COMING EVENTS PRESIDENT S MESSAGE. Breakfast Networking Meetings. Chamber of Commerce Luncheon & General Meeting

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1 CHAMBER BUSINESS CONNECTION Published quarterly by Sherwood Park & District Chamber of Commerce Vol. 4 No. 5 COMING EVENTS Breakfast Networking Meetings Thursday, 8 am - 9 am September 4 September 11 September 18 September 25 Chamber of Commerce Luncheon & General Meeting Wednesday, September 17, :30 pm - 1:00 pm Festival Place, 100 Festival Way Members: $26.75 Non Members: $31.50 Friday, October 24, 2014 Holiday Inn Sherwood Park & Conference Centre, 2100 Premier Way, Sherwood Park Now accepting nominations. To download a nomination form, Please go to the Chamber or call Rica at (780) Michael Becher Chamber President Dear Chamber Members, I am proud to say this year was a very successful year at the Sherwood Park & District Chamber of Commerce and I believe our organization has reached new levels of achievement and success. I want to thank the Board of Directors for their generous support and participation in all the chamber activities that we participated in throughout the year. I would also like to thank the staff of the Chamber of Commerce; Kara, Jamie, Susan, Rica, Miranda, Cheryl and our Executive Director, Todd Banks. The board and staff made my year a pleasure to be president and everyone contributed to make our organization stronger! With our membership reaching 1200 strong this spring, we are arguably the 2nd largest chamber in the province (provincial numbers are released on December 31st). Having such a strong membership allows us to effectively advocate to all levels of government on behalf of the business community. Municipally, we discussed many issues with administration and council. Concerns with tax increases for commercial tax payers were discussed which also saw Todd Banks, our Executive Director participate on the Municipal Finance Committee. We hosted several meetings and worked with our membership on the Wye Road Re-development Plan. We regularly worked with administration and council for zoning and development issues that arose here in the county. Provincially, we met with many Ministers and MLAs to voice our concerns with topics such as the construction schedule for the Anthony Henday, the progress on the Hospital, a new Courthouse, and expressed our concerns regarding changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). As well, we were successful in debating 3 policies for our members at the Alberta Chambers of Commerce AGM which will help streamline provincial programs and help grow business in Alberta. Federally, we met with Federal Ministers and discussed our concerns with the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and the newly announced Employee Training Program which is a partnership being developed between the Federal and Provincial Governments working with business across Canada. The Great Canadian Trade Fair and Sale is our largest annual event was a huge success with 341 exhibitor booths and 17,994 visitors who saw what our business community had to offer for goods and services in the community. Incorporating the Taste of Strathcona and the Community Stage together in the gymnasium at Millennium Place attracted even more people to watch the performances/events such as the talent contest and the baby crawl. We would like to take this time to thank Strathcona County and our Sponsors for their support to help ensure the Great Canadian Trade Fair & Sale was successful. This past October we hosted the 36th Annual Business Awards and celebrated business success here in Strathcona County. It was my distinct pleasure to recognize First Call Heating & Air Conditioning as Business of the Year. Congratulations to all the nominees and please read further into this newsletter to see all the recipients of the 2013 Business Awards. When we surveyed you, our membership last May before I became President, one of your top priorities for the Chamber was to have good networking opportunities. I feel we improved upon this with events such as the Curling Funspiel and a sold out Golf Tournament this past June. As well, our three scheduled business meetings; breakfast networking meetings, monthly luncheons and the after hours business mixers all saw an increase in attendance. Thank You! It was our privilege to have such an extensive and impressive list of candidates for this year s Board elections. This year, we are so very fortunate again to have a strong Board for the coming year. We had 8 candidates running for 5 open positions this year and hope those who ran and were not elected will run again next year. The backbone of the Chamber is the tremendous group of member volunteers that work countless hours behind the scenes to make Chamber events and programs successful. Your participation helps to promote your company or organization but also contributes immensely to the local community. Thank you for all of your hard work, wisdom and dedication to our community! I also want to extend a thank you to all the elected officials Federally, Provincially and Municipally for all that you do to support the Chamber. Our Mission Statement is: Improving the Economical, Industrial and Civic Life of the Community through the Development and Promotion of Free Enterprise. We as a chamber would not be as successful as we are in our mission without the great working relationship that we have with all levels of government! It has been a tremendous opportunity and a great privilege to lead the Chamber in the past year. In closing, I would like to say thank you to the membership for your belief and support for myself and the Board over the past year. I know Geoff Matheson and his Board will do a great job representing you, the membership over the next year. Please continue to read through this Chamber Year in Review paper for more of the great programs, services and events that your Chamber provides for its membership and this great community! Sincerely, Michael Becher PRESIDENT S MESSAGE

2 Chamber Year in Review Chamber Luncheons The Sherwood Park & District Chamber of Commerce hosts 10 luncheons each year which are organized to comply with our by-laws that require a monthly meeting with our general membership. These Luncheons update our members on current news and events, providing networking opportunities and feature a guest speaker to address current issues or provide local updates. I was proud to serve as Chair and Emcee of the luncheon portfolio and on behalf of the Chamber thank the following 10 speakers. Geoff Matheson 2012/2013 Luncheon Chair September October November December January February March April May June Todd Hirsh, Chief Economist, ATB Financial Don Thompson, Executive Advisor, Sustainability and Oil Sands Outreach, Canadian Oil Sands Limited Lorraine Royer, Williams Energy Canada & Mike Retrutiak, Veresen Gerry Gabinet, Director, Strathcona County Economic Development & Tourism Honourable Doug Horner, President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance Greg Toth, Senior Director, Kinder Morgan Canada Honourable Tim Uppal, MP Edmonton-Sherwood Park, Minister of State (Multiculturalism) Mayor Roxanne Carr, Strathcona County Honourable Dave Hancock, Premier of Alberta Arlene McWilliam-Protz, Local Organizing Committee Co-Chair, Tour of Alberta Gerry Gabinet, Director of Strathcona County Economic Development & Tourism Dave Hancock, Premier of Alberta Doug Horner, President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance Tim Uppal, MP Edmonton-Sherwood Park, Minister of State (Multiculturalism) Mayor Roxanne Carr, Mayor Roxanne Carr, Strathcona County 2013 Christmas Cash Promotion Sixty three businesses participated in the 2013 Chamber of Commerce Christmas Cash promotion. This annual promotion takes place 4 weeks prior to Christmas allowing customers of participating businesses to fill out ballots to enter to win a grand prize of $2013. The draw was made on December 17, 2013 at the Chamber s Annual Christmas Open House. Businesses that participated in the promotion were entered into a separate draw of which 3 names were drawn. The winners and prize denominations are as follows: Chartreuse Décor Ltd. $300; Shig s Flowers $200; Old Hippy Wood Products $100. CHRISTMAS CASH DRAW From Left to Right: Michael Becher, Chamber President; Dave Stanley-Smith, Christmas Cash Chair; Carol Eastaugh, past Chamber Executive Director; Todd Banks, Chamber Executive Director.

3 After Hours Business Mixers Thank you to all the busineses who hosted our After Hours Business Mixers throughout our Chamber year. Great food and networking was enjoyed by all who attended! Chamber Year in Review Fourth Annual Curling Funspiel Twenty four teams participated in our Chamber Curling Funspiel that was held on February 7, Members enjoyed a great day of fun and networking. Thank you to all our sponsors and the Sherwood Park Curling Club for helping to make this year s event a success! Curling Sponsors! 2014 Curling Funspiel Winner: RBC Royal Bank Picture from left to right: Jarret Orchaed, Ryan Danyluik, Karen Selinfer, Tyler Dion. The Sherwood Park & District Chamber of Commerce produces two publica ons each year. The Chamber Connec on is our member directory which lists each of our member businesses with their contact informa on. A new updated version of our Chamber Connec on is mailed to each of our members in early January each year. The publica on is also distributed to the residents of Sherwood Park and Strathcona County via the Sherwood Park/Strathcona County News. The 2014 Sherwood Park Strathcona County Discover Guide is launched and first distributed in conjunc on with The Great Canadian Trade Fair & Sale. Copies are distributed locally to key loca ons within the community including County Hall, Library, RCMP sta on, Post Office, hotels, shopping outlets, a rac on areas and local businesses. Discover Guides are also distributed to Travel Alberta Tourism Centres and Chamber of Commerce Tourism loca ons within Alberta. Office of Mayor Roxanne Carr

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