– Erin MacDonald is the General Manager for the Ucluelet Chamber of Commerce. She can be reached at 250.726.4641 or chamberoffice@uclueletinfo.com.
UCLUELET – After a year of change and restructuring, the Ucluelet Chamber of Commerce is ready to get back to business in 2017, and have hired Erin MacDonald to guide the organization as its new General Manager.
MacDonald will be relocating to the west coast from Nanaimo, where she previously led the team at 460 Communications, a full-service creative agency that worked with clients across Vancouver Island.
Utilizing her diverse background in strategic communications, marketing, event planning, community engagement and government relations, MacDonald is working with the board of directors to chart a new course that better supports local business in the community.
In previous years, the chamber has been tasked with managing Visitor Services in Ucluelet, which diverted attention away from their primary focus – supporting the membership.
Now that this responsibility has been assumed by Tourism Ucluelet, the chamber looks forward to reconnecting with business owners in the community to establish a new working relationship.
Moving forward, the chamber will be seeking new ways to deliver value to members and improve community relations. To get a better sense of the issues that are important to chamber members and the community, MacDonald has planned a series of Business Walks to gather information about the challenges and opportunities impacting business growth in Ucluelet.
The chamber will also be developing a survey to help identify areas where they can assist members with professional development.
As the Ucluelet Chamber gets ready to celebrate its 70th anniversary this year, the board is optimistic that with a refreshed vision and sense of purpose, they are headed in the right direction.
The Ucluelet Chamber Board of Directors for 2017 includes: Dian McCreary, Ursula Banke, Marilyn McEwen, Laurie Gehrke, Suzanne Ryles and Bernie Herbert.