DIANNE HAWKINS
COMOX VALLEY – Where do I start? In 2020 we started off the year hosting our Annual Chamber awards with over 300 guests in attendance to honour 2019’s finest. March 18, 2020 – events came to a standstill, literally.
Our Chamber, like others across Canada have navigated some pretty hectic challenges! We scrambled to find the right information to assist our members, not to mention we called ALL of them! (500) Only one week after the Covid-19 lockdown we were hosting zoom calls, fielding the challenges businesses were facing and coming up with solutions. We found ways to help, from not-for-profits, to businesses, to community organizations. If we were asked, we did our best to find an answer.
2020 saw us focusing on advocacy and our membership. We have been working hard to continue to meet the needs of our members as they continued to navigate the uncertainty and changes these times have brought to each of us.
We launched a Stay Strong campaign and worked with 97.3 the Eagle and the Record, as well we were able to provide access to the community to the “Things that are Open’ site hosted by the Pattison Group. This enabled our community to identify businesses that were open.
Stay Strong morphed into Restart Comox Valley when the guidelines were lifted in the late spring. The Campbell River and Comox Valley Chambers launched into action and collaborated together the create the #explorenextdoor program showcasing all the wonderful places to visit and explore in our two communities, support local business and tourism. The video was produced by Daniel Kooman of Unveil Studios. We even made the BC Government’s success stories page on their website!
As guidelines were lifting, the Chamber in partnership with our members, ran a Facebook live campaign titled “Let’s Work Together”. Even though businesses were beginning to re-open and welcome customers back, it wasn’t business as “usual”. The Chamber ran the program to encourage customers to be safe, be kind and be patient.
Exciting things happened too! The Chamber launched the Comox Valley Volunteer Connector this year. The Connector fosters volunteer engagement within the community by providing a central place for not-for-profits to connect with potential volunteers and for individuals and businesses seeking opportunities to volunteer to connect with not-for-profit organizations. Why? Because volunteers are the heart of our community.
In addition to the Volunteer Connector, the Chamber has put together a Youth Engagement Project to develop leadership in youth and demonstrate the value of volunteerism in the community. The program is being facilitated by our Volunteer Connector coordinator, Carrera Teal who was able to secure some fabulous talent from our Chamber members to teach and mentor the youth.
Thanks to a grant the Chamber received we were able to purchase $3,000 worth of gift certificates and partner with the Jet FM to give away to our community to support local business during the Christmas season.
We’ve come full circle, its now 2021 and we are on the cusp of celebrating our 2020 Chamber awards. While we will not be celebrating in person, we are excited to be offering our gala Virtually this year and honouring 2020’s finest. We had over 100 nominations for the awards this year. We have been overwhelmed by the incredible challenges this business community has faced to meet the onslaught of what the pandemic caused. These are people who stuck with it, persevered and overcame. We are excited to celebrate them!
Dianne Hawkins is CEO of the Comox Valley Chamber
For more information on what’s happening locally and advocacy at the Chamber, give us a call or email our CEO at dhawkins@comoxvalleychamber.com – We’re here for you! #Restart Comox Valley
