APRIL 13 MEETING REPORT COMING NEXT ISSUE

Find out next issue what we learned from the energetic and inspiring guest speakers at our April 13 meeting on exercise and nutrition for those of us in home offices.

NEXT MEETING MAY 26: UNDERSTANDING WEB ANALYTICS

Mark your calendars for another don't-miss event the evening of Wednesday, May 26. This one features our social media expert Rob Clark, who will help us understand web analytics, and Rob's colleague Kyle McKeown, who will talk about inbound marketing and search engine optimization. A couple of HPCA guinea pigs have offered their web sites for closer inspection.

The learning takes place at the Halton Region Museum, 5181 Kelso Road in Milton (at Kelso Conservation Area, between Appleby Line and Tremaine Road, just south of the 401). Networking starts at 6:30 p.m. and the presentation at 7 p.m. Watch for more details soon.

ANNUAL LUNCH AND NEW HPCA BOARD ELECTION JUNE 17

HPCA's annual June luncheon is fast approaching, taking place this year at Craig Fairley's home in Burlington on Thursday, June 17. Details will be provided soon.

Besides enjoying a catered meal and socializing with other members, we'll be electing the 2010-2011 HPCA board of directors. Standing for election (but who are we kidding, it will be acclamation) are:

President - Val Sanna
Meeting Co-ordinator - Mary Harvey
Communications Director - Ed Laba
IT Director - Adiseshan Shankar

Volunteers are still welcome to take on, alone or shared, the duties of Membership Director; please contact Judy Snyder if interested. Otherwise, these duties will be assumed by the other board members.


BONUS MEETING JUNE 22: WHAT INDIES NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE HARMONIZED SALES TAX

Whether we like it or not, the Harmonized Sales Tax is coming to Ontario July 1, 2010. For many of us who previously only had to charge our clients 5% GST, that means we'll soon have to charge 13% tax. Is that a bad thing, or might there actually be some benefits? What will we need to do differently?

Join us on Tuesday, June 22 for an informal and interactive Q&A session with accountant Gary Burnstein, who will answer our questions about the new HST and how it affects independents.

The session takes place at 6 p.m. at the e-Spot just above Artisano's restaurant at 353 Iroquois Shore Road, Unit 200, Oakville (just east of Trafalgar Road, north of the QEW). Feel free to bring a snack to the one-hour meeting, or wait until afterwards to have a bite to eat downstairs at Artisano's, where we'll continue the informal networking.

If you have specific questions about the HST you'd like to ask Gary, please send them to Sue Horner by Friday, June 18. And please let Sue know if you'll be attending; we'll be inviting members from IABC/Toronto's Westend group and want to make sure there's room for all of us.


WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

Renée Brisson-Khan
RBKartworks
Brampton
905-488-5406
renee@rbkartworks.com
www.RBKartworks.com
A graphic designer and illustrator, Renée provides graphic design solutions to companies that want to further their brand.

Dianna Eakins
Eakins Communications
Burlington
905-333-4208
eakinscomm@cogeco.ca
A specialist in both national and local media relations, Dianna works with clients to help them deliver on-target messaging to reach audiences that range from customers and employees to the news media.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS, PHOTOS, BLOG POSTS!

Remember that every member has the ability to post an article to the blog section of the web site through the Blog Post Access link in the footer of the home page. These posts will not be moderated before being published (1) because we trust our members to post good content and 2) to cut down on administration. However, if you are a non-writer, please feel free to ask any of the group's writers to do a quick scan of your article before posting.

You can also view Alan McKenzie's photos of HPCA events under www.hpcaonline.com > Photo Gallery.

And if you have your own personal blog, would you like to have your entries automatically posted to an HPCA Member Blog page? If so, contact Adiseshan Shankar for details.

MEMBER NEWS

Being a member of HPCA allows us to share our ideas, desires, goals, successes -- even our failures -- with colleagues who care. Tell us what you've been up to by sending an email to Deborah Serravalle.

As some of you know, Marnie Hughes has been involved with Healing Hands for Haiti, and her positive energy makes her a perfect fit! Marnie is a fine example of how helping others will often influence our own lives in a positive way. Through her volunteer commitment and contacts, Marnie's SEO copywriting work has increased and other exciting business opportunities are on the horizon. Great work, Marnie. Keep us posted.

Karen Majerly works part-time for the Oakville Literacy Council, which provides free, personalized tutoring for adults who want to improve their reading, writing and math skills. The council holds a yearly used book sale to raise funds for the program. This year, it takes place at Hopedale Mall (Third Line and Rebecca in Oakville) from Thursday, May 27 to Saturday, May 29. If you would like to donate gently used books -- fiction and non-fiction for adults, teens, and children -- for the sale, please e-mail Karen Majerly. And please stop by to shop!

Welcome back to Deborah Serravalle, who has spent the winter on Fripp Island, South Carolina, reading, working on her book, eating shrimp and having a wonderful time.