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Happy to be part of MBE team since a brief incident on a hockey rink changed life drastically for David Hawkins. It’s been almost fourteen years On Sunday September 14, 1980, the 17â€"yearâ€"old was in Stratford playing defence for the Oakville Blades Junior Hockey Team in a preâ€" season game. Then it happened â€" he collided with a teammate who was in the process of checking a player from the Stratford team. During the collision, his body continued forward but his head snapped back. Hawkins fell to the ice, unable to feel anything below the injured area. It was later determined that the sixth vertebra in his spinal column had been fractured. ‘Although surgeons at Toronto‘s Sunnybrook Hospital performed surgery to reset the vertebra, Hawkins was rendered a quadriplegâ€" ic. Oakville responded by contributâ€" ing more than $87,000 to the David Hawkins Fund, which enabled the family to build a special room for him in their home, and purchase a customized van. Hawkins, now 31, used the vehicle to attend Sheridan College, where he earned a diploma in microcomputer management. At ADVERTISING FEATURE By Stephanie Henderson Putting their n m.;: . on excellence ®@ntrepreneurs, and busy people in general, are known for working long hours. While most small business owners are proud to have a hand in every aspect of their enterprise, many develop clever sanityâ€"saving shortcuts. Here‘s another one to add to your arsenal. The owners of the four Mail Boxes Etc.® (MBE) Centres, which have sprung up around Oakville recently, are all entrepreneurs with solid business backgrounds. As such, they work to ensure that the needs of the small and homeâ€"based busiâ€" ness owner, as well as the residential customer, are met simply and efficiently. "We pack and ship anything any place, any time," says David Hawkins, owner/operator of the newly opened MBE Centre at the Oakville Town Centre II Shopping Centre, 200 North Service Road West. s3 Whether you‘re looking for a convenient way to ship computer parts to the factory for repair, or Mom‘s birthday gift, MBE is the place to start. No matter what the packâ€" S Cc t O . on mt t t oo ie sn o 1 o ol to age, you can be confident it will arrive on time and in good condition. They can send it via UPS or your favorite courier. If it needs to get there fast, there‘s UPS Express, a guaranteed overnight service option which delivers to most metropolitan areas in Canada before 10:30 a.m. M en n idns We "Our whole concept centres around service, with an emphasis on small and homeâ€"based businesses." "We‘ve had lots of people sending packages to their children at camp latelyâ€"gummie bears, sleeping bags, candy... one customer wanted to ship something every day," noted Karen Modestino, manager of the MBE Centre at 268 Lakeshore Road East (Lakeshore Road East, just west of Trafalgar Road). 00 dt. Aron io on es For the ultimate in convenience, try MBE‘s custom packing service. They‘ve packed everything imaginable, from Samurai swords to cookies from Grandma. By utiliz The MBE, Centre at 99 Bronte,Road (Bronte Road at Lakeshore Road West). the time of the accident, he was a Grade 13 student at the nowâ€"closed G.E. Perdue High School, where he returned to complete his secondary education in 1981. (He‘s now on his second van). After college, Hawkins began his professional career at the Canadian Tire store on Kerr Street. He spent the next nine years with the compaâ€" ny, progressing from computer proâ€" grammer to inventory manager. But last year, "I was looking to do someâ€" thing different," he says. Researched new career After doing some research, Hawkins and his parents were sold on the Mail Boxes Etc. franchise proâ€" gram. Hawkins, who just opened Oakville‘s fourth MBE Centre in the Oakville Town Centre II Shopping Centre (near the Esso station), says it was a lucky irony that the company‘s Canadian head office is located in Oakville. "Most franchises are based around food, but the MBE concept matched my background perfectly. The corporate office, and the semiâ€" nars are in Oakyville, so I lucked out." MBE offers its independent operâ€" ators ongoing training. Hawkins says he enjoys the short trips to head office on Iroquois Shore Road, where ing their packing service, your item is guaranteed against damage. If you prefer to pack it yourself, MBE stocks a full range of packing suppliesâ€"bubble wrap, foam peanuts, boxes, tape, and more. Purchase just enough for one package, or in bulk quantities for that big move. If you don‘t find what you need, feel free to ask questionsâ€"the friendly staff is there to help. "Just bring in your gift, and we‘ll wrap it and send it. It‘s so easy," Modestino says. n addition to parcel service, MBE offers a unique combination of private business services. You can get safe, secure mailbox service with 24â€"hour access for a very reasonable monthly rate. The Mailbox Suiteâ€" Service"" provides small business owners with a real street address, instead of a P.O. box number. With MailCheck®", just call to find out if there‘s mail waitâ€" ingâ€"no need for unnecessary trips. Plus, you can cusâ€" tomize mail forwarding or mail holding, which becomes very handy if you need business mail sent to various locaâ€" tions on your trip itinerary, or wish to be notified when your tax return arrives! At MBE, you can have your mail metered or have postage affixed. They‘ll also receive packâ€" ages for you and call when they arrive. "A main focus of ours is to support the small business owner, and in addition to MBE core services, I have choâ€" sen to offer PC timeshare service for word processing and spreadsheet applications for Excel and Lotus users. You can come in and set up the document, and then output it on the laser printer," notes Murray McKnight, who runs the recently opened 1,300 squareâ€"foot MBE Centre at 99 Bronte Road (Bronte Road at Lakeshore Road West), with wife Jill. McKnight has also added passport and ID photos, pagers, voice mail, home and business security products, The newest MBE Centre, at Oakuille Town Centre II Shopping Centre, 200 North Service Rd. W. he and other franchise owners are given ample support. He is especially grateful for the amount of time spent by company representatives who worked with Hawkins to customize Oakville‘s newest MBE Centre, after picking out a suitable location. "There are pullâ€"out drawers all through the store, and the cash regisâ€" ters and computers slide forward," demonstrates Hawkins, who can move his electric wheelchair throughout the store with ease, and uses a modified pen strapped to his hand for computer work. "There‘s not a spot in the store that I can‘t get at." Most of the storage space and countertops in the new store, decoâ€" rated in the company‘s bold red, white and blue trademark colors, have been modified to permit easy access to packing materials and other day to day necessities. "Anything you want, they‘ll do â€" it‘s a really nice touch. The washâ€" room is huge, and I can also get into the mailroom to check the boxes," he says happily, noting that the compaâ€" ny not only enables wheelchair users to patronize MBE Centres easily, but also creates viable job opportunities. If Hawkins needs something quickly, he can ask one of his staff, or the only fourâ€"legged member of THE OAKVILLE BEAVER the team â€" his trusty dog Jarvis A threeâ€"andâ€"aâ€"halfâ€"yearâ€"old goldâ€" en retriever trained to be a special skills dog at the Canine Vision Canada training school in Oakville, Jarvis is Hawkins‘ constant companâ€" ion. "He does all sorts of things for me â€" open doors, turn on light switches, fetch a portable phone, get things out of the fridge..." says Hawkins, who plans to train Jarvis to help him in the MBE Centre. "He just has to know where someâ€" thing is." Now that the store is up and runâ€" ning, Hawkins is working his way through the company‘s computer software packages, which handle accounting, inventory and shipping. "One program allows us to track important documents constantly, from 10 minutes after they are picked up by the courier," he notes. "It‘s really handy for small busiâ€" ness owners." He usually spends July at the cotâ€" tage, but this year, Hawkins embarked on the latest chapter of his life. He says he‘s thoroughly enjoyâ€" ing himself, and plans to grow the business gradually, taking cues from customers along the way. "I can‘t believe how lucky I am to be doing this in Oakville." BE centres have been popping up at a rate of one a week in Canada, and one a day in the l U.S., where the progressive company originatâ€" ed. and intelligent retail marketing software to his Centre‘s service list. MBE Centres are independently owned and operated franchises, and owners tend to expand their serâ€" vices to respond to their customers‘ needs, such as key cutâ€" ting and pager sales. Their motto is ‘It‘s Not What We Do. It‘s How We Do It."*" All customers, whether student or businessperson, will experience the same topâ€"quality service. Personable and friendly service is part of the Mail Boxes Etc. conâ€" ceptâ€"striving for total customer satisfaction. A multitude of business support features include high quality black and white copies, color copies, office supâ€" plies, business cards and stationery, rubber stamps, name plates, and Western Union® Money Transfer® . drt * ed. "There have been 104 MBE Centres opened throughout Canada since November 1988, and our goal is to see the opening of 150 Centres before the end of 1994," notes Steven Moorman, Director of Franchise Development Centre Operations at MBE‘s Canadian head office, which just happens to be located here in Oakville. * "The most difficult task that we face is to educate the public that most of what we offer falls under the ‘Etc‘ in the MBE name," he says. Ron Kennedy established Oakville‘s first independentâ€" ly owned MBE Centre in March of 1992 at the Upper Oakville Shopping Centre (Upper Middle Road East at Exght.h Line). We oo ol en d uid xn n 4e thias "I look forward to the increased exposure the other Centres will bring, and I send my very best wishes to the McKnight and Hawkins teams." Four conveniently located Centres to serve you: ® Oakville Town Centre II Shoppmg Centre, 200 North Service Road West © 268 Lakeshore Road East (Lakeshore Road East, just west of Trafalgar Road) @ 99 Bronte Road (Bronte Road at Lakeshore Road West) @® Upper Oakville Shopping Centre (Upper Middle Road East at Eighth Line) C ATW HOTELS STORES RESTAURANTS 15 YEAR WARRANT INâ€"STORE SER TuiiDen Lakeshore Rd. David Hawkins, along with constant companion Jarvis, have Oakville‘s fourth Mail Boxes Etc. Centre in the Oakville Town Centr II Shopping Centre (near the Esso station). There are now four MBJ Centres in Oakville, in addition to the company‘s Canadian head office. A MAN AND HIS DOG Camilla‘s sport } Camilla‘s smile 1175 NORTH SERVICE RD. WEST BUILDING A SUITE #102, OAKVILLE LOOK FOR CEILING _ [ FANS SIGN SALE FLags on uomm [;|_______| NORTH SERVICE m 5 ROAD, OAKVILLE i 15 YEAR WARRANTY INâ€"STORE SERVICE THURSDAY FRIDAY 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. SATURDAY SUNDAY 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can always talk to us. Call anytime. We‘ll help you take control AND FAN LIGHTS ALL GN SALE In Oakville and area call DISTRESS July 20, 1994 ALL SIZES QN SALE, Camilla‘ snack WHITE. BLACCK