Untitled - Waterfront BIA

TABIA MILESTONES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
• With the introduction of the new Toronto Act TABIA will play a role in helping to develop the new bylaw
concerning the mandate and operation of BIAs.
Ongoing Programs
Educating Main Street – With the assistance of the Ministry of Education, Universities and Colleges
and the technical expertise of Seneca College, TABIA now has a four course program that your BIA can
deliver to your on street membership. The four courses are designed with a focus on main street
merchants and include topics such as: Internal and External Theft, Marketing your Business, Human
Resources, Hiring and Firing.
In partnership with the City of Toronto BIA office an updated version of our well-received BIA
Operating Handbook will be available soon. It acts as a quick reference resource on the day to day
operations of a BIA.
The TABIA Citywide Campaign gives member BIAs the opportunity to promote themselves and their
events in their local media at a substantial savings. This is all made possible through careful
negotiations with the media and the generous assistance of our corporate sponsors (the City of Toronto,
Scotia Bank and Green P Parking). TABIA has engaged Plural, a marketing management, research and
consulting firm, to develop programs to enhance promotion of BIA member events (see page 20).
Breakfast Meetings offer an informal venue for members to meet and learn. Each meeting offers an
informative speaker, a light breakfast and an opportunity to chat with fellow members. Guest speakers
have included Mayor David Miller and Mike “Pinball” Clemons from The Toronto Argonauts.
In our continued efforts to provide BIAs with the tools to strengthen themselves, TABIA, with the
assistance of a grant from the Toronto BIA office, has launched a pilot of a GPS powered database in
two BIAs. This member sustained initiative will be available to all BIAs in mid 2007 thus allowing them
to have the base information needed to engage in retail mix initiatives/strategy (see page 17).
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