the busy
summer season, it’s also time to say “thank you” for the 1,500 volunteer hours
you’ve already donated to the Ambassador Team.
To recognize your contributions, we’re introducing a new initiative -
the “Stars on the Street” Draw. If
you volunteered for a shift between May 8 and June 28, your name was entered into the Draw. Our new “Wheel of Names” declared
our first winner: Congratulations
Joan Coyne! You’ll be receiving a
gift bottle from Konzelmann’s Estate Winery plus some fun “swag”.
It’s also time for us to recognize
our first “Ambassador of the Month”.
Congratulations go to Lin Slee whose contributions since the
launch of the season have been exceptional.
Read more about Lin’s story later in this edition.
And a final word of thanks to
Josh Lennox. Last month we welcomed him
to the Tourism NOTL Team for the summer. Since then, he’s been busy helping
Ambassadors during shifts and filling cancellations and openings. From all of us, Josh, thank you for your
support.
As
always, we look forward to seeing you on the street!
Laurie laurieharley24@gmail.com
Vlad vhalt@cogeco.ca
