NORTH BATTLEFORD - The Battlefords Chamber of Commerce held its Annual General Meeting on Tuesday and some important developments came out of it.
One was the vote on the formal name change. Members voted to approve a name change to the "Battlefords and District Chamber of Commerce", recognizing the district that is part of its service area.
While members gave their approval, it will still take time for the change to become official. Under the Boards of Trade Act of Canada they must petition the federal government and receive federal cabinet approval for the name change, a process not expected to be completed for another six months.
But Battlefords Chamber Chief Operating Officer Linda Machniak told the meeting that with the approval they can start to refer to themselves by the new name and move forward, and does not anticipate any challenge to the federal approval.
This is not the first time the local Chamber has made a name change: the Chamber originally went by the name North Battleford Board of Trade when it began in 1906.
The name change is part of a wholesale rebranding of the Battlefords Chamber, announced at the Chair’s Luncheon in January when the Chamber inducted its 2022 Chair Derek Schmidt. The rebranding will include a new logo and graphics that will be rolled out this year.
Also at the AGM, Chamber members formally elected a Member at Large to sit on the Chamber executive committee. Cassandra Germsheid of Kerr’s Cleaners will serve in that role for the next year.
The Chamber also received its financial statements, with the organization finishing last year with an approximate $40,000 surplus. The 2022 operating budget was approved with the Chamber anticipating a surplus overall of $16,000.
The AGM took place at the Blend Restaurant and Bar, also the site for the Chair’s Banquet last month. It was a chance for Chamber members to look back on its past accomplishments and also look to the future.
Chamber past-Chair Melanie Roberts pointed to highlights from last year including the Battlefords Chamber receiving national accreditation, the Shop Local campaign and the economic study that resulted from that, the upgrades to their website, and the partnership with the Battlefords North Stars to distribute rapid antigen tests outside the Chamber.
Roberts acknowledged that with COVID-19 their Chamber events did suffer in 2021, but “we timed our golf tournament just right,” she said, and were able to hold a Chair’s Luncheon and pull off an election forum as well.
