2024 OCNA Independent Publishers' Retreat 

The OCNA invites you to join us for our annual Independent Publisher’s Retreat on Friday, November 1 and Saturday, November 2 at the beautiful Hidden Valley Resort in Huntsville, Ontario.

This will be a great opportunity to network with your peers, share experiences and learn about topics and resources that might impact your business.

The event will begin with sessions on Friday afternoon, followed by an awards dinner recognizing the 2024 Hall of Fame Inductees. Things will pickup again on Saturday morning with more sessions and a farewell lunch.

We have a full, fun agenda (subject to change based on speaker confirmation) that includes:

• Updates from News Media Canada – What’s going on with the federal government, Google and Canada Post.
• Digital Ad Sales – How to capture the revenue from your website you may be leaving on the table.
• No Local Cartoonist? No Problem – Learn how to create local editorial cartoons and stock images using AI.
• AntiSLAPP (strategic lawsuits against public participation) legislation – In order to prevent journalists from doing their jobs, governments, businesses, pressure groups and individuals are turning to the court to do their dirty work. Here’s what you can do to stop this abuse of process.
• Best Practices and Idea Sharing Session –  What’s working, what’s not and what should/could you be doing differently.
• Round Table Discussion – Come with your questions for the group and leave with fresh ideas on how to improve every aspect of your newspaper.
• ​Updates from OCNA, Ad*Reach and AdCanada – What have we been up to and how can we serve you better.
• And as always – lots of time for networking.

Friday, November 1

1:00 p.m. - Sessions

6:00 p.m. - Dinner

Saturday, November 2

8:00 a.m. - Breakfast

9:00 a.m. - Sessions

12:30 p.m. - Lunch 

Registration fee includes all educational sessions, dinner and overnight accommodations on Friday and breakfast and lunch on Saturday. Double occupancy includes all meals and sessions for second attendee staying in the same room. Should your additional attendee not wish to join for meals and sessions, please contact Karen Shardlow at k.shardlow@ocna.org to discuss meal options and costs.

Register by Monday, September 30, 2024.  

Single Occupancy             $525 

Double Occupancy           $825  

Additional room Thursday or Saturday night

(no meals included) 

Single & Double Occupancy         $250   

Additional Guest Friday Dinner     $105   

All prices subject to HST.

Note: Additional room nights are based on availability at the resort and cannot be guaranteed. If unavailable upon booking, credit will be issued.

Cancellation policy:

No refund will be given if cancelled after Thursday, October 17.

To register, complete the form on the right. Use the toggles or type in each text box the quantity desired. Once finished filling out the form, select 'Add to Cart' and then 'Checkout' for payment options.