– Sonja Nagel is Executive Director of the Duncan Cowichan Chamber of Commerce. She can be reached at manager@duncancc.bc.ca or 250.748.1111.
COWICHAN VALLEY – Chambers across the island will celebrate Chamber Week, February 20 – 24. It’s a great opportunity to highlight the many ways #WeGetBizDone on behalf of businesses in our communities.
Whether this means advocating on behalf of our members, or offering a menu of member benefits and opportunities for members to showcase their business, Chambers and Boards of Trades have been supporting businesses in BC for well over a century.
This year, the Duncan Cowichan Chamber of Commerce celebrates 110 years since our formation under the BC Board of Trade. We’ll be celebrating all month with a series of events and programs to help support Cowichan’s businesses, starting with a series of Lunch n Learns: Social Media Trends for 2017 with Social Media is Simple, How I Built my Business One Fear at a Time with Lush Eco Lawns, and Extended Benefits just for Chamber Members with the Glen Naylor Financial Group and the Chambers Group Insurance Plan.
Our February Luncheon will highlight speakers from the Port Renfrew area talking about the transition from logging to tourism and the success of new tourist attraction Avatar Grove.
We will also host a Tuesday Tea Party during Chamber Week to celebrate 110 Years at the Chamber. We are debating if staff will dress in 1907 attire!
In keeping with the 110 year theme this month, we will be recognizing 110 members who have joined the Chamber in the last 18 months, helping us to achieve our goal of 500 active members. We will also showcase long term supporters of the Chamber, many who have been in the Chamber family for well over 25 years – a testament of the value of Chamber membership.
Like most Chambers of Commerce and Boards of Trade, we belong to BC’s largest business network, the BC Chamber of Commerce, known for its grass-roots policy building process. We are once again delighted to be part of this process to discuss innovative policies that respond to current, on-the-ground needs of businesses in our communities.
Last year, our Chamber was instrumental in bringing forward a policy that came from one of Cowichan’s largest wineries, calling for equitable taxation for BC’s wineries, distilleries and cideries. We look forward to working with Chambers across BC to bring these policies forward at the BC Chamber of Commerce’s AGM in Victoria in May.
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February 24 kicks off Dine Cowichan, Cowichan’s first Dine Around style program. 25 restaurants have signed on to offer a variety of unique dining specials over the 17 day Dine Cowichan festival. Come to the Cowichan Valley to get your culinary fix February 24 – March 12! Details at www.duncancc.bc.ca.
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Welcome New Chamber Members: Rotary Duncan, Coast Capital Savings, DogDiggzP2P Marketplace Inc, The Olive Station, What’s On Digest Cowichan, Duncan Garage Café & Bakery, My Great Housekeeper, Prima Strada Pizzeria, Island Computer Services and Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Cowichan Valley.
