Cromwell House
The Cromwell House was started after Brian and Vera Avery realized that there was a need for short-term accommodations in the Clarenville area. At that point, there were no houses available for short term and they wanted to fill that gap. Brian and Vera established The Cromwell House in 2004 and have seen a steady growth in business. They are presently at a 75-80% occupancy rate.

Clarenville Area Consumers Co-operative
Store Manager Kevin Jacobs and Grocery Manager Kent Toms reacted so quickly to help our neighboring communities during the recent Hurricane Igor Disaster. They very quickly engaged local fishermen and recreational boat owners to ferry groceries and supplies to families on Random Island and in the Burgoyne’s Cove areas which were cut off from the rest of the province. The Co-op raised thousands of dollars through in-store and corporate donations to supply hundreds of families who were impacted by the storm. The store proved once again they are a valuable part of our community, and their actions encouraged other stores in our community to also get involved in flood relief activities.

The management and staff of the Clarenville Area Consumers Co-operative continue to provide excellence in customer service, dependability, and reliability over 8,500 members in Clarenville and the surrounding areas. The “Co-op”, as it is most often referred to, continues to return profits to their membership with $15 in sales annually. With healthy revenues, the membership recently voted in favor of a new gas bar and auto wash centre proposed by Co-op Board of Directors. The new gas bar, convenience store and auto was centre will be constructed in 2011, adding new employment to the already 65 or so staff who work there now. The staff members of the Co-op consistently strive for quality improvement and assurance in all departments.

Ralph Mercer, the second eldest of 6 children, was born in 1916 in the community of Upper Island Cove, Conception Bay and moved to St. John's along with his family when he was in his early teens.

Ralph's ambition and drive came naturally as his father (James) when a very young man left Upper Island Cove and headed for the Klondike in the Yukon to “pan for gold”. He spent 2 years panning for gold and the story is told that he did pan $200.00 worth but it cost him $600.00 to do it.

Ralph attended Bishop Field College and after completing a bookkeeping course went to work at one of St. John's oldest mercantile firms. Within 6 months he had decided to work for himself and started his own business.

In 1942 Ralph married Ruby Gosse and they opened “The Economy Cash Store”, a retail grocery outlet on the corner of Prescot & New Gower Street. They worked many long hours and as time went by became successful.

After the end of the Second World War, Ralph became interested in starting a wholesale grocery business and in 1947 made a bold move by selling the “Economy Cash Store”. Then, along with his brother-in-law Gordon Green, formed Mercer & Green Ltd. They started wholesaling groceries and decided to move to Clarenville. They had no affiliation with the town but felt it was a good place to build a future.

Mercer & Green were becoming a large employer in the area operating a fleet of trucks, purchasing lumber and local products as well as supplying many stores in the Trinity and Bonavista Bay areas. Ralph decided he needed a way to deliver products to places not accessible by road as there were many in those days. He formed the Clarenville Shipping Company and started to acquire a fleet of schooners. They were The Dauntless, Philip Wayne, Mercer & Green, and the queen of the fleet the Margaret B Tanner (sister ship to the Bluenose).

Things were going well for Ralph until disaster struck in 1955...One of the 5 tonne trucks was having a tank welded in the basement of the building when an explosion occurred causing a fire. It couldn't have happened at a worse time as a terrific storm called “hurricane Ione” had just hit. Ralph and Ruby were lucky to get out of the building but the mechanic, Johnny Tulk, was even luckier as the explosion blew him through the warehouse door and he lived to tell the tale.

With everything gone, Ralph took a job as a travelling salesman. He picked up a few lines from firms in Montreal and travelled all over the island. In those days things were not as simple as today. Many areas had to be accessed by train or boat. He did this for a few years before making a 180 degree turn.

Ralph decided to stay home and start a poultry farm!! He started with a small amount of hens in his backyard and eventually ended up with 5000. The hennery was located where the Mercer's Marine warehouse now stands on Marine drive. Eventually, he purchased a parcel of land on the highway between Clarenville and Deep Bight; cleared the land and constructed a new hennery on what now is known as the Dump Road. Always willing to try something new he imported hens from Peru that laid blue eggs, raised chicks and kept Cheviot sheep. He operated the poultry farm until the mid 1960's.

In 1957 Ralph and Ruby decided to build a store connected to their house and sell novelties, souvenirs, groceries and other small items. The business wall called Mercer's Variety Store which eventually became Mercer's Marine.

Ruby mainly ran the store at first as Ralph was busy with the poultry farm. They started opening 6 days a week and every night. After long hours and lots of hard work the store began to pay off and in the mid 60's Ralph decided to shut down the poultry farm and concentrate on the business.

The Clarenville Shipyard for years had played an important part in the economy of the town and had been closed for a few years when Ralph and his business partner-to-be Eleazer Hiscock were offered the opportunity to take it over.

After much discussion and with his son, Philip, agreeing to run Mercer's Variety Ralph and Eleazer formed the “Clarenville Drydock Ltd.”. During the life of the company over 50 longliners were constructed, numerous vessels repaired and the schooner Norma & Gladys had a complete refit. During this time 40 to 50 people were employed.

Ralph had never been afraid to try something new. Hard work was second nature to him.

• 2011 Business Excellence Awards Photo Gallery

The 2009 Small Business of the year was awarded to Something Special Gift Boutique & Flower Shop. Allyn and Tim Matthews have been in operation for over twenty years. Starting off with a gift kiosk in the Random Square Mall, Something Special has grown to employ seven people and occupy a retail shopping space of over 900 sq ft.

The 2009 Business of the year was awarded to Newfoundland Power.
Safety is a priory at Newfoundland Power, training over 4000 firefighters in electrical safety and 35,000 children about how to be safe around electricity. They have spent $13.5 million to strengthen the electricity system and improve reliability for customers in Clarenville and the surrounding areas. The Clarenville office alone has donated over $15,000 to the Dr. H. Bliss Murphy Cancer Care Foundation, their corporate charity; “The Power of Life Project”. Newfoundland Power has hosted “EnviroFest” for 12 years which promotes environmental and energy efficiency education and awareness.

The Clarenville Area Chamber of Commerce selected Dr. Albert O’Mahony as the 2009 Business Hall of Fame Inductee.
The Business Hall of Fame recognizes individuals from the Clarenville business community that have demonstrated excellence over an extended period of time, contributing to the economic well-being of the people and the province. They must be considered a role model for future generations of entrepreneurs, professionals and business leaders, as well as others in business, and they must be recognized by his or her organization or profession as having made an outstanding contribution to the success of the organization or profession in support of business excellence.

Dr. O’Mahony was highly respected by his peers and much loved by his many patients for always going above and beyond the call of duty in his passion and commitment to patient care. Up until the time of his passing, his patients could still depend on him to make house calls.

Dr. O’Mahony was a family physician in private practice in Clarenville for 43 years. For many of those years he was the only family doctor in Clarenville. During his long career he contributed significantly to the Clarenville area and he was highly involved in the community, serving as a town councilor for a term and as a director of the Clarenville Area Chamber of Commerce, which he was a member of throughout his entire career.

Dr. O’Mahony was honoured for his many years of dedicated service at the Clarenville Area Chamber of Commerce’s 3rd annual Business Excellence Awards Banquet & Annual Meeting on February 24, 2010.

If you would like more information regarding the Business Excellent Awards please call 466-5800 or email info@clarenvilleareachamber.net.

The Chamber hosted its 2nd Annual Business Excellence Awards on Thursday, February 26, 2009. The Chamber presented Therapy Works with the 2008 Small Business of the Year Award and presented St. Jude Hotel with the 2008 Business of the Year Award.

The Chamber is delighted to announce that Mr. Bramwell Coish has been selected as the 2008 Inductee to the Chamber’s Business Hall of Fame. During the evening a dear friend, Leo Bonnell, paid tribute as he presented a slide show of Bram’s life.

Mr. Coish was one of the pioneers of department store shopping in Clarenville; in 1961 at the age of 21, he opened the town’s first major department store. Mr. Coish with his wife Mildred along side of him, worked very hard and put in many long nights. The Chain Store became a household name over the years as they provided quality goods and friendly service for 30 years. Mr. Coish was very involved with the community as a volunteer, contributing substantially to many causes and to the community. He was a founding member of the Clarenville Area Chamber of Commerce, a founding member of the Clarenville Rotary Club and a member of the Clarenville Town Council.

If you would like more information regarding the Business Excellent Awards please call 466-5800 or email info@clarenvilleareachamber.net.

The 1st Annual Business Excellence Awards Banquet was held on February 25th, 2008. The 2007 Small Business of the Year Award was presented to A&P Music/The Source and accepted by owners Mr. Andrew & Mrs. Patricia Leonard. The 2007 Business of the Year Award was presented to the Clarenville Area Consumers Co-op and accepted by General Manager, Mr. Kevin Jacobs & Co-op Board member Ms. Linda Garnier.

In addition to the Annual Business Excellence Awards, the late Mr. Charles E. Sheppard was honoured as the Chamber’s 1st Business Hall of Fame Inductee. The award was presented to and accepted by his family who received a standing ovation.

Mr. Sheppard graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering in 1969. In 1972 he showed his entrepreneurial spirit when he co-founded Sheppard Green Engineering in Clarenville. Over the years the company expanded and went through many changes, opening offices in many areas throughout Atlantic Canada. The firm then joined the national engineering firm Acres International, and Sheppard became Vice-President. They later become part of Hatch Mott MacDonald, a company with nearly 10,000 employees and offices throughout the world. Sheppard remained a leader in the company’s Atlantic Canada operations. Through his leadership, the firm attracted engineering contracts for countless multi-million dollar projects to this region, and with that, often came projects for regional contractors, leading to employment increases for the region.