2005 Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Shark Cannonballs
Carl Dzenis is 24 years old and lives up on Kepple Ridge in Georgian Bluffs Township with his family. By the time Carl finished school, he was already bitten by the entrepreneurial bug. Fortunately for Carl, Dave Rushton of Bruce Community Futures was able to step in at a critical time to help him with a small business loan for the acquisition of some desperately needed equipment for his shop and the office which enabled him to be more efficient.

The whole project started out quite by chance. The boys wanted to go out and do a little downrigger fishing out in Owen Sound Bay. They started gathering all the equipment, tackle, a small boat and trailer, and a used depth finder. They went into Watson’s Tackle to have a look at the downrigger cannonballs and noticed, wow, they want $50.00 for two cannonballs! They bumped into their neighbour who just happened to have a pile of lead sitting at the side of his shop. They mentioned their interest in going fishing. Their neighbour said, Well why don’t you just make your own cannonballs, and that was the start of the whole thing.