All Candidates Forum Held at Okanagan College in Vernon

October 13, 2015

VERNON – The Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce has been in existence for more than one hundred years and for most of that time Watkin Motors has been selling vehicles to those living in the North Okanagan. The longest established Ford dealership in Canada was started by Joe Watkin in 1915 in downtown Vernon and the long-time chamber member recently celebrated its 100th anniversary.  When he started the company Joe had only a few employees and reportedly was willing to take livestock as a down payment.

The company has seen many changes over the last century including a couple of different locations, new ownership and tremendous growth. With over 50 employees, the auto dealer is one of the larger members of the Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce.

The entire community along with dignitaries from across the country paid tribute to the long standing business last month and the Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce was among those saying “thanks” for the positive contribution to the community!

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It is estimated that 60 per cent of those that vote in the federal election this month will be voting first for the party while 30 per cent vote for the leader and roughly 10-15 per cent put the strength of the local candidate as their top priority. Perhaps a more important number though is the number of Canadians that for one reason or another, don’t exercise their right to vote. Voter turnout in the last federal election, at 61.4 per cent, was the third lowest in Canadian history. Not as bad as local government elections but still not where it needs to be.

Encouraging people to vote is something that the Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce has been focused on over the last few months. It used its various communication channels including social media to encourage people to be informed and then considering taking a friend or family member to the polls.

As youth voters tend to be underrepresented, instead of hosting their own all-candidates forum, the Greater Vernon Chamber partnered with JCI Vernon (Junior Chamber International) in staging their All Candidates Forum at Okanagan College in Vernon. The forum was focused on a variety of issues impacting youth and young adults ranging from the economy to the environment. It hopefully helped raise awareness among young voters and leads to an increase in overall voter turnout. The chamber also used the event to stress with all candidates the need for policies that focus on the fundamentals of a strong economy and the important role business, in particular small business, plays in this growth.

In addition the Greater Vernon Chamber asked each local candidate to complete a short written questionnaire that was posted on the GVCC website for all chamber members and the public to review at their leisure. This questionnaire dealt primarily with the economy and trade.

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Speaking of mobilizing youth, the Greater Vernon Chamber continues to celebrate the many talented young professionals in the area who are making their mark through business success and community involvement. KPMG recently teamed up with the chamber in launching the Top 20 under 40 Vernon. All the recipients will be recognized on Thursday October 22nd at a community celebration event during Small Business Week in BC.

In celebrating the area’s young leaders, the chamber is also recognizing the enterprises they are leading as small business is critically important to Vernon and every other city for that matter. Small businesses represent 98 per cent of all businesses in the province. In fact BC is at the top of the pack in terms of small businesses per capita in Canada. BC has 83.4 small businesses per 1,000 people, which is ahead of Saskatchewan at 83.3 and well ahead of third placed Alberta with 74.4 and even further beyond the national average of 70.1.

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The Chamber’s Annual General Meeting was held in September marking the end of the term for another President. Jaron Chasca of Alternatives Funeral and Cremation Services moves into the Past President role with Tracy Cobb-Reeves, Communications Director at Kal Tire elected as President. With its head office located in Vernon, Kal Tire not only contributes significantly to the local economy, its strong management team doesn’t hesitate to get involved in volunteer activities throughout the community and that includes sitting on the chamber board.

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Finally, the Greater Vernon Chamber is pleased to welcome a number of new members including Hayden Fitness Studio, Tambellini Design Studio Inc. and TRTA Architecture. Welcome to the Chamber network!

– Dan Rogers is the General Manager at the Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce and can be reached at manager@vernonchamber.ca.

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