Mary Ruth Snyder is Executive Director of the Campbell River Chamber
CAMPBELL RIVER – This is definitely not the ‘new era’ our new board and I envisioned when we began this journey early last fall. A forestry strike, rail blockades and a global pandemic. It has been a whirlwind with the strength of a category 5 hurricane.
One positive aspect to which light has been shed is the immense strength of our networks. The BC Chamber of Commerce weaves together 120 provincial chambers and on their behalf the CEO Val Litwin sits on the Premier’s Economic Recovery Task Force. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce, combines 450 chambers coast to coast to coast and has joined forces with over 100 of Canada’s leading business and industry associations, including the Business Council of Canada, the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters and the Retail Council of Canada to form the Canadian Business Resilience Network which offers weekly webinars detailing the expansive resources and supports in place to assist businesses through this unprecedented global event.
Closer to home we have the invaluable Vancouver Island Economic Alliance which has a comprehensive compilation of bitesize videos with conversations across the spectrum of resources and supports. And now, the expansion of their Island Good campaign — now available for any Vancouver Island product from potatoes to airplane parts! In fact 4 business from Campbell River are now part of Island Good. And both Innovation Island and ICE-T have tremendous programs of business supports as well as a new grant program.
Our city’s Economic Development have launched Campbell River Streaming Forward Resiliency Program in partnership with Spring Activator. This is a FREE online program hosted in Thinkific that participants have access to for 12 months once they begin. Learners can jump around and go at your own pace throughout content, each lesson has a video delivering the core content, along with a worksheet and resource guide for each lesson. Learners will also have access to biweekly LIVE support sessions to ask questions and an invitation to Spring’s online community and curated resources.
In addition, Destination Campbell River is maintaining a database for businesses providing the general public have a single location to seek out the latest about their favourite places to shop, grab a bevy or a meal.
We continue to be inspired by how quickly and successfully our business community has pivoted to adjust to our new reality.
Mary Ruth Snyder is Executive Director of the Campbell River Chamber of Commerce.