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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday April 4, 2008 - 3 Which bank has the fastest bed in town? By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Six banks. Six beds. One race for one great cause. Oakville's third annual Bank Bed Challenge is officially underway. The kickoff was held Wednesday at Town Hall -- and after a month of fundraising -- the challenge will culminate with local banks racing hospital beds along the downtown Oakville strip on Sunday, May 4 at 9 a.m. They'll be out to take home awards for race winner, top fundraiser, spirit and more. The Oakville Hospital Foundation will be out to add beds to the local hospital -- OakvilleTrafalgar Memorial Hospital (OTMH) that's operated under the umbrella of Halton Healthcare Services (HHS). At $12,000 for the average acute care hospital bed, it's a tall order, according to foundation chair Mages Shorey. But with just about everyone in town on board, the foundation is hoping to raise $100,000, according to Mike Bartlett, the foundation's director of community giving. "Racing a hospital bed seems like a pretty wacky idea for a LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER GOT YOUR STICKER?: Mike Bartlett, director of Community Giving for the Oakville Trafalgar-Memorial Foundation, holds up the stickers that customers can purchase in support of the 2008 Bank Bed Challenge. banker," said Bartlett at Wednesday's kickoff that drew a full crowd representing the 40 branches of Oakville's six banks (Scotiabank, TD Canada Trust, RBC, HSBC, BMO and CIBC) that take part in the race. Indeed, the race event originated with former Scotiabank president and Oakville Hospital Board member Bruce Birmingham, who saw the bath tub race local students used to do for the United Way of Oakville and figured bankers could do the same for the hospital. And they can. That's when the foundation contacted Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning for assistance. "The students at Sheridan specialize in turning wacky ideas into good results," said Bartlett. Sheridan's corporate communications program turned development of the initiative into a case study exercise for its special events class -- and Oakville's Bank Bed Challenge was born. In the first year, five banks raised $82,000. Last year, six banks raised $100,000. Over two years, the race has financed the purchase of 14 new hospital beds. Over the next month, local bank employees will join race teams, seek to get donations from friends and customers, sell cutouts at their respective banks, dream up team names, dress up their hospital bed racer and plan to win this year's challenge. On the Thursday, just before race day, pie tosses -- at local bank managers -- will help accentuate team spirit and boost fundraising. "There are only six people in this room who are not smiling," said Bartlett. And while representatives of each banking institution took to the podium to give their take on the challenge -- which led to discussion of team recruitment of "beefy males" and "good-looking men," Bartlett resisted giving out his own email address and stressed all information about the challenge can be found at www.bankbedchallenge.com. See Race page 4 Estate Settlement: Replace Stress and Confusion with Peace of Mind and Control By Corinne Lavictoire of Inevitable Exodus Inc., creator of The Executor's Toolkit sk an executor if they would ever agree to settle another estate and most will say, "No, thank you." Although honored when first appointed, many executors quickly realize they lack the experience and knowledge to properly administer an estate when called to act. A How far reaching is this situation in Canada? Well, consider for a moment that most Canadians are either named as executor in a will or have a will of their own in which they've named an executor. As executor, certain duties must be performed, within a certain timeframe and in a certain order. Taxes must be filed, accounts closed, property transferred and accurate records kept. The average Canadian estate takes 18-24 months to settle. "Operating in this complex area of estate law, an executor must know what documentation is required, who to contact, where to go, what to do, how long each step should take and how much each task should cost. Unfortunately, most don't," says Paul Rowan Investment Advisor with Dundee Securities Corporation in Oakville. "Providing an opportunity to educate, organize and support executors is a tremendous service to the community," commented Mrs. Lavictoire of Inevitable Exodus Inc., creator of The Executor's Toolkit, a how-to program to help executors in estate settlement. "We're proud to join Paul Rowan's team in presenting seminars that answer the most common estate settlement questions and allow executors to feel more in control of a complex situation." Being informed allows executors to work more effectively with their professional advisors when the time comes, noted Mrs. Lavictoire. "This translates into preserving assets for the beneficiaries, which was the ultimate intent of the deceased." Have you been named executor of an estate? Have you appointed an executor for your own estate? This comprehensive, 90-minute seminar, with guest speaker Corinne Lavictoire of Inevitable Exodus, Inc., is essential for anyone trusted with the responsibility of settling an estate. At this seminar executors will learn how to: · Prepare an estate for easier administration · Efficiently gather, organize and process estate documents · Track estate values and maintain a bookkeeping system · Save time and money while settling an estate · Avoid common pitfalls and delays DATE: Thursday, April 17th TIME: 7:00 p.m. HOSTED BY: Paul Rowan LOCATION: Oakville Harbour Lighthouse Banquet Centre 2340 Ontario Street (South of Lakeshore Rd, off Bronte Rd.) Senior Investment Advisor Director, Private Client Group Limited Seating. RSVP required. Call Michael to reserve your seat (905) 337-2669 EXT.233 Presented by: