Ashleigh is a Digital Marketing Specialist and owns Create Marketing, a digital marketing agency located in Brandon, Manitoba. She helps local business thrive online. Website: www.createmarketing.ca Email: hello@createmarketing.ca Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Createmarketing.ca/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/createmarketing.ca/ First job: I cleaned rooms at a little motel called The Maple Leaf in my hometown when I was 14. Years lived in Brandon: I moved to Brandon in 2001 so, 18 years! Wow, time flies.  Your fast food guilty pleasure: A&W Buddy Burger (add cheese)  What’s something you don’t know, but want to learn: To speak Spanish and/or French. Which of the following TV shows do you believe you have the best odds of winning: Survivor, Big Brother, The Voice, Guys Grocery Games, American Ninja Warrior, Project Runway, or Alone:Toss up between Survivor or American Ninja Warrior. (Says the girl that hasn’t been to the gym in years.) Backyard BBQ or Formal Dinner: Backyard BBQ You've got friends visiting Brandon for the first time, where are you taking them: River tubing down the Little Saskatchewan and Ice Cream at Velvet Dip What movie title best describes your life: Legally Blonde When people come to you for help, what do they usually want help with. Technical Support. (Their phone is out of space, email stopped working, etc.) Three apps you cannot live without: BUSINESS: MileIQ - AMAZING for tracking mileage. Evernote - Organizing my life! Dropbox - File sharing dream! PERSONAL: Instagram Medium Snapchat A film you’d watch again tonight: Step Brothers or Bridesmaids The last adventure you went on: Costa Rica! We got married there last February. What songs have you completely memorized: Haha too many to list but a few off the top of my head. Wilson Philips - Hold On Sinead O’Connor - Nothing compares to you George Ezra - Shotgun Baby Shark Old McDonald had a farm. What accomplishment in your career are you most proud of to date: Finally starting my own business. The single best day on the calendar each year: July 13th - My son and hubbies birthdays! Hobbies: Volleyball,  Photography, Yoga What could you give a 30-minute presentation on with absolutely no preparation: I feel like there are a few things I could do in this situation.  Business Marketing Basics Customer Service in the Service Industry (I’ve also worked in the service industry for over 20 years, yikes.) How to cook dinner while entertaining a toddler. Dream dinner party guests: Oprah,  Jillian Harris, My late Grandma Dorothy What role do you think social media plays in business today: I think it is a major aspect of business especially in the B2C world, however, it is defiantly not the only digital (or traditional) platform of importance. Understanding where and how your target audience spends their time online will be a great advantage to any business when planning your marketing goals. Describe Brandon in one word: Welcoming

Just4Kidz (1608 Park Ave) was a flurry of activity today as owners started the process of setting up and installing 35 token operated games inside their facility. The building’s existing laser tag arena structure has been removed to make room for the machines. Installation of the machines will continue until the 8th of April and be open to the public on the 9th. The rest of the facility, including the kitchen, will remain open during the transition. Owners (Darcy and Doug Willey) told bdnmb.ca that they expect to bring in additional machines over the next several months as well. The food program at Just4Kidz has undergone a transformation of it's own as Smoked & Sauced Mobile BBQ is now running the kitchen. Smoked & Sauced is a local food truck who won the Fan Favourite vote at this year's Food Truck Warz event. Jayson McCallum said that they will continue to serve all of the previous menu items and once their food truck season starts new items from the truck's menu will be added!

The Brandon Chamber of Commerce held their 36th Annual Gala last evening and awards were handed out in several categories. The award winners are listed below. Business Person Of The Year – Rhonda Pardy Community Service Award – Ray Brownlee Outstanding New Business Award – Ion Coating Business Excellence Award – Small Business – G.T. Smith & Sons Electrical Business Excellence Award – Large Business – Guild Insurance Brokers Inc. Lifetime Builder Of The Year – Ron Helwer For additional information on this years recipients please click this link.

We’ve all heard it before. And most of us are very aware of how important location is when starting a new business or wanting to grow an existing one. Having good traffic flow and established surrounding businesses are two important factors when choosing where your business venture might work best. An interesting commercial space that is currently available is right in the heart of downtown Brandon. Listing agents, Tyler and Cam Plante, said the new building on 10th Street and Louise Avenue is ideal for one or two tenants and has many features to suit new or existing businesses. “Basically, it was built green to save the potential business owner money. Using the unique manufacturing process of Greenstone Structural Solutions the building is very efficient and will take less to heat,” said Cam Plante. Situated across the street from Pizza Express, the modern 4300 square foot building is truly in the hub of some of Brandon’s key businesses and all levels of government offices and will be developed to meet the needs of the new tenants. The added bonus is that there is ample parking and the location is highly visible. For more information visit: www.teamplante.com.

Fast Fired by Carbone will be offering their build your own or signature pizzas for only $3.14 on Pi Day (March 14, 2019). There is a limit of one pizza per visitor and available to dine-in orders and walk-in takeout orders only. To receive this special offer customers must download the Fast Fired app from the app store or google play.  While quantities last, taxes not included. For additional information please visit their Facebook page.