Dear Chamber Members,
My tenure as President of the Chamber has now hit the halfway point in the Chamber Calendar year which commenced July 1, 2021. I must say it has been a challenging experience as we grapple with the on-going COVID-19 pandemic and the harsh realities that many in our membership are facing. I can report to you that the Chamber Board and staff are working diligently to offer member benefits, services, advocacy and where possible, events on your behalf in these challenging times.
On behalf of the membership, we are currently working on federal and provincial policy resolutions to submit to the Alberta Chambers of Commerce and Canadian Chamber of Commerce. These policies will be debated at both Annual Conferences in 2022. Currently, we continue to support an important Albertan economic opportunity in lithium mining at the federal level, and we are working on new policy in areas such as, corporate taxation, circular economy for plastics, hydrogen energy, court funding gaps as well as a policy on abandoned gas wells. We are pleased to report that municipally we participated in the County’s budget process by presenting to council in a public hearing regarding businesses concerns from the proposed 2022 budget.
We as a board have also investigated the possibility of hosting events and networking opportunities going forward. We recognize the importance of these member opportunities but with COVID-19 continuing to evolve in another variant, and with the provincial government and AHS restrictions that are in place to safe-guard Albertans, it makes in person meetings and some events difficult to host. I am pleased to report that we successfully hosted our Golf Tournament on July 21, our hybrid Business Awards on October 21st and three Political Forums, Federal – September 14th and two Municipal Forums October 6th and 7th. We are in the planning and registration stage for our 37th annual Great Canadian Trade Fair & Sale which is scheduled for April 8-10th. We resumed our Breakfast Networking Meetings on November 4th in a virtual setting. We continue to monitor the situation and will resume these types of meetings in person when it is safe to do so.
We have continued the “Shop Local, Shop Sherwood Park” program and since August 2021 we have invested over $120,000 in this awareness campaign. We have experienced a great response from the public and thank all residents for their support to shop and buy local. This awareness campaign encourages residents to shop locally, allowing you to grow your business, which in turn allows you the opportunity to employ residents, pay taxes to support the community and to give back to the community by volunteerism and sponsorship of local programs and events… Thank You!
As members of the Chamber of Commerce, I would like to invite each of you to contact us to let us know how you are doing. Your Chamber membership is important to us, and we would like to connect by phone, email or by social media to understand your challenges as well as communicate the benefits we offer to help your business to succeed. If you visit our website at https://sherwoodparkchamber.com/, you will see all the opportunities we have to offer you. Please feel free to contact our Chamber Executive Director, Todd Banks, at 780-416-3056 for any questions or suggestions you may have.
As the holiday season closes, I would like to wish you, our membership, all the best in your personal and business endeavors for 2022.
Sincerely,
Darryl Popik