St. Marys BIA annual general meeting reflects on a successful year

Treasurer Dan Troyer reviews the 2026 budget of the St. Marys Business Improvement Area at the annual general meeting held on Monday night at Perthstone Kitchen.

By Stewart Grant

A strong turnout of local business owners filed into Perthstone Kitchen on Monday night for the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the St. Marys Business Improvement Area (BIA).

The AGM presented the ideal opportunity for BIA board chair Megan Feeney to reflect on a successful and active year for the downtown business association.

Feeney noted several businesses were welcomed into the downtown during the calendar year 2025, referencing Pita Pit, The Quarry’s Edge, 162 Queen, Avontuur, Purpour Refillery, Izzy’s Place, Mauve & Stone, and Sage & Soul Studios.

Looking back on the year’s activities, Feeney noted there was much to celebrate. February 2025 brought the first annual Soup Crawl – a popular event that grew to new heights in 2026.

In April 2025, the BIA supported the Poetry Month window campaign, and in May supported National Accessibility Week. Many BIA members participated in the Destination Stratford Savour & Sip Trail, while other summer downtown promotions included support for the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in June and the Stonetown Heritage Festival and Where’s Waldo Hunt in July.

Coordinated events in the fall included October’s pet costume parade, November’s poppy project, the Merchant’s Open House, Destination Stratford’s Christmas Trail, the Santa Claus Parade, Thursday late-night shopping, and Giving Tuesday on Dec. 2, 2025.

From a downtown beautification standpoint, the utility box public art project has been a great success with further work planned by local artists for 2026. The BIA also supported the downtown selfie station, seasonal décor including light strands and contribution towards downtown flower displays.

Much is planned for the current year, which kicked off with the second annual Soup Crawl in February. Upcoming is the Spring Bingo Crawl, the summer’s Grand Slam Search, the Stonetown Heritage Festival, downtown Trick or Treating in the fall and the Merchant’s Open House. Beautification efforts this year include investment in Edison lights throughout the downtown core, self-watering flowerpots, artist-designed banners and additional public-art-wrapped utility boxes.

Sara Bradshaw, who handles the BIA’s marketing efforts, has several initiatives planned to help drive traffic to support the vibrancy of the downtown and to grow local businesses.

The current board of directors for the 2022-2026 term consist of chair Feeney (Meridian Credit Union), vice chair Alex O’Shea (The Flour Mill), treasurer Dan Troyer (Troyer’s Spices), beautification committee head Lisa Fewster (The Wine Lab), Jan Scott (Betty’s Bookshelf), Angela Dawn MacPherson (AD Aesthetics & MediSpa) and deputy mayor Brogan Aylward.

With the municipal election upcoming this fall, the final board meeting for the current directors is scheduled for Nov. 9, with the inaugural meeting of the new board anticipated for February 2027.

Feeney reflected that while this board has worked very well together and has undertaken many initiatives, she looks forward to seeing who will step forward to fill board seats for the upcoming term.