It was during the search on the internet that lead Julie Card and Dan Plouffe to create the business model for mycollingwood.ca back in 2004. The business model started with Collingwood being the epicenter of a geographic boundary that they fondly refer to as the Greater Collingwood Region when they describe what area of coverage mycollingwood.ca represents.

They wanted to create a web based platform that celebrates life in and around Collingwood as well, connected consumers with all of their choices for dining, shopping, things to do and so on. As a teenager, Julie worked in her father’s camera store and with a love of photography decided that local event coverage would be a large part of their offering. What better way to showcase the area than through pictures.

Why Collingwood

It started back in the early 1970’s, when Julie was a toddler and her parents taught her to ski at Alpine Ski Club in what was then, The Township of Collingwood. This was the beginning of a life-long relationship with Collingwood and the surrounding area.

 

As a family with 4 children, Julie and her partner Dan would look forward to weekend visits to their ski chalet to enjoy Blue Mountain as their kids were all enrolled in ski and race programs. Three of our four children became certified race coaches and taught in the Jozo Weider Race Program and Jeffrey is an active member of the Blue Mountain Special Olympics Alpine Team. It was great to be able to have a single destination where all of them could enjoy outdoor winter activities and get together after a long day on the slopes for family dinners.

 

“We were always excited to arrive each weekend and always a little sad to leave on Sunday evenings. As we would drive back into Toronto every weekend, we could feel the tension of the city. Soon our winter weekend get-a-aways from Toronto extended into shoulder season. Even if skiing was over, there was still plenty to enjoy in the area. Before long, we were weekend residents all year long,” says Julie.

Not long after that, they decided to make the transition to being permanent residents. Coming from a marketing background it was an easy decision to look for a job in the marketing field as they began to make good on the plan to find a way to make Collingwood their year round home.

Looking to the Future

Mycollingwood.ca is about connecting consumers, both local and visitors to the area, with local attractions, events and businesses – helping people find the choices that are available to them at the click of the mouse, or tap of a screen on one website. It’s about celebrating the fantastic region that we live in.

While the name and brand is mycollingwood.ca, geographically they cover the area from Meaford through to Wasaga Beach, including the Blue Mountains, Collingwood, Craigleith, The Village at Blue, Ravenna, Clarksburg, Thornbury, Stayner, Singhampton and Creemore and every place in between or nearby.

It All Started with this website.

On December 1, 2017 Mycollingwood.ca celebrated 12 years of being in business! We asked Julie and Dan about their plans for the future. “As our community continues to grow rapidly with new businesses and residents we will strive to give great local event coverage, highlight new businesses and celebrate entrepreneurial growth. We will continue to shine a spotlight on the unique individuals that enrich our community through culture, volunteerism, and innovation. We will continue to showcase the wonderful array of dining options and things to do for people visiting our area and we’ll try our best to stay up to speed with the continually rapid changes in technology to make mycollingwood.ca a positive experience for anyone who visits our site. “ Visit mycollingwood.ca to share the dream Julie and Dan built.

Advertisement