All eyes were focused on the front of the room, March 23, searching for cues from a trio of downright giddy women whose long-held Dragon’s Den secret was about to be revealed on a big screen in the basement of The Riverview Lodge.

As the deal was struck on CBC television, Evergreen Memories’ Margot Woodworth, Lisa Schmidt and Merrill Kluke erupted into a happy dance while friends and supporters roared in the background savouring an unforgettable moment.

The show, pairing notable Canadian tycoons with up-and-coming entrepreneurs for a chance at an investment deal, featured the Dryden trio last September.

In the end, Woodworth’s Evergreen Memories, which sells locally grown tree seedlings as eco-friendly party favours and souvenirs, attracted the attention of venture capitalist and Boston Pizza/Global Entertainment chairman Jim Treliving.Treliving’s offer of $70,000 for 30 per cent of the company was accepted by Woodworth — the smallest company he has yet to forge a deal with.

For Woodworth and staffers Schmidt and Kluke, the sheer relief of being able to share their secret, not to mention the fact that the deal has since survived the due diligence process (which most do not), was reason to celebrate.“Only about 20 out of 5,000 get to do it after the handshake is done,” said Margot Woodworth. “We were one of two deals he (Jim Treliving) made all year. It’s one thing to make a deal on TV, but it takes a year to do the due diligence — a lot of homework on both sides. It will be a great partnership and I’m really excited about it.”

The deal grants them access to not only working capital, but also much needed marketing expertise for thier unique, living product.From very humble beginnings of getting together to wrap trees behind a wall divider in a greenhouse to scoring large-scale corporate contacts that pushed sales over the $200,000 mark last year, the trio say they always had a feeling that the idea would succeed.

“Being eco-friendly was absolutely in our favour,” said Lisa Schmidt.“We knew it had a lot of potential,” added Merrill Kluke.Woodworth says there are expansion plans as well as plans to take on more staff as the company increases its capacity.“We do this for Dryden too,” said Woodworth. “We love our community. It’s our home and we were glad to put it on the map tonight.”

By Chris Marchand