“Starting September 1st, HMS Insurance (Carberry & Shilo offices), Kenton Insurance, Guild Insurance (Brandon, Virden, & Wawanesa offices), and Wallis Agencies (Glenboro, Baldur, Holland) will operate together under the name Guild Insurance Group.” They have been working together as a group for several years and the partnership has enabled the group “to offer products from additional insurance companies” while keeping ownership local. updated signage, a new website, and advertising on social media will begin shortly. The Facebook announcement can be read here.

CoWorks Inc. is Brandon, Manitoba’s first and only coworking community! It offers local businesses, entrepreneurs, start-up teams and professionals of all kinds, the opportunity to keep overhead costs down by providing affordable and flexible workspaces as well as private offices. While the model of a shared workspace is not overly compatible with a pandemic that requires people to maintain a safe physical distance, CoWorks has been able to provide a work environment that is unique to coworking the industry. With a modified business design than initially intended, CoWorks has been able to offer the service that it promised when its doors opened on September 1st, 2020. And that is: To provide affordable and flexible office spaces in an inspirational and collaborative environment. One year later, with several revamped procedures and membership models, CoWorks Inc is happy to announce its 1st anniversary serving Brandon, Manitoba and the business community. With big plans for the upcoming year, CoWorks is excited to expand its member base and welcome new businesses into its space! Join them in celebrating their 1-year anniversary on Wednesday, September 1st from 12:00 to 2:00 pm. There will be spirits, coffee, individually wrapped treats, giveaways and more! Walk-ins are welcome to come and explore the space during the come-and-go celebration, but you are encouraged to RSVP to hello@coworks.ca. 1209 Richmond Ave Unit C, Brandon MB, R7A 1M5 www.coworks.ca • 204-717-1770

Weeks after the official announcement, Westman Communications Group (Westman) has already started planning and construction activities in preparation to launch their High-Speed Internet, Digital HD TV and Phone services in Onanole by the end of 2021. Westman has outlined the service area which they are able to bring services to and have published it for residents and businesses to reference. If your home or business falls within the map boundaries, Westman will be connecting fibre to your premises and you are eligible to receive Westman’s services, which includes internet packages with speeds up to 1 gigabit. In addition, Westman will be hosting two open houses in Onanole that will give residents the opportunity to learn more about Westman and the services they have to offer. Open House Dates: Friday, August 27 from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Saturday, August 28 from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Both open houses will be located at: Onanole & District Recreation Centre 389 Central Road, Onanole MB Additional open houses may be announced at a later date. “The ability to bring leading-edge fibre-optic technology to Onanole creates opportunities for families to stay connected and entertained as well as benefit from remote learning,” said Chief Customer Officer, John Quail. “You will be seeing our team in the area completing preliminary work and they may be in contact with you to start planning the required property construction as well. They will provide you with as much information as possible, and if you have any additional questions, feel free to give us a call.” Westman will also be expanding their services to under-served areas in Sandy Lake. While Westman currently offers their services in Sandy Lake, there is an area on the south-east side of the lake that has not been built to that they will serve as part of their Universal Broadband Funding (UBF) project. Sandy Lake residents are invited to attend the Onanole open houses as well for more information. If you have any additional questions about Westman or the services they will be bringing to Onanole and Sandy Lake later this year, please visit www.westmancom.com/new-community. You can also reach their team by email at info@westmancom.com or by phone at 1-800-665-3337. For more information on business services, call 1-888-759-2225.

Westman Communications Group (Westman) is excited to  introduce their new and modern TV viewing experience - InfiniTV. This new  experience provides endless entertainment for the whole family! InfiniTV is designed to simplify your life by making your TV smarter and accessing  your entertainment easier. With InfiniTV, members can enjoy Westman Live TV,  Video on Demand, and streaming entertainment such as Crave, Disney +, Amazon  Prime Video and Westman GO Apps all in one place through the Google Play  store. The new service offers various exciting features for the entire family to love, such  as next-level streaming, personalized user profiles, Kids Zone, up to 350 hours of recording space, Restart and Lookback TV, and Google Assistant. “With more people utilizing streaming apps, it was important to us to put their  digital TV and streaming experience together in one amazing service,” said John  Quail, Chief Customer Officer at Westman Communications Group. “InfiniTV  provides a personalized TV experience for each family member while allowing  everyone’s favourite TV shows to be all in one place. We’ve expanded our Video  on Demand library, and with Westman GO Apps available on the same device,  users will find even more content without the need to subscribe separately to  several different streaming services.” For more information on Westman InfiniTV, visit westmancom.com or contact our  friendly Customer Service Team at 204.725.4300 or toll free at 1.800.554.3337.

A recent study by McKinsey found that the average life-span of companies listed in Standard & Poor's 500 was 61 years in 1958. Today, it is less than 18 years. Crane Steel Structures is celebrating 40 years in business. Truly a remarkable number when you think about how tough it is for a business to survive. The Brandon based company started operations in 1981 in a modest 400 square foot office and over the years have found ways to expand and also re-invent their business. With a staff of over 40, brothers PJ and Jarod Crane carry the torch from their father Paul Crane who founded the company.. BDNMB.CA was able to squeeze a few questions out of PJ Crane prior to the Tamarack golf tournament started this weekend in Clear Lake. Twenty-five years ago or so, when you were running a sporting goods store on 18th St, did you foresee yourself sitting in the position you are today working in the family business? LOL those were really, really fun years but I soon realized retail was not for me and had an idea of where I would end up and grateful it has all worked out! Apart from Covid over the past 18 months, what are some of the largest issues you and your brother have faced on a day to day basis?  Most of our issues are Labor and Material shortages. We have to make sure Government stops closing down businesses that they think are non essential. Is your Dad involved at all in day to day operations?  Ha Yes between golf and snowbirding we have Dad on a .25 retainer. He is the cheapest consultant we have and you cannot find common sense knowledge like that these days. And can we expect you and your brother to be at Food Truck Warz in September? Well we love to eat, so pretty good chance were there a couple of times !! You can check out the various impressive projects (Precision Toyota – PCU Centre in Portage and NetSet Communication) that Crane Steel have looked after from start to finish by visiting their web page here.