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A significant portion of the business community sat down on, Tuesday, to hear about the changes that the Estevan Chamber of Commerce has undergone in the past year. The chamber鈥檚 2016 annual general meeting (AGM) took place at the Western Star Hotel with a full house.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been over nine months since I took over the role of executive director, during which we had a lot of talented changes at the chamber,鈥� said executive director Jackie Wall, in a speech before dinner. 鈥淭he board has been working diligently to shape a new chamber, which includes an entirely new staff and a new strategic plan. This mandate will carry the chamber through 2016.鈥�
Wall outlined the four key areas that she plans to focus on, for this strategic plan, which include: member engagement, development of key relationships, lobbying and advocacy and internal operations.
Wall gave a recap of the past year, mentioning the hiring of executive assistant Meagan O鈥橣lanagan, the growth of the chamber鈥檚 social media presence and its new electronic newsletter, intended for all businesses in Estevan and the surrounding area.
She noted that the chamber has been in regular monthly meetings with the City of Estevan and council, and periodically reports to the RM of Estevan. Wall said the chamber is also working on establishing a 小蓝视频east Regional Industry Education Council, including local colleges, First Nations and 小蓝视频east Cornerstone school division.
鈥淚nternally, we are reviewing bylaws, policy and procedures of the chamber in the next few months, developing an internal operations handbook and formulating new job descriptions, because we are a whole new staff.鈥�
Wall said future plans entail more meetings and focus groups with local businesses, more luncheon events, and the upcoming shop local initiative, with the participation of 18 local businesses, running from April to mid-August.
Angela Stepp, with MNP Ltd., delivered the independent auditor鈥檚 report on the chamber鈥檚 financial statements after dinner.听Stepp acknowledged that the past year has been one of change for the chamber, with several staff replacements resulting in a reduction of 鈥渇our employees to one and a half,鈥� referring to the hiring an executive assistant, and two employees switching over to work with the city.听This change in staff was the result of the City of Estevan taking over the economic development and tourism portfolios from the chamber, as of July.
Stepp reported that there was a decrease in the chamber鈥檚 capital assets because of the switch over of those portfolios.
Total revenue for the chamber was $454,026 at the end of 2015, down $245,000 from the previous year. Stepp noted one of the biggest changes in the financial statements this year was the grant revenue from the city, which decreased by half, from $250,000 in 2014, to $125,000 in 2015. This was also on account of the city taking over the economic development and tourism portfolios.
Stepp reported that total expenses for 2015 decreased from just short of $680,000 in 2014, to slightly over $413,000 in 2015. The total excess of revenue over expenses for 2015 was $40,287. Total net assets at the end of 2015 were $134,682, slightly lower than $157,477 in 2014.
At the AGM, 2015 president Nathan Wilhelm stepped down, and Josh Leblanc took over as president for 2016. The board of directors for 2016 was also appointed, with no nominations from the floor. The 2016 board of directors include: first vice president John Williams, second vice president Cathy Welta-Eagles, treasurer Sheila Guenther; and regular members Aaron Ludwig, Lori Naka, Jeff Richards, Michael Dunne and Shane Ross.
Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce CEO Steve McLellan spoke about the challenges affecting the Saskatchewan economy, and by extension, the chambers of commerce all around the province, saying, "Your chamber is strong, and your community needs a strong chamber now, more than ever."
McLellan acknowledged that the changes that have taken place over the last year are 小蓝视频 felt across the province, and that there is a widespread sense of nervousness and pessimism about the economy, particularly relating to the resource sector. He noted, with an optimistic tone, that although things seem bad, the province has听persevered听and recovered from worse circumstances in the past.
"Ten years ago, people in the Saskatchewan business community said 'We can do better,' and we did. We got busy, invited people back, had more immigrants and more people moving here. Retirees moved back here with their families. That decade was a period of unprecedented population and economic growth," said McLellan. "Some people will say the world is going to hell in a hand basket, but we won't allow it to do that. We need to get creative on solutions."
McLellan introduced the Saskatchewan Chamber's OnTrack 2016 plan as a solution. He described the plan as a series of strategies to help move Saskatchewan away from the dramatic boom-bust cycles of its resource-reliant economy. He said the plan's major components include strengthening the fiscal framework of the province through shorter听assessment听cycles, corporate tax reduction, more听efficiently听using water and water resources, strengthening of education through modernization, the creation of a competitive marketplace in the province, infrastructure enhancement, economic development of northern Saskatchewan, enhancement of work skills training and making Saskatchewan's energy sector more marketable.听
In closing, McLellan stated that the chambers of commerce in Saskatchewan on the municipal or provincial level can provide good advice to all levels of government in such a trying time, adding, "In 1905, our premier said听Saskatchewan听is a big land for big people with big ideas and we believe that's more true today than it was in 1905."听
