Committee News Archives - Grindstone Cottage Owners Association

Category: Committee News

August 30, 2024

Reviving the Grindstone Legacy: A Conversation with Kim and Taylor Gerbinski

We’d like to introduce Kim and Taylor Gerbinski, long-time Grindstone enthusiasts and community entrepreneurs. In 2019, they set out to revive the original Grindstone clothing line their family had cherished years ago. We had the pleasure of speaking with them and asked a few questions.

What made you decide to do a line of Grindstone Clothing?

Our family still had a few of the 80’s sweatshirts kicking around our cabin, that we wore regularly. We talked about how fun it would be to bring some of these retro items back to Grindstone. Originally we were just going to design and order some sweatshirts for ourselves. After speaking to some of our friends, we realized there was a much larger want for the clothing that just our cabin. It was important that if we were going to take this project on that we provided quality products and reasonable prices, so that our community could keep supporting us yar over year!

Where did you get the inspiration and designs for the clothing?

I have a three ¼ zip sweatshirt sitting in my closet, and Uncle Don always sports his retro Grindstone hat. We put those two items together and decided to bring items back in their full glory, upside down birds and all! Fortunately my husband is handy in Photoshop. We were able to take a picture of the logo on my old sweatshirt and he manipulated it so that we had a high resolution file to use for production!

I understand the profits from the sale of the clothing are used for park enrichment, can you tell us a bit more about that?

Yes, Grindstone Clothing proudly donates all profits back to the cottage community. When my husband and I started this fun project we simply wanted to bring some fun and joy to Grindstone, while contributing to the improvement of the park. Over the last 5 years we have happily donated $5,000 back to the Grindstone Cottage Owners Association, and some of those funds went directly to building the play structure at Blacks Point Beach.

And finally, what was the most popular item you have sold?

I think our most popular item has been the “original logo” hoodie. Nothing says Grindstone more than those 3 trees in front of the sun with upside down birds in the distance. If you know a Grindstoner you think should be featured, email [email protected]

June 12, 2024

A New Membership Committee is COMPLETE!

At the GCOA Annual General Meeting on April 24th, 2024, we welcomed an additional cottager to the Board and Membership Committee. The committee is now led by Howard Thiessen and Darlene Dean. Over the past year, the GCOA has diligently developed a process for maintaining and updating our cottager contact database. With this system now in place, the new Membership Committee will have no trouble keeping the GCOA membership and contacts list current. This will ensure that all cottagers are well-informed and actively involved!

See below the summary of the Membership Committee’s Roles and Responsibilities.

GCOA Membership Committee

This detailed outline provides a clear understanding of the committee’s operations and procedures, ensuring efficient management of membership affairs within the GCOA.

Introduction / Background:

The Membership Committee was established alongside the GCOA board to support the organization financially through membership fees.
Members have rights including attending meetings, voting on motions, receiving newsletters, participating in events, and accessing other benefits.
Membership fees are annual, due at the beginning of the calendar year, and are tied to cottage addresses.

Roles and Responsibilities:

Maintain a contact list of members and track contact information for other cottagers.
Organize, track, and collect membership fees.
Maintain an email distribution list for communication purposes.
Obtain cottage owner/lessee lists from the Real Estate Services Branch for updates.

Committee Procedures:

Contact List:
- Utilize Microsoft Excel for now, with plans to transition to Membershipworks.
- Maintain various tabs for tracking membership status, additional emails, email distribution, advance payments, and subdivision lists.
Real Estate Services Branch Cottager List:
- Obtain the list annually, containing lessee names and home addresses.
- Board is responsible for obtaining email addresses and phone numbers.
Membership Email Address:
- Use designated email address for membership matters, including receiving e-transfers.
- Notify Treasurer of received e-transfers and file corresponding receipts.
Payment Collection & Canvassing:
- Collect payments via cash, cheque, credit card, or e-transfer.
- Provide receipts for cash/cheque payments, track payments received.
- Use credit card scanning device for credit card payments.
- Supply flyers for marketing and information purposes during canvassing.
Membership Incentive Program:
- Manage the incentive program, ensuring members receive their discount cards upon payment.
- Track members who have paid but not received their incentive cards and ensure delivery.

June 1, 2023

Membership Committee launches new member incentive program!!

This year your board and membership committee has spend a great deal of time reaching out to various vendors & companies looking to see if they would be willing to support the community and join an incentive program. Our goal was to provide more of encouragement for Grindstone Cottagers to become a member. In the return, the vendor would gain additional traffic and business they may not otherwise had. So, we’ve added many more additional benefits and perks to that cottager membership.

READ MORE to see all of the benefits and incentives members can receive.

April 1, 2023

Grindstone Clothing Co – Taking it easy this summer!

Happy Spring Cottagers! Well, sort of. Hopefully we’ve seen the last of the snow! We’d like to offer a huge thanks again for your continued support of our fun little side project at the lake. We love seeing so many people sporting their Sweaters, T-shirts and Hats around the lake, and in the city! As many of you know, we have a Mini-Grindstoner named Scarlett who fills our day with so much joy and loves spending time at the cottage. She’s almost three, and is ready to actively participate in Grindstone Days. With that being said, Taylor and I feel as though we need to take a brief hiatus from Grindstone Clothing, so that we can enjoy our long weekends, and especially Grindstone Days with our daughter. We’ll be having a flash sale in late spring/early summer, so keep your eyes peeled to our Facebook and Instagram Pages.

We may have small drops from time to time (like baseball hats, toques or specialty sweaters), so fear not, we will most definitely be back! Thank you again for all of the support over the year. See you at the lake!

June 1, 2022

Grindstone Clothing Co – Ready for another busy summer!

We are gearing up for another busy summer with Grindstone Clothing. We’ll have some of your favourites back in stock for the first time in a couple of years, like Tank Tops. Baseball hats and Toddler clothes were popular last year, so we’ll be sure to stock up on those again as well.

We truly love seeing so many people sporting Grindstone Clothing around the park and in the city as well.

We’re excited to be setting up a table again at The Pancake Breakfast. We’ll be fully stocked and ready to take everyone’s orders. As a reminder we accept cash and all major credit cards.

If you can’t make it to The Pancake Breakfast, feel free to send us a message or drop by 53 Birch Crescent to order/pick up your items!

We’re always looking for suggestions on new items, or new colours to bring in each year. Please reach out via email, Facebook or Instagram if you have any suggestions.

Do you have suggestion for new product?

See you at the Beach!

– Kim & Taylor Gerbinski

November 1, 2021

Trails Committee News Update

The Grindstone Trails Committee is 100% Volunteer based, and does a truly amazing job of keeping our trails safe and clear for everyone to enjoy! The team was limited on some of the maintenance they were able to do over the summer due to the extremely dry conditions, but caught up once we saw some precipitation.

As the winter months are upon us, our Trails Committee shifts gears and maintains the trails for our skiers and snowmobilers. This includes marking out the snow-pass trails and grooming local trails so they’re accessible for everyone! They’ve already been busy this winter clearing brush from on the Washow Bay trail as well as many other trails throughout the subdivisions. Over the Christmas/New Years break they will be busy continuing these efforts.

The trails committee in partnership with The COA and Parks have submitted an application to Trails Manitoba to take part in one of their grants. If approved – the Trails Committee will use the grant money to maintain and update current trails within the park, as well as begin developing a trail along the main gravel road from the warm up shelter at Mile 10 eventually to North Cliffs. This trail will be located along the powerlines and will piggyback on clearing that Hydro will be doing during Q1 of 2022. Snowmobilers, Skiers, Walkers and Snow Shoers will be able to use this new trail and safely access the warm up shack without having to use the road.

The Trails Committee is ALWAYS looking for more volunteers to join. If you’re interested in working to keep our park beautiful and expand our trails system or have any questions or concerns , please contact us at [email protected]

November 1, 2021

Grindstone Clothing Co – Overwhelmed at the Grindstone support!

We continue to be overwhelmed by the amazing support we’ve received from the Grindstone Community. Thanks in part to the Grindstone General Store’s Farmers Market on September Long weekend, we were able to launch a new logo, as well as some items for your little ones! And WOW…you guys kept us HOPPING all day! We sold out of almost all of our new stock!

Our goal is to provide affordable comfy clothing items while giving back to our cottage community. All profits from our clothing sales are donated back to the GCOA for special projects (like the new play structure at Blacks Point Beach!)

We’ve got our sights set on some other fun projects to support in the future, so from the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU GRINDSTONE! As long as you keep loving these items, we’ll keep bringing them in!

Although it’s close to Christmas, we do still have some products in stock for the winter season, including toques! Feel free to drop us a line anytime at [email protected], or find us on

Facebook and Instagram @grindstoneclothingco Thank you again, and we can’t wait to see everyone at the lake!

Happy Holidays!

– Kim & Taylor Gerbinski

Do you have suggestion for new product?
Contact us at: [email protected]

July 31, 2021

Grindstone Clothing Co – Incredible year; despite Pandemic!

Grindstone Clothing has been around for just over two years now, and what an adventure it has been. The support the Grindstone community has shown us, has been absolutely incredible! This year has proven to be a bit of a challenge with Covid-19, but thanks to the wonderful farmers market hosted by the store, we were able to get some new product out to our wonderful supporters.

We are thrilled at the response we received about the Toques, and completely sold out of them! After an incredible 2 years, Taylor and I are overjoyed to announce that we will be donating $3,000 to the GCOA. These funds have been designated for the construction of a play structure at Blacks Point Beach. So again, THANK YOU COTTAGERS! This donation would not have been possible without your support. It’s because of you, that we now get to put a play structure up at Blacks Point Beach.

We’re already working on some new exciting products for next year. Stay tuned to our Facebook and Instagram pages for announcements! If you’re looking for a Christmas gift, drop us a line. We have limited stock, but are happy to set up contactless pickup/delivery. Do you have a suggestion for new product? Contact us at [email protected]

June 28, 2021

Grindstone Clothing Co – Thankful for all your support!

We at Grindstone Clothing are so thankful of all the support this wonderful cottage community has shown us over the last couple years. We are a husband and wife operation who donates all profits from clothing sales back to the Cottage Owners Association. Covid 19 has given us some challenges, as we aren’t able to sell items at large events. With this challenge we have not be able to bring in a ton of new items. We’re hoping that 2022 brings some normalcy back and that we can show you what we’ve been working on!

We do still have a limited supply of hoodies, sweatshirts, t-shirts and tank tops if anyone is in need of cozy cabin wear. Stay tuned for more announcements of new products in the future! Thank you again for all the wonderful support!

Kim & Taylor Gerbinski Do you have a suggestion for new product? Contact us at: [email protected]

May 1, 2021

Grindstone Clothing Co – Clothing Still Available!

We want to thank everyone for their continued support of Grindstone Clothing. Due to Covid-19 we will not be getting any new merchandise in this summer. However, we still have T-Shirts, Crew Necks and Hoodies available for purchase.

Please email [email protected] or call Kim at 204-799-5324 to place your order. We are expecting a new Grindstoner in our family in early July and will be limiting our time at the lake in the early summer.

All profits go back to the GCOA, and we accept all major credit cards! See you this summer!…