The Estevan Chamber of Commerce celebrated past successes and discussed endeavours heading into the future at its annual general meeting (AGM), on March 22, at the Western Star Signature Hotel and Conference Centre. Executive director Jackie Wall spoke about the work that has been done in 2016 and 2017 to grow key relationships between the chamber and the business community in which it operates, the success of the many events the chamber hosted in the past year, and the many drivers of economic development in the Estevan area that the chamber plans to support, such as the planned Sask Power solar project. Wall mentioned many new initiatives within the chamber, including a quarterly newsletter; developments to the chamber’s communications and social media plan; growing event attendance and member partner support through sponsorship packages; and
the success of pub nights and the potential for more of those kinds of events in 2017. Wall stated that key relationships continue to grow between the chamber and city and RM of Estevan, and the many businesses and community groups within the Estevan area. She also noted that with a new operations handbook and review of bylaws, as well as job roles and descriptions being updated, that potential staff expansion is on the horizon for 2017. Some of the roles within the chamber’s executive changed at Wednesday’s meeting. Past president Josh LeBlanc stepped down as president with his successor, John Williams taking over as president during the meeting. Williams spoke briefly to guests at the end of the event, giving accolades to the leadership qualities of LeBlanc, and anticipating a good year ahead, adding, “a chamber is only as strong as its membership.” The board of directors remained mostly the same,
with one new member joining them, and being sworn in: Brady Johnson. Guest speaker Kim Ulmer, regional president with RBC Royal Bank for Manitoba, Saskatchewan and northwestern Ontario, discussed her career as a banker, and urged guests to challenge conventional thinking, advocating for a culture of diversity that subverts ingrained paradigms about gender in the workforce. Ulmer spoke about how she was once asked if she thought she rose through the ranks and reached her level of success, because she was a woman, and that she was specifically to fit a gender quota. Ulmer said, “I sat back, asked myself that, but said nothing. That’s wrong. I lost the opportunity to challenge that unconscious bias.” Ulmer spoke about the importance of mentors pushing her in her life, inspiring her to do things that scared her every day, rhetorically asking the audience: “If not us, who? If not now, when?”
when going beyond gender biases. Ulmer strongly encouraged moving toward the economic benefits that arise from more inclusive, balanced workplaces and boards, through more female entrepreneurship and leadership. Ulmer was ardent in her support of the spirit of collaboration between both men and women in achieving a more gender-balanced and efficient workforce, finishing her speech by imploring her guests to reject the status quo, “celebrate, educate and inform yourselves and others.” A financial report delivered by Angela Stepp with MNP Inc., indicated that the chamber had a good financial year in 2016, with $23,344 in capital assets, and total revenues of $387,895. There was a decrease of $66,000 in revenue from the previous year, due to 2015 being the last year the chamber received funding for tourism and economic development from the City of Estevan, and the fact that the chamber didn’t host a
couple of events in the past year, that it did in previous years, such as Beach Bash and Estevan Business Excellence (EBEX) awards. The chamber also saw the drop in revenue offset by the final payout of the hotel levy from the hotel association. Expenses in 2016 also decreased by $42,000, for similar reasons to the drop in revenue. Stepp said the total excess of revenue over expense for 2016 was $15,985, compared to $22,796 in 2015.
