Annapolis Valley Chamber of Commerce

09/09/2026

🏆 WHO DESERVES THEIR MOMENT? 🏆

Every year, the Annapolis Valley Business Awards give us a chance to stop and recognize something we don’t celebrate nearly enough: the people behind the businesses and organizations that make this region what it is.

They’re creating jobs. Taking risks. Serving customers. Supporting community events. Sponsoring teams. Mentoring others. Reinventing themselves when things get difficult. And, in countless ways, making the Annapolis Valley a better place to live and do business.

We need your help finding them.

Nominations are now open for the 2026 Annapolis Valley Business Awards, and we want to hear from YOU.

Think about the businesses and people you’ve encountered this year.

Who impressed you?

Who went above and beyond?

Who is building something special?

Who deserves to hear, “We see what you’re doing, and it matters”?

Nominate them.

And please don’t assume someone else already has.

A nomination can be a surprisingly powerful thing. It puts a business or entrepreneur forward for recognition, gives them an opportunity to tell their story, and lets the people behind the work know that somebody noticed.

Self-nominations are welcome, too. If you and your team have worked hard, grown, adapted, contributed to your community or accomplished something you’re proud of, we want to hear your story.

🏆 NOMINATE FOR A 2026 ANNAPOLIS VALLEY BUSINESS AWARD

https://annapolisvalleychamber.ca/chambe.../business-awards/

Let’s fill this year’s nominations with the businesses, entrepreneurs, organizations and leaders who make the Annapolis Valley extraordinary.

The Annapolis Valley Chamber of Commerce hosts our annual Business Awards celebrating nominees from our business community. Businesses are nominated from six separate categories: New Business of the Year, Micro Business of the Year, Small Business of the Year, Large Business of the Year, Entrepreneu...

09/04/2026

**Okay, Valley. What do you want to get better at this fall?** 👇

🖥️ **Marketing your business?**
Content Marketing with AI | Starts Sept. 16

📈 **Managing your books?**
QuickBooks | Starts Sept. 17

👥 **Managing your people?**
HR Resources for Small Business | Starts Sept. 24

💬 **Leading your team?**
Communications for Supervisors | Starts Sept. 24

Four practical Workplace Education programs.

**30–40 hours of training. Experienced instructors. Practical skills you can put to work. And no cost to participants.**

Virtual and in-person options are available.

Which one would make the biggest difference in your work right now?

👉 Register now:
https://forms.gle/fUJ1gMZt4tnQ8Wbi9

Space is limited.

09/03/2026

**So... who's teaching you to turn AI into your personal marketing assistant?** 🖥️

Meet **Georges Hanna.**

Georges is a Halifax-based business coach, corporate trainer and entrepreneur who specializes in helping people turn big business ideas into practical strategies they can actually use.

And that's exactly the point of **Content Marketing with AI.**

This isn't about becoming an AI expert.

It's about becoming better at marketing your business by learning how to use AI to generate ideas, strengthen your messaging, create better content and streamline some of the work that keeps landing on your plate.

You'll get **30 hours of practical training PLUS individual 1:1 time with Georges** to apply what you're learning to your own business.

📅 Starts September 16
⏰ Wednesdays | 1:00–4:30 p.m.
💻 Virtual
💰 No cost to participate

👉 Register now:
https://forms.gle/fUJ1gMZt4tnQ8Wbi9

09/02/2026

💬 **Congratulations! You're the supervisor.**

Now go give someone difficult feedback, resolve a conflict, motivate the team, set some boundaries and have that conversation you've been avoiding since Tuesday.

Nobody mentioned that part, did they? 😅

Being good at your job doesn't automatically teach you how to **lead people.**

That's where **Communications for Supervisors** comes in.

Over 40 hours with Rick McMullen, you'll build practical skills for giving and receiving feedback, handling crucial conversations, resolving conflict, building trust, setting healthy boundaries, understanding leadership styles and navigating that sometimes-awkward transition from **Buddy to Boss.**

It's ideal for new supervisors, emerging leaders and people who've been leading teams for years but were never actually given the training to go with the responsibility.

And there's no cost to participate.

💬 Communications for Supervisors
with Rick McMullen
📅 Starts September 24
⏰ Thursdays | 1:00–5:00 p.m.
📍 Valley Business Hub | 448 Main Street, Kentville
⏱️ 40 hours

**You already know how to do the work. Come build the skills to lead the people doing it.**

👉 Register now:
https://forms.gle/fUJ1gMZt4tnQ8Wbi9

Space is limited.

09/01/2026

👥 **You started a business. Then suddenly you became HR.**

Hiring. Onboarding. Policies. Performance reviews. Conflict. Compensation. Difficult conversations.

And occasionally wondering, **"Am I even allowed to do that?"** 😬

Sound familiar?

**HR Resources for Small Business** is built for business owners and managers who are responsible for people, but don't have an HR department down the hall.

Over 40 hours with Rick McMullen, you'll build practical skills for hiring and interviewing, onboarding employees, managing performance, developing policies, handling conflict and difficult conversations, progressive discipline, compensation, retention and more.

Not HR theory for giant corporations.

**Practical HR tools for the people actually managing small businesses and teams.**

And there's no cost to participate.

👥 HR Resources for Small Business
with Rick McMullen
📅 Starts September 24
⏰ Thursdays | 8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
📍 Valley Business Hub | 448 Main Street, Kentville
⏱️ 40 hours

**If managing people has become part of your job, let's make sure you have the tools to do it well.**

👉 Register now:
https://forms.gle/fUJ1gMZt4tnQ8Wbi9

Space is limited.

08/31/2026

📈 **Your books shouldn't require detective work.** 🔎

Where did that payment go? Did I record that expense? Why doesn't the bank balance match? What exactly am I supposed to do with HST? And payroll... let's not even start. 😅

If running your business feels considerably easier than running your QuickBooks, **this one's for you.**

Our **QuickBooks Workplace Education program with Chris Lewis** gives you 40 hours to actually learn the system, not just watch someone click through it for an afternoon.

You'll work through the things businesses actually need to do: setting up your accounts, invoicing and receiving payments, tracking expenses and bills, connecting bank feeds, reconciling accounts, HST/GST, financial reports and **Nova Scotia payroll.**

The goal? Understand what's happening in your books, build good systems and feel a whole lot more confident when you open QuickBooks.

And because this is Workplace Education:

**There's no cost to participate.**

📈 QuickBooks
with Chris Lewis
📅 Starts September 17
⏰ Thursdays | 1:00–5:00 p.m.
💻 Virtual
⏱️ 40 hours

**Stop wrestling with your books. Learn how to make them work for you.**

👉 Register now:
https://forms.gle/fUJ1gMZt4tnQ8Wbi9

Space is limited.

08/28/2026

📣 Build your skills. Strengthen your business.

Fall Workplace Education is here, with four practical programs designed to help local business owners, managers and teams build skills they can put to work right away.

🖥️ **Content Marketing with AI**
📈 **QuickBooks**
👥 **HR Resources for Small Business**
💬 **Communications for Supervisors**

Programs begin in September, with both virtual and in-person options available.

*Workplace Education programs are offered at NO COST to participants.** Space is limited and registration is required.

👉 **Register here:**
https://forms.gle/zv2ViHnvyWREbjUv8

08/28/2026

🙄 **“Oh no. Not another AI post.”**

We get it. AI is everywhere.

And if your experience so far has mostly been asking ChatGPT to write a social media caption and getting back something that sounds vaguely like a motivational poster... **this is for you.** 😅

Because AI can be a whole lot more useful than that.

🖥️ **What if you could turn AI into your own personal marketing assistant?**

Use it to generate ideas when you're stuck. Create stronger content. Better understand your audience. Sharpen your messaging. Write better social posts. Develop lead magnets. And streamline some of the marketing work that keeps landing back on your plate.

That's what **Content Marketing with AI** is about.

This isn't a quick webinar about the latest shiny AI tools. It's **30 hours of practical, hands-on learning with Georges Hanna**, PLUS individual 1:1 time to help you apply what you're learning to your own business.

Georges has been teaching entrepreneurs how to use AI to make content creation and marketing more practical, efficient and actionable, and previous participants specifically praise his ability to turn the technology into strategies they can actually use.

And thanks to Nova Scotia's Workplace Education Initiative, **there is no cost to participate.**

📅 Starts September 16
⏰ Wednesdays | 1:00–4:30 p.m.
💻 Virtual
⏱️ 30 hours + individual 1:1 support

**Stop hearing about what AI can do. Come learn how to make it work for you.**

👉 Register now:
https://forms.gle/fUJ1gMZt4tnQ8Wbi9

Space is limited.

08/25/2026

💜 **A great community initiative from Chamber member BraveHeart First Aid.**

Knowing how to recognize and respond to an opioid poisoning is a skill we hope you’ll never need, but one that can save a life.

On **Monday, August 31**, BraveHeart First Aid is opening its doors for a free community drop-in focused on opioid poisoning awareness and Naloxone training. Stop in, learn what to look for, how to respond, and take home a **free Naloxone kit**.

Thank you to the BraveHeart team for making this important, practical education accessible to our community. 💜

👇 Full details in their post below.