Welcome and thank you for visiting the Omemee Business & Community Improvement Association (O.B.C.I.A.) web site!

My name is Betty Lou Pelling and I am the president of the O.B.C.I.A. I am a life long citizen of Omemee. I would like to tell you about our Village. We are nestled in the valley between Lindsay and Peterborough, on Highway #7 of the Trans Canada Highway, with the Pigeon River running through with lots of good fishing.

We have everything to offer here a grocery store, pharmacy, eateries, convenience stores, bank, post office, L.C.B.O., library, gift shops and antiques, hairdressers, hardware store, Legion, garages, car lots, veterinary clinic, schools, churches, curling club and arena. In the future a medical centre and hopefully soon, be part of the Trans Canada Rail Trail all within walking distance. We are fortunate in our Community to have lots of volunteers to make things happen. Omemee is proud to boast that we have the Omemee & District Lions, Omemee & District Lioness, Masons, Omemee & District Historical Society, and Omemee & District Horticultural Society.

We have a rich history here, as in any place. Lady Eaton grew up here and left some buildings, which she had built and donated to the Community to enjoy.

Coronation Hall, 1911, where many plays, dances, dinners, shows and other community events have been hosted and continu e to happen. Also, the well kno wn singer, Neil Young, spent his younger days growing up here and comes back to visit as did his father, Scott Young, who did some of his writing in Omemee, some about our community. Omemee is also home to the Harry Brown Royal Canadian Legion, Branch #497.

In 2002, some of our merchants decided that we needed to do something that would stop the many vehicles that travel through Omemee, to visit, shop or browse. At this time, some interested people put their thoughts together and the wheels started turning as to what needed to be done to make Omemee a better place to live, work and do business. Of course, the merchants couldn t do this alone, the whole community needed to get involved, so the O.B.C.I.A. was founded. There are many things to be considered to revitalize the Community of Omemee. To start the process, a Board of Directors was formed and the O.B.C.I.A. became a not-for-profit corporation. This was done so that we could look for funding dollars to move the revitalization process forward. We found out about the Main Street Project through the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). One of their Economic Development Consultants, Judy Coward, came and spoke to the O.B.C.I.A. about the program. This looked like a great way to go, but once again partners and dollars were needed. OMAFRA engaged an architect, Sean Kelly from Stempski, Kelly and Associates, to analyze the situation in Omemee. Sean then created schematic drawings to present to the O.B.C.I.A. and the community to show what could be done if the O.B.C.I.A. decided to move forward with this project.

There were surveys completed by both businesses and the community in general as well as data collected to see where and what the priorities were. Of course, O.B.C.I.A. needed someone to co-ordinate all this information. Volunteers can only go so far, so once again, dollars were needed for a co-ordinator. O.B.C.I.A. are proud to say that they have received funding from one of our partners, Kawartha Lakes Community Futures Development Corporation. O.B.C.I.A. also approached the Omemee Legacy/C.H.E.S.T Fund Committee, who are working hard to make sure the money the Community received from the sale of Omemee Hydro to Hydro One is well spent to leave a Legacy for future generations. They consented to help us. Now the O.B.C.I.A. is working with the City of Kawartha Lakes in putting our Strategic Plan together, which outlines the community s wishes into Action Plans. O.B.C.I.A. is now at the stage of implementing these actions in order to make Omemee a better place to live, visit, work and do business, which is also, as stated in the Mission Statement, our mandate.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to visit and read about our Community. The

O.B.C.I.A. hope you might, some day, visit us in person to see what a friendly placeOmemee really is. Hope to see you soon!

Yours in friendship!

Betty Lou Pelling President

O.B.C.I.A.