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Walter Sendzik 2014 Mayoral Candidate St. Catharines. Walter's campaign, 'Fresh Thinking. New Ideas.' focuses on St. Catharines hometown pride and building a city where business can prosper, young people can find work and where all generations of families can continue to live in St. Catharines.

Walter Sendzik was born in his hometown of St. Catharines in 1972. He currently lives in the downtown area with his wife Melanie, a principal with the District School Board of Niagara, and their two children. The youngest of three siblings – his sister Suzanne, and brothers Brian and Andrew, Walter learned the values of hard work and community involvement from his parents Ted and Vivian.

Growing up in a working middle class family, Walter’s family has a long history working at General Motors that goes back more than 65 years to his grandfather, Walter Sendzik, who started working for McKinnon Industries, which was purchased by General Motors. Walter’s father, Ted was a prominent union representative during his time at the company representing the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW Local 199) until his retirement, and his brother Brian and sister Suzanne continue to work for GM in St. Catharines.

Growing up in north St. Catharines, attending Prince Philip Elementary School, Dalewood and Governor Simcoe High School, Walter was an active participant in many school activities. And as his friends will say, he was Wally back then.

Walter attended Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario where he graduated on the Dean’s Honour role obtaining an Honours Arts Degree in specializing in Canadian history. During his time at Laurier, Walter was an active member of student government as an elected member of the Student Senate.

After graduation, Walter moved to Montreal to pursue a Masters Degree at McGill University. Continuing to pursue his passion for Canadian history, Walter obtained his MA in 1995 after completing a thesis on the earlier development of public health in Lower Canada (now Quebec).

Walter moved back to Niagara and joined a publishing company based in Hamilton. He held the position of editor and editor-in-chief for a number of publications during his time with company. With the experience he gained in print media, Walter ventured on to launch his own company Vines Publishing with its co-founder Christopher Waters.

Launched in 1998, Vines magazine was Canada’s first wine lifestyle magazine. Based in St. Catharines, the magazine focused on Niagara’s wineries, winemakers and the people that were building wine industry in Niagara. As the magazine evolved, it expanded its coverage placing Canadian wines along side international wines and wineries demonstrating that Canadian wines can stand shoulder to shoulder in the world of wines. At the same time, the company continued to expand producing wine travel magazines, and publishing books focused on Canadian wines. Vines was also nominated for a number of Canadian magazine awards for writing and photography.

As CEO of the company, Walter built a successful business in his hometown creating jobs, and supporting a sector that has emerged as an important part of Niagara’s economy.

As CEO of the company, Walter built a successful business in his hometown creating jobs, and supporting a sector that has emerged as an important part of Niagara’s economy. In 2005, Walter successfully negotiated the sale of the company to Osprey Media, which is now owned and operated by SunMedia. In 2004, Walter was recognized by Business Link Niagara with a Top 40 Under 40 award.

With his experience as an entrepreneur and business owner, Walter successfully applied for the position of Vice President and General Manager of the St. Catharines Chamber of Commerce in 2006. At the time, the St. Catharines Chamber was in a period of transition with fewer than 700 members. With his experience in building business, Walter worked closely with the business community to rebuild a chamber that had roots going back to the 1867. Within a year, membership was on the rise, and the Chamber was becoming an active participant at city hall and in the community.

In 2008, Walter worked closely with the Boards of the St. Catharines Chamber and Thorold Chamber of Commerce to bring the two organizations together. Both organizations held membership meetings to vote on the proposed merger, and with unanimous support, both memberships voted to join together. It was the first merger of two chambers in Niagara in more than two decades. The newly named St. Catharines – Thorold Chamber of Commerce continued to quickly grow in membership and influence.

Working with St. Catharines Mayor Brian McMullan and Thorold Mayor, Henry D’Angela, Walter led the development for St. Catharines – Thorold Prosperity Council, which was comprised of business and civic leaders. The report, written by Sendzik in collaboration with the Council was an action-oriented plan to increase the prosperity within the community through economic investments. The plan became the guiding document for the City of St. Catharines, and the Chamber worked closely with the city on a number of important projects, including two-way traffic conversion in the downtown, creation of business incubator located in downtown St. Catharines, the building of a performing arts centre, a re-location of Brock University’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts and the expansion of QEW through St. Catharines.

In 2008, Walter was awarded the Bernie Gillespie Award by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce as the top Chamber Executive in Ontario.

By 2010, the Chamber had more than 1,000 members, was an active member of the Ontario and Canadian Chambers of Commerce, and had achieved Accreditation with Distinction by the Canadian Chamber – one of the first chambers in Ontario to receive the highest level of accreditation awarded to chambers for operational excellence.

With the launch of the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce in 2011, the St. Catharines – Thorold Chamber had an opportunity to develop a partnership with an organization that aimed to bring businesses in Niagara together to strengthen the region’s economy. Sendzik played an integral role in working with the boards of both organizations to develop a model that would bring the two organizations together. In 2012, the membership of the St. Catharines – Thorold Chamber voted 98 per cent in favour to join with the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce – creating the largest business organization in Niagara, and one of the largest chambers in Ontario.

By 2014, the Chamber had reached 1,500 members, making it the third largest chamber in Ontario, and one of the top ten chambers in Canada. In addition, the Greater Niagara Chamber achieved its accreditation with distinction by the Canadian Chamber. The GNCC is an active participant at both the regional and municipal levels of government, and Walter has worked closely with elected officials at all orders of government to ensure that the issues of facing business and our communities are front and centre during the decision making process.