Business Seminars
Events that Inform & Inspire
Annual Business Seminar
7:30 – 8:00
Registration, Coffee, and Networking
8:00 – 8:10
Welcome & Seminar Announcements
Moderator: Marvin Bauman, Wallenstein ON
8:10 – 8:50
Incorporating Core Kingdom Values
Merle Burkholder, New Hamburg ON
8:50 – 9:30
Intentional & Redemptive Conflict Management: The INQUEST
Ryan Martin, Chatsworth ON
9:30 – 10:00
Break Time
10:00 – 10:45
Artificial Intelligence
Benjamin Beachy, OH
10:55 – 11:45
Accounts Receivable
Clinton Plett, MB
11:50 – 1:10
Lunch
1:10 – 1:55
Being a Leader of Integrity
Merle Burkholder, New Hamburg ON
1:55 – 2:35
Intentional & Redemptive Conflict Management: The CONQUEST
Ryan Martin, Chatsworth ON
2:35 – 3:05
Break Time
3:05 – 3:20
Business Update
Marlin Gingrich, ABA Board Chairman
3:20 – 4:20
Q&A Period
Moderator: Warren Bauman
Event Speakers: Merle Burkholder, Ryan Martin, Benjamin Beachy, Clinton Plett
Seminar Venue
This event will be held at
Stratford Rotary Complex
353 McCarthy Rd, Statford ON, N5A 7S7
Event Speakers
Merle Burkholder
Merle Burkholder and his wife Edith live in New Hamburg, Ontario. Merle was raised in a business family in Pennsylvania. He has spent the past 46 years in missionary service with various organizations. Merle is an ordained minister and currently serves as staff pastor for Open Hands. He is also a mentor at Servant Institute and a member of the executive committee of Anabaptist ViewPoint.
Topic — Incorporating Core Kingdom Values
Too many companies have core values that are merely on a wall plaque or on paper in a drawer or binder. Core kingdom values are external promises to your customers and internal motivation to your employees. This session will provide practical ways to identify, communicate, and incorporate core kingdom values for your company. They will then drive behaviours in your company and make your stated values a reality.
Topic — Being a Leader of Integrity
The two primary characteristics of a leader who is worth following are character and competence. Integrity is the prime character quality of a leader. A leader who gets things done but who lacks integrity is likely to leave a trail of broken and hurt people in their wake. As Christian leaders, we not only care about the people we lead, but we also care about how we represent Christ in our role as a leader.
Ryan Martin
Ryan and his wife Sandra live near Chatsworth, Ontario with their two youngest children, Kiarra and Kade, while their oldest son Tyler and his wife Alyssa live a few minutes away in Owen Sound. They are members at Glad Tidings Mennonite Fellowship in Tara. With many years of administrative experience with RFW Farms Ltd., a hog production company based in Grimsby Ontario, and Christian Aid Ministries Canada, a global charity based in Moorefield Ontario, Ryan has embraced the opportunity to analyze real life experiences with conflict in the human resources department of both organizations. He believes that everyone can learn how to avoid being intimidated by conflict, and instead, embrace the opportunity to understand the nuances of a disagreement and resolve it with grace and goodwill.
Topics — Intentional & Redemptive Conflict Management
Conflict is a normal part of being human in the workplace. The tragedy is when differences in perspective devolve into noxious behaviour and broken relationships. God is glorified when business partners, employers and employees and all staff members can harmonize for the greater good despite their differences.
Benjamin Beachy
Benjamin Beachy is employed at Christian Aid Ministries, where he has supported and deployed in-house IT systems and assisted users for over 20 years. He has trained successive generations of employees and field staff on introductory topics such as email basics and Excel formulas, and has aided staff exfiltrate data backups during emergency evacuation events. When colleagues get stuck in the most unusual corners of technology, he likes to say “users just try to get their work done”. He lives with his wife and five children on a small property just outside Holmes County. In an effort to balance out an office job, he spends evenings and weekends outdoors—either in the garden, or splitting firewood, or trying to grow fruit trees from seed.
Topic — Artificial Intelligence
This technology has garnered much attention since the public launch of ChatGPT in November 2022. While security researchers warn of new threats from AI-enhanced tools and businesses add AI to nearly everything they sell, we may be left wondering if this is a temporary fad. In this session we will take a quick look at how these systems work, explain key terminology, address privacy and security concerns, and offer suggestions for interacting with AI. Equipped with this knowledge, you can make consistent, ethical decisions on this topic.
Clinton Plett
Clinton Plett lives in Manitoba in the pleasant country prairies, with his wife and the family he loves. He and his wife Elaine have been blessed with 11 children, of whom 7 are married, and there are 20 grandchildren and counting. Clinton and his brother opened Countryside Home Hardware in 1992 to support their families. Beginning in a small-car garage with his front lawn as the lumberyard, 32 years later he is transitioning ownership to his son and another shareholder.
Topic — Accounts Receivable
Management of accounts receivable is one of the most important parts of owning a business and yet, many times it gets overlooked. When customers are not current in paying their accounts, in essence your business becomes their bank or lender. This is not healthy and has the potential to create many negative ripple effects for your company. Practical tools to assist in keeping receivables current will be shared, the result of many years of experience in the retail industry.