Teeny Tiny Summits
Engage and Energize – Empowering Teeny Tiny Places
Engage and Energize – Empowering Teeny Tiny Places
The 2025 Teeny Tiny Summits were to be held in the rural communities of Manitouwadge, Picton and Strathroy-Caradoc. The Teeny Tiny Summits bring together community leaders and enthusiasts to discuss proven ways to revitalize teeny tiny places.
May 1, 2025 – Picton – Hosted by County of Prince Edward
The presentation slides and resource materials mentioned during the Teeny Tiny Summit – Picton can be accessed at this link. This includes links to all the speakers’ materials and slides as well as a recording of Peter Kenyon’s keynote address.
June 18, 2025 – Hosted by Strathroy-Caradoc
Join us for a full day of local economic development learning and networking at the Teeny Tiny Summit in Strathroy-Caradoc located in southwestern Ontario. The event will be held the Caradoc Community Centre on June 18, 2025, starting at 8:30 am and concluding at 4:00 pm featuring keynote speaker Mandy Rennehan and many local speakers.
Register today by clicking this link.
The agenda and registration details can be found here.
About our Keynote Speaker: Mandy Rennehan
Get excited for our keynote speaker, Mandy Rennehan! Known as ‘The Blue Collar CEO,’ Mandy is a public speaker, award winning author, HGTV Host and CEO of FreshCo, a full-service reconstruction and retail maintenance firm operating across Canada and the eastern United States. Rennehan is a passionate advocate for women in the trades and is involved in a variety of groundbreaking mentorship initiatives for girls and women seeking meaningful careers.
Event Highlights
The day will include:
- Speed Networking
- Mini-First Impressions Community Exchange
- “Local First” Program campaign presentation
- Community Futures Western Ontario session
- Skilled Trade & Community Programing session
- Table Talks, each breakout discussion is 20 minutes and is guided by an expert, Participate in 3 breakouts, for the following topics:
- Recreation Programming – Led by Paul Lattimore, Supervisor of Recreation Programs and Community Liaison for the Municipality of Strathroy-Caradoc.
- Community Events & Engagement – Led by Kait Topham, Booking & Events Coordinator for the Municipality of Strathroy-Caradoc.
- Poverty & Social Services – Led by Middlesex County Social Services Limited Access to Healthcare Services – Led by Middlesex Hospital Alliance
- Economic Development – Led by Heather Lalonde, Development Commissioner for Strathroy-Caradoc
- Fire Safety for Businesses – Led by Strathroy-Caradoc Fire Department
- Volunteerism & Service Clubs in Small Communities – Led by Nicky Bolton, SWONT District Governor for Optimist International
Date to be confirmed - Manitouwadge – Hosted by MEDC
The Teeny Tiny Summit - Manitouwadge was to take place on April 29, 2025. The guest speaker had travel challenges and did not make it to the destination. The event will be rescheduled and delivered at a new date. Stay posted for information.
About Teeny Tiny Summits
Teeny Tiny Summits offer economic development that works for small places including practical examples, tools that can be adopted to small communities and share lessons learned from leaders in small communities.
Teeny Tiny Summits were initiated in 2016 by the Ontario Ministry of Rural Affairs (formerly OMAFRA), as a forum for Ontario’s smallest communities to address barriers to participation in economic development initiatives.
In 2017, the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) committed to multi-year support of Teeny Tiny Summits.
The Ministry of Rural Affairs, ROMA, and our host communities continue to deliver Teeny Tiny Summits across Ontario.