INTRODUCTION
		  
		  Valerie and Robert Kirwan 
		  
		   In 
		  order to better understand the evolution of Infocom Canada Business 
		  Consultants Inc., it would be helpful for me to provide you with some 
		  background on how everything started.
In 
		  order to better understand the evolution of Infocom Canada Business 
		  Consultants Inc., it would be helpful for me to provide you with some 
		  background on how everything started.
		  
		  I began my own private practice as a 
		  business development consultant around 1985. This was initially done on 
		  a part-time basis during my teaching career.
		  
		  Upon my retirement from teaching In 2001, my three sons and I founded 
		  Infocom Canada Business Consultants Inc., providing a variety of 
		  services to the private and public sector. Our services ranged from 
		  publications, marketing, public relations, training and staff 
		  development. 
		  
		  Over the years my sons have gone on to other careers and my wife, 
		  Valerie and I remain the sole shareholders and directors of the 
		  corporation. We are continuing to provide specialized marketing 
		  services to local businesses in the Greater Sudbury area.
		  
		  I served as Trustee for Wards 5 & 6 for the Rainbow District School 
		  Board from 2010 to 2014 and was subsequently elected to the position 
		  of Councillor for Ward 5 in the City of Greater Sudbury during the 
		  period from 2014 to 2022. 
		  
		   Over 
		  the years we have published a variety of products that were used to 
		  promote our clients. We has special interest magazines and tabloids in 
		  print form for many years and then around 2005 we started to use 
		  digital formats and distribute our publication through emails. Then, 
		  we noticed that the social media platform, Facebook, was becoming a 
		  popular form of communication.
Over 
		  the years we have published a variety of products that were used to 
		  promote our clients. We has special interest magazines and tabloids in 
		  print form for many years and then around 2005 we started to use 
		  digital formats and distribute our publication through emails. Then, 
		  we noticed that the social media platform, Facebook, was becoming a 
		  popular form of communication.
		  
		  My wife and I decided to lauch a group called Valley East Today as the 
		  social media extension of our community web site
		  www.valleyeasttoday.ca We 
		  started the group on January 15, 2010 with just the two of us as 
		  members. 
		  
		  We now manage the Valley East facebook group, which has grown to 
		  almost 20,000 official members. It has become our new "community 
		  publication" and we are able to use it to provide our clients with 
		  effective exposure.
		  
		  Now that I no longer have to spend time as a City Councillor, Valerie 
		  and I are focusing on developing our Valley East Today facebook group 
		  as a Business & Community News publication.
		  
		  
		  https://www.facebook.com/groups/valleyeasttoday 
		  
		  
		  
		  Basically, we are focusing on providing consulting services to small 
		  businesses looking for help with their social media marketing 
		  strategies.