page 4 and page 5 in the Winkler Morden Voice and:

facebook website Inspiring autistic youth to be Chamber keynote Organization rebranding business awards to also be a benefit Updated 3 days ago By Lorne Stelmach of the Morden Times The Morden Chamber of Commerce will again hand out its annual business awards this fall, but it is also rebranding the event into a charitable endeavour. The annual awards gala will honour local businesses in the areas of innovation, marketing, customer service and community influence. Nominations are now open until the end of August with the awards to be presented in the fall. Announcing details of the event recently, president James Steedsman said the chamber executive has had a desire to create some strong partnerships with community organizations and felt the awards program could be expanded on with that goal in mind. As a result, it has now been renamed the Morden Chamber Awards Gala and Benefit. “The word benefit is very important ... and that’s our connection to the community,” said Steedsman. For this first year, the chamber is partnering with south central ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) with a portion of the proceeds going to to help them build a better life for children with autism. The keynote speaker will be Christopher Duffley - a 10 year old boy “who will steal your heart with his story of courage and inspiration while facing unimaginable obstacles,” said Steedsman. Duffley is a blind and autistic singer, multi-instrumentalist and speaker. Born prematurely, he weighed only 1 lb 12 oz at birth and was rendered blind due to retinopathy of prematurity. Stephen and Christine Duffley, Christopher’s adopted parents, shared their love for music with their son at an early age. Much to their surprise, Christopher began singing before he could hold a conversation. His first instrument was piano. He also loves to experiment with a variety of instruments including trumpet, guitar and drums. Some experts have determined that Christopher has perfect pitch and has great musical potential. Steedsman said they still want the gala to be a celebration of business and their successes in the community “but we feel, as a keynote, we can send a stronger message perhaps. “We feel this has a lot more meaning plus at the same time we can raise some money for a foundation like autism.” “I fell in love with his story. I fell in love with what he’s overcome,” said chamber marketing director Pamela Hiebert. “He’s made a lot of progress through his work, and I just feel very inspired by what he can do and what he has achieved.” Hiebert said we all have many dreams for our children - from university to careers - but youth with autism face many more challenges and often don’t have the same opportunities that others take for granted. “They still have the same desire inside of them to fulfill a value on this earth while they are here.” And RBC was welcomed as the corporate sponsor for the keynote speaker. For more information, contact the chamber.