Efforts to expand the work of the Okotoks Chamber of Commerce were recognized at the provincial level and they will get an additional boost thanks to a $50,000 grant.
The Okotoks Chamber of Commerce was awarded Chamber of the Year by the Alberta Chambers of Commerce on May 14. A week later, the Okotoks chamber received a $50,000 provincial grant that will be used to hire an outreach development co-ordinator.
The Okotoks chamber won the provincial award in the second smallest size category for groups with membership between 151 and 350.
Chamber president Andrew Gustafson credited the win to the chamber’s expanded work in encouraging policy changes and advocating for local businesses.
“No question that’s what it is,” he said.
Winners in other size categories were the chambers from Vegreville, Camrose and Medicine Hat.
Gustafson said the winners were selected several months ago and at the time, the Okotoks chamber’s membership fell into the second category. It has grown since then.
“The interesting thing is they chose these awards a few months ago and at that time we were in that 151 to 350 member range, today we’re sitting at 405 members,” he said.
Gustafson said the chamber has evolved in recent years, expanding events, attending chamber conferences at the national level and hiring a full-time executive director.
He said more businesses are also seeing the chamber as a voice for the local business community and a conduit for members to have their voices heard.
“It all started around 2014,” said Gustafson. “We started noticing there’s opportunities like that available and our group of volunteers, our board members said ‘look at this chambers are doing a lot more around the country.’”
He credited the Okotoks chamber’s move to expand its role to helping grow its membership.
The Okotoks chamber’s efforts to expand their activities are getting financial help from the provincial government.
The chamber received a $50,000 grant May 20 from the Community Initiatives Program to hire a community outreach development assistant. The provincial grant will be spread out over two years and Okotoks chamber had to match the funding.
Gustafson said the position will allow the chamber to continue expanding its work and support its members.
“It’s been a challenge for us over the last year. We want to do all this stuff, but who is committed to doing it,” he said. “Now that we have the grant we can put the staff in place to support that mandate.”
Cheryl Achtemichuk, Okotoks chamber executive director, said Joelle Guzzo has been hired to fill the position.
She said the funding will allow the chamber to have permanent staff in place to meet businesses and work in the community.
“To go to our membership, to increase our membership, find out what the membership wants from us, what we can do to assist them further than we already have, to be able to go to government to help with writing policy,” said Achtemichuk. “It’s just to give the tools to them to be able to access all the things the business community needs that we haven’t been able to fulfill with one person.”
She said the chamber will also look at long-term sources of revenue to be able to maintain the position and expand staffing.
