Being a voice for businesses will be the main focus for the new president of the Okotoks and District Chamber of Commerce.
Current vice-president Andrew Gustafson, owner of Natural High Fitness, is looking forward to beginning his two-year term at the AGM on Jan. 20, when he takes the reigns from Amber Chapman.
“What I am really excited about is the people I’ll have the opportunity to be able to work with,” said Gustafson. “The skill set and diverse minds on the board are really good and very exciting. It’s going to be a very effective group of people.”
As he moves into his role as president, Sara Noyes of Cactus Club Salon and Spa will become president-elect, Joelle Guzzo of Servus Credit Union will be vice-president and Jody Odeny from Bible for Missions will become the executive secretary. Dana Johnson of Investors Group Financial Services will remain treasurer.
Gustafson said currently 25 per cent of businesses in town are chamber members and he would like to see that number climb to 30 per cent.
“We’re good, but not quite where we want to be,” he said. “That five per cent is huge, it’s almost 100 members.”
With additional members will come a need for more office staff to help with administrative duties as the chamber continues to work toward the major goals outlined in its strategic plan, he said.
The main goal Gustafson looks forward to attaining is increasing the chamber’s effectiveness as advocates for businesses in the community.
He said though the chamber recently began venturing down that road, there is still quite a way to go.
Prior to Chapman’s presidency, there was little conversation between the chamber and the municipal government, Alberta Chamber of Commerce, or Canada Chamber of Commerce, he explained.
“In the last two years with Amber, we’ve strengthened our relationship with those three organizations,” he said. “It gives us an opportunity to voice what our membership needs us to voice and I look forward to expanding our influence there.”
As outgoing president, Chapman is pleased to see Gustafson fill the role and is confident he will continue her work with advocacy and reaching out to chamber members.
His passion for building policy and advocacy rivals her own, she said.
“I think Andrew Gustafson already brings great value to the chamber and he’s going to do a fantastic job as president,” she said.
Chapman looks forward to playing an active role as past-president and continuing to work with board members, though she wonders where the past two years have gone.
“It went by far too quickly,” she said. “I’ve learned so much, and it’s really something I’ll never forget.”
She said the greatest highlights during her term as president were representing Okotoks at a federal level at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce AGMs in P.E.I. and Ottawa, and building the group’s role as an advocate for businesses.
“It’s been a learning curve for our chamber and a great experience,” said Chapman. “I’ve had the chance to do some true advocacy on behalf of our members.”
Another best practice that came out of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce AGM in P.E.I. was the addition of a CEO to the chamber staff in April 2014, which Chapman said made a huge difference for the organization.
“I think bringing on Cheryl (Actemichuk) was one of the best decision we made,” she said. “To do a reorganization of staff and bring on someone as capable as Cheryl to oversee and manage the chamber, that was a great move.”
Actemichuk was president prior to Chapman’s term and has been active with the chamber in two capacities for nearly two years. She looks forward to focusing on her role as CEO and seeing where Gustafson leads the chamber.
“Andrew is an entirely different person with new ideas and I love that,” said Actemichuk. “I love change and it’s exciting to see what he’s going to do, what he’s going to put forward.”
She said the move from an events-focused committee to one geared more toward policy and advocacy is allowing the chamber to return to more of a governance model, with the premise to support businesses.
As the membership continues to grow, Actemichuk hopes to see more members become actively involved in events like the luncheons, awards and AGMs.
“I’m hoping on Jan. 20 our membership will come out and vote and have the opportunity to be vested in what we do and understand what the chamber can do for them,” she said. “My wish is that the membership gets more involved and gets to know us as advocates for them.”
The Okotok and District Chamber of Commerce AGM is on Jan. 20 at D’Arcy Ranch at 11:30 a.m. The cost is $25 for members.
