What's Up Bracebridge Gravenhurst - Whatsupmuskoka.com

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Muskoka takes its place on the world stageBy Sandy LockhartThe 2010 G8 Summit is now overafter two years in the making, but organizersand key players say it will continueto have a positive impact on Muskoka foryears to come.The conclusion of the G8 Summitmeans Sanjeev Chowdhury, the directorgeneral of the Summits ManagementOffice, has moved back to Ottawa aftermoving to Muskoka in May of 2009 toprepare for the big event. The SummitsManagement Office will remain openuntil the end of August.“I’m relieved that it went so well. I’mvery proud that a community that Iworked in responded in this way. It iswhat makes this G8 stand out,” he says.“This was a real model of federal andmayoral partnership. I couldn’t haveasked for better co-operation or betterfriends. I can’t think of an assignment I’drather have than to be in Huntsville,” hesays. He adds, “And I’m sure glad I’m notin Toronto.”Deerhurst Resort general managerJoseph Klein is looking forward to buildingon the success of the G8 Summitheld in Huntsville. “Definitely, the eventwill bring attention to our flexibility andbroaden the attention of Muskoka as adynamic setting,” he says.Klein says there is no better publicityavailable than the media reports of howsuccessful the event was and how welcomingthe people of Muskoka were.“Muskoka is a relatively unknown jewelto anyone outside Ontario, especially theGTA,” he says.“We’ve developed a reputation at beingvery good at servicing very large events,”he says. “The G8 was a very large, verycomplex event but other than the security– it was different – other than that, itis like every other event at Deerhurst.”He brought in a few extra senior staffcooks for the G8 but other than thatdepended on his regular staff.”Those visiting Deerhurst will not beable to see much evidence of the G8 takingplace just a short time ago, as muchof the work was temporary. Temporarypower and video feed were added but thevast majority of the work was creatingnew space within Deerhurst. The chairswere rentals and have been returned andKlein says the G8 table, used inKananaskis for the G8, was brought infor the event, but has now been returnedto storage.“There have been a few questions,” hesays. “People are asking, ‘Where is everything?’”Now Klein is determining how to besthold onto the afterglow of the event. “Wewant to remind people how it happened,”he says, noting he plans to placesome photos of the world leaders at recognizablespots.Huntsville Mayor Claude Doughtysays the G8 will have a positive longtermimpact on the community butnotes it has also helped in the shortterm.World leaders took a walk along the paths at Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville during the G8 Summit. No detail wasoverlooked at the resort. Even canoes were strategically placed along the water’s edge.“We’ve bridged through the downturnin the economy with the G8 coming,”he says.“The businesses that I’ve talked to inHuntsville, the majority by far, havefound sales to be up significantly this yearover last year,” he says, listing the obviousfood, rental and hotel service businessesbut also furniture and design businessessaw increased sales.Doughty is happy with the way the G8turned out. “My worst nightmare wasthat what happened in Toronto, wouldhappen here,” he says. “We were preparedfor the worst and got the best. Wehad fire people bored to tears. That is ahallmark of success.”Muskoka will take the attention generatedfrom the G8 to try and market thearea to conference organizers fromaround the world.“The Town of Huntsville will be amajor player in that, in conjunction withDeerhurst and other resorts as well,” saysDoughty.Klein, Doughty and Huntsville Lakeof Bays Chamber of Commerce generalmanager Kelly Haywood recently metwith some international event plannerswho deal with worldwide organizations.“Now that we’ve proven ourselves witha G8, and done it well and safely with asupportive community, we can go afterthose groups to hold their event here,”says Doughty.Parry Sound-Muskoka MP TonyClement thinks the G8 was not onlypositive for Muskoka, but for theworld.“I think it was a huge success. Anumber of communiques were released.The one that I think will have the mostdifference is the Muskoka Initiativefocusing on maternal health.”By adding the private donations, contributionsby other countries and Canada’spromise of $1 billion, a total of $10billion is dedicated to improving the outcomesfor new mothers and children.“That they called it the Muskoka Initiativeis the icing on the cake,” he says.Clement says the immediate positivefinancial impact to the community alongwith the long-term benefits of theincreased exposure are very tangible benefitsof the G8 Summit.“We are starting to total up the mentionsof Muskoka in the internationalmedia. We are at about 100 now,” he says.He will be working with FedNor andMuskoka Tourism together to marketMuskoka to conference planners aroundthe world.Clement had the opportunity to talkwith delegates from all around the world.“They were smitten with the beauty ofthe place,” he says.He was able to meet the leaders as theirhelicopters landed in Huntsville onThursday night and Friday morning.“They were low enough so they wouldsee Muskoka as it appeared,” saysClement. “Many leaders, including PresidentObama, commented on how wonderfulit was.”G8 specialist Ella Kokotsis, whogrew up in Bracebridge and is thedirector of external relations for theUniversity of Toronto’s G8 and G20Research Group, has attended 14 G8Summits in the past and spent mostof this summit in the G8/G20 mediacentre in Toronto, where most of theaccredited journalists were posted.She says the format of this G8 wasquite different as the majority of themedia were stationed in Toronto whilethe leaders met in Huntsville.“Only those journalists brave enoughto get on a coach bus at 3 a.m. and departfrom Toronto to Huntsville had access tothe smaller media centre set at Deerhurst,”she says. “The rest watched theevents unfold at Deerhurst via live feedson giant TV screens set up throughoutthe media centre. This differed markedlyfrom previous summits where leaders andthe media were in closer proximity,allowing the media better access to theleaders and their delegations.”Kokotsis spoke with a few journalistswho went to Huntsville. “Although theyonly had a chance to see a very small partof the region, it seemed to spark an interest,”she says, adding that other journalistsat the centre were interested in knowingmore about the region as theywatched the images being beamed infrom Deerhurst and area. “Journalistsalso had an opportunity to sampleMuskoka cuisine in addition to local beer– something they clearly enjoyed andcommented favourably on.”She believes hosting an internationalevent like the G8 will go a long way inpromoting the Muskoka brand.“I think Muskoka will always beremembered as the place summit historywas made,” she says. “Never in thehistory of summits have a G8 and G20been hosted back-to back. I think thesignificance of this will be rememberedfor a long time.”Photograph: Jan Pitman10 July 2010 www.whatsupmuskoka.com
Memories are made behind the scenes at the G8 SummitBy Nancy BealStaff at Deerhurst Resort and a fewlucky business owners in Huntsvillerubbed shoulders with the world’s leadersduring the G8 Summit onJune 25-26.Russian president Dmitry Medvedevpaid a visit to a local restaurant and isbelieved to be the only world leader tohave a meal outside Deerhurst Resortduring the G8 Summit.“I was blown away by how personablethe man was. He was absolutely down toearth, approachable,” says Tall TreesRestaurant chef and owner RandySpencer. “I was rather surprised. Youalways get an image of eastern bloc countriesas being severe – but they’re the sameas us.”Heavy security accompaniedMedvedev and five others in hisentourage who ate at the restaurant. Theroad was blocked off, three or four dozenOPP and RCMP officers were postedinside and around the outside of thebuilding, and another two dozen ofMedvedev’s own security accompaniedhim inside, Spencer recalls.The arrival of Medvedev was predicatedby security hovering in the kitchen,requesting staff to wear gloves and to sterilizethe china. They wanted to knowhow well Spencer knew his staff, if therewere weapons on the property and at thispoint, Spencer didn’t know who wascoming.“Is it the ambassador?” he asked anaide. When he was told it was the president,they asked him if he was concerned.“I said, ‘No – he’s just like youand me’ – and he chuckled.”The president stayed for about an hourand spoke fluent English. He ate fromthe menu – having a venison dish.Spencer brought him out some Ontariocheese to try and later found out fromchef Rory Golden at Deerhurst that heloves cheese.“I helped, but my boys in the kitchendid the cooking,” he says. “It was fun.”Medvedev wrote in the guest book:“Thank you, dinner was very, very tasty.”The Nutty Chocolatier’sowner/operator Nancy Wegner was therewith two employees when U.S. press secretaryRobert Gibbs and White Housechief of staff Rahm Emanuel came in theHuntsville shop for an ice cream. Theyarrived with their entourage.“It was short,” Wegner recalls. “Theywere in and out, very relaxed. Customerswho knew them were totally excited;there was a frenzy and cameras flashing –it was a good way to top off the week.They came in Friday night, late around 9p.m. – four gentlemen and a few officersand their entourage. They had ice creamand the press secretary bought treats forhis young kids.”For Deerhurst Resort’s general managerJoseph Klein and executive chef RoryGolden, it was much more intense, with1,000 guests including the “internationallyprotected persons.”Kim Doughty, the wife of Huntsville Mayor Claude Doughty, receives a hug from U.S. President Barack Obamaduring G8 introductions as Parry Sound-Muskoka MP Tony Clement and his wife Lynne look on.“I would do it again in an instant,”says Klein. “It was a seamless event andan incredibly proud moment, watchingour team welcome the world, watchingwhat they do best: to welcome andserve others.”Klein and his staff got a chance to meetand speak to the G8 leaders.“Our staff got to interact with everyone of the leaders and they stopped andtook the time to interact with ourstaff,” he says.Klein recalls specific staff interactionswith dignitaries: a young man whosefather passed away just before the eventhad a very personal moment with thepresident of the United States; or theexperience of a server as she relaxed andhad “a wonderful time” with the Presidentof Italy, and then was giddy andteary afterward. Some staff memberswere with the British prime ministerwhen he swam in Peninsula Lake and asports attendant shared with other staffthe pieces of the towel she brought PresidentObama for his workout.The only glitch in Klein’s opinion wasthat the landing area used for the arrivalof the leaders by helicopter at the LakesideGolf Club driving range on theDeerhurst property couldn’t be used fortheir departure due to overcast weather.For executive chef Rory Golden, however,there were a few challenges. Workingin a kitchen with armed RCMP officersand Health Canada staff watchingevery move was intimidating at first.“But once everyone got to know eachother, we formed great friendships,”Golden explained.One complication was the complexitiesof the food requests from the leaders.“It took a lot of time and there were alot of room service requests – nothingwas from the menu,” he says.In fact, Dean MacNeil, director offood and beverage, sent his wife intotown to find Darjeeling tea for the GermanChancellor Angela Merkel. Severaltrips to Toronto were made to fulfill thesespecial requests including Obama’s penchantfor organic bacon and eggs.“The Russians were the most complexin their food requests,” says Golden. “Noone could believe how much food eightgentleman could eat – seafood lasagne,cold platters of smoked fish, mini pastries– they particularly liked sweets.”Turning things around on a dime wasalso a challenge for Golden and his staffof 67. Plated meals suddenly turned intobuffets and vice versa, and some dignitariesrequested the final lunch to beboxed up for transport.“I’d have to say to them (my staff),‘We’re about to change everything.’Most people don’t like change andthey’re already overloaded, yet my staffembraced the workload. They deserve alot of credit, same for the front of thehouse.”Add to the leader’s requirements thatthey receive room service at very specifictimes Golden and his staff had to factorin the time it took to fulfil Health Canada’srequirements for samples of eachpiece of food.“Portions are kept for five days,” Goldenexplains, “and if a leader was ill, theycould examine those portions and see if itwas the source.”In some cases, the need to providesamples added an extra 20 to 25 minutesto the preparation process.“So, we realized we have to build samplinginto our timing – we had to have tomove our timing ahead,” he says.But the problem with sampling wasmore than the time it took.“If I bake a cake and they want achunk out of the cake, what do I do? Puta strawberry there to hide it?”Isolating the food into one walk-infridge and plating it right inside thefridge helped simplify the process forHealth Canada’s requirements.“My worst faux pas,” recalls Golden,“is I almost wiped out Obama with a trayof sandwiches. Two of the RCMP aofficers told me they we’re going to haveto take me down if I had hit him!”Golden used local and regional produceat every opportunity and even theleader’s dinnerware was made locally atLindgren Pottery.MacNeil recalls the very first lunch:“There was a horde of media atlunchtime. Obama was in charge andcharismatic. As soon as he walked intothe room he noticed the staff all lined upand he disconnected with the media andmade sure he came through and shookour hands. I had an opportunity to shakehis hand – it set the tone.”One of the biggest compliments forDeerhurst was the praise of the sherpasvia Sanjeev Chowdhury, director generalof the Summits Management Office.“The sherpas were pleased with thefood,” says Golden. “They said it wasthe best food from the last few summits.It was nice to hear – did justice tokitchen staff. Everyone pulled togetherto make it happen; sometimes it wasvery last minute, but we pulled togetherand got it done.”Photograph: courtesy of the Summits Management Officewww.whatsupmuskoka.com July 2010 11
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