ESQUIMALT – As another year draws to a close it is important to look back on the year that was to see what we accomplished and how close we came to meeting or exceeding our goals – both personally and professionally.
For the Board of the Esquimalt Chamber it was a busy year. Following the election of a mostly new Board at the March AGM, we got down to business with our inaugural meeting in April. At that meeting we established a goal of reinvigorating the Chamber in order to better serve our members.
Our monthly “Coffee and a Danish” (the first Thursday of every month) has proven popular and has given the Board an opportunity to hear first-hand from our members about their businesses and how the Chamber can best advocate on their behalf. As a result of what we heard at these events we: upgraded our website and its content (work is currently underway to create a “Members Only” page; offered an evening networking event, hosted by Meghan Major at the Royal Bank, as part of Small Business Week; and followed that up with a Fraud Seminar to help business owners identify fraud and protect against it.
Of course it takes money to run events and provide services to our members so this year in addition to operating the Langos booth at Buccaneer Days we tried something new. Under the guidance of Director Stephanie Ritchie from Cooper Financial, we hosted our first ever Arts and Antiques Appraisal at the English Inn. For a first attempt, we were very pleased with the outcome and plans are in the works to do this again.
On the advocacy front, the Board was part of the Mayor’s Committee on Economic Development, which reported out to Council this spring. Since that time Chamber representatives have been regular attendees at Council meetings in order to ensure Council maintains economic development as a top priority. To that end, we have provided input on the pending Esquimalt Road Urban Design Guidelines and have asked to be consulted as the process unfolds. We have also requested to be part of Council’s upcoming Official Community Plan update.
Finally, as a way to thank all our members and share the holiday spirit we are holding a Christmas Social on December 9. Invitations have been sent to all members and the Board looks forward to seeing you there.
– RJ Senko is a Vice-President at the Esquimalt Chamber and President of RJStrategies. He can be reached at 250-888-3534.
