June update

Good afternoon Members.  Since May, we have had a number of businesses join the Chamber.  Welcome to: A & B Photo, Jacob Transport, SPH Consultancy Inc, ESP Consulting.

In today's update:

• CANCELLED June 8 lunch with Northern Development Initiative Trust;
• regular Chamber lunch Wednesday June 15;
• Communities in Bloom update;
• Youth Skills BC Workplace Pilot Program
  

Northern Development Initiative Trust (NDIT)
The Chamber lunch originally scheduled for June 8 has been cancelled.  Northern Development Initiative Trust will instead be doing a single presentation in the evening on Wednesday June 8 at the Valley Room of the Lodge.  Doors open at 6, with the presentation starting at 7 pm.  This presentation will focus on funding opportunities and programs for business and community organizations alike.

Chamber Lunch June 15
The Chamber will be holding its regular lunch on the third Wednesday as usual, June 15.  The lunch will be in the downstairs room of the Red Rock Grill and will be $17 each.  The speaker will be announced shortly.

Two "spotlights on business" will be given out at lunch.  Bring your business card for a draw and, if your card is drawn, you'll have 3 minutes to update those in attendance on your respective business or item of interest. 

Communities in Bloom update
A message  from Chamber Vice President Tom Bachynski:

I just wanted to take a moment to comment on this past weekend's Communities in Bloom Get Growing event.  I personally wanted to thank Chamber members:

Cariboo Plant Ranch
Horse Lake Garden Center
Timbr-Mart

for participating. While we had no idea what to expect from the event, the positive spirit by these Chamber members made the event a huge success. A great deal of plant material was taken away as well as other gardening accessories. As part of the organizing committee, we learned a great deal about what else to provide next year.

All in all it was a great experience working with the above mentioned members and I look forward to a bigger, better Get Growing event next year.

Time now to get ready for the community barbeque in July that wraps up this year's Communities in Bloom.

Youth Skills BC Workplace Pilot Program
As mentioned in previous broadcasts, the Youth Skills BC Workplace Pilot Program is designed to assist unemployed youth in BC, who are between 15 and 29 years old and who are not Employment Insurance clients, to attain employment and to build workplace skills. This unique program will also assist the employers who hire these youth.  For more information, visit Bowman Employment Services  or call toll-free 1 877 866-3100 or 1-888-466-1375.

If you would like to hear a local perspective on this program, South Cariboo Chamber member fascination street has signed up and Chris Pettman is happy to answer any questions you may have regarding the process (250-395-1133).

Little Britches Rodeo Parade Postponed Until Further Notice

Because the Little Britches Rodeo and Rough Stock Rodeo have been postponed for the May long weekend, the South Cariboo Chamber of Commerce has made the decision to postpone the Little Britches Rodeo Parade, originally scheduled for Saturday May 21 2011. 

The equine community is concerned about an outbreak of equine herpes virus (EHV-1) and is taking precautionary steps to prevent the spread of any possible disease. 

The Parade organized by the Chamber is an event traditionally held in support of the Little Britches Rodeo, as part of local celebrations of Western Week.  The Parade has been postponed until further notice.

If you have any further questions, please contact the Chamber office at 250-395-6124.

  

Vern Peever, President

Ralph Myhill-Jones, Parade Organizer

May update

The Chamber continues to buzz with activity.  In April, we held a successful Business Excellence and Citizen of the Year Awards Banquet, as well as a well-attended All-Candidates Forum.  A quick note to watch out for next week's edition of the 100 Mile Free Press in which our 2 page Chamber Opportunities will be featured. 

In today's update:

• Communities in Bloom;
• Chamber Coins program;
• upcoming Chamber dates;
• new Tourism web tools;
• Youth Skills BC update;
• BC Lawyers' Directory.
  

Communities in Bloom
Following the community clean-up last week, the Committee is now preparing for a plant sale on Saturday May 28, venue and timing to be announced.  The Chamber is actively encouraging interest from Chamber members to be part of this 'Let's Get Growing' event.  Local Chamber members are encouraged to sell at the event: plants, pots, soils are all needed (small fee will be charged).

The judging for the Communities in Bloom competition will be on July 20th and requires sponsorship support from Chamber members. Business leaders are encouraged to donate a hotel room for 1 night, a breakfast and a lunch as well. A town barbeque is planned for evening of July 19th. Sponsors for burgers, hot dogs, refreshments, etc are encouraged.

This is a tremendous opportunity for the Chamber and its members to showcase what we have and what we are all about. Let's participate!

Chamber Coins Program
The Board of Directors at their last meeting resolved to discontinue the Chamber Coins program, given low participation rates in recent years.  The Chamber will not be selling any further Chamber Coins.  The Board is therefore requesting all retailers to please redeem what stock they may have.  Chamber Coins will be honoured for another year, until May 1 2012.  The Board is currently in the process of developing a new shop local strategy.  Please forward any suggestions you may have to Chamber President Vern Peever.

Upcoming Chamber Dates

Wednesday May 18 -   Chamber lunch at the Happy Landing, 12 noon
                                        Speaker still to be confirmed - watch for next week's update

Thursday May 19 - deadline for submitting parade entry forms
Saturday May 21 - Little Britches Rodeo Parade
Saturday May 28 - Let's Get Growing - Communities in Bloom
Wednesday June 8 -  Chamber lunch at the Red Rock Grill
                                    Northern Development Initiative Trust (NDIT) information session

New Tourism Web Tools:
Tourism BC Announces new online Tourism Industry Resources
As part of the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation, Tourism BC’s mandate is to support and promote the business of tourism throughout the province. Tourism BC is structured to develop and deliver programs and services that attract visitors to British Columbia and help ensure that the quality of their vacation experience keeps them coming back for more. In partnership with the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Region, they work closely with communities in our region.

Tourism BC has a number of NEW resources available to assist tourism operators, communities and sectors in growing and developing their businesses. Explore the collection of tools by clicking the following link to the new Tourism Industry Resource area of the Tourism BC website: www.tti.gov.bc.ca/industryresources. They aim to continue to grow this resource so watch for updates on new content.

Youth Skills BC Update
Reminder to all businesses about the $2000 Hiring Incentive from Youth Skills BC
44 businesses have received $2000 to hire youth throughout BC. 73 BC youth have attained employment and 16 are getting additional training.
The YSBC application process has proven to be easy to use with a turn-around time of 2 - 4 business days.
Go to http://www.bowmanemployment.com/ysbc  to see if you're eligible for this BC Hiring Incentive.

BC Lawyers' Directory
The Canadian Bar Association BC Branch publishes annually the BC Lawyers' Directory, a comprehensive and up-to-date listing, both alphabetically and geographically, of all lawyers including corporate counsel and lawyers in government. Extensive listings of law-related organizations, courts, judges, commissions and other professional services make the Directory an invaluable resource.  Each year more than 10,000 lawyers, judges, legal assistants, legal secretaries, government officials, businesses and community groups purchase and use the BC Lawyers' Directory.  Print Directory order form available here: http://www.cba.org/BC/OnlineDirectory_Documents/directory_order_form.pdf.     

All Candidates Forum - April 25

Our Chamber event for this April is the All-Candidates Forum being held on Monday April 25, from 7pm until 9pm, at the Valley Room of the Lodge.  All five candidates for our riding will be in attendance. 

Questions can be submitted in advance to the Chamber office. 

Thanks to the BC Northern Real Estate Board for sponsoring the venue costs and to Maureen Pinkney for organizing the event. 


This is our opportunity to engage directly with our federal candidates and hear what they have to say.

 Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions.
Christine

Congratulations to the Winners of the Business Excellence & Citizen of the Year Awards

The Western Ball Room of the Hills Health Ranch was abuzz with enthusiasm and energy on Saturday night.  Sincere thanks goes to Chris Pettman for organizing the event, as well as Directors of the Chamber who assisted in putting together the evening.

The winners are:
Entrepreneur of the Year (sponsored by: Investment Planning Counsel)
    Theo Wiering 


South Caribooster (sponsored by Regency Chrysler) TWO WINNERS
    Birgit Bienek
    South Cariboo Garlic Festival

Home-Based Business of the Year (sponsored by Bank of Montreal) 
    In/Ex Virtual Photo Tours

Newsmaker of the Year (sponsored by the 100 Mile House Free Press)    
    Donna Barnett, MLA Cariboo Chilcotin

Greatest Improvement (sponsored by: Western Financial Group)
    Mount Timothy Ski Area

New Business of the Year (sponsored by Williams Lake & District Credit Union)
    Cariboo Locksmiths


Non-profit Organization of the Year (sponsored by Work n Play Clothing)
    100 Mile House Soccer Association

Business of the Year (sponsored by: RBC Royal Bank)
    108 Resort

Customer Service (sponsored by: CIBC)
    Donex Pharmacy & Dept. Store

People's Choice Award Best Business (sponsored by Tim Hortons)
    Williams Lake & District Credit Union

South Cariboo Citizen of the Year 
(sponsored by Donna Barnett, MLA & the S.C. Chamber)
TWO WINNERS
    Arla Driver
    Chris Nickless


Congratulations to all the nominees, as well as to the winners, for being recognized for their contributions to our community.

Good morning Members. 

There are four items to communicate to you today:

• results from the Chamber AGM held March 23;
• Business Excellence & Citizen of the Year Awards Banquet;
• Information Session in Kamloops;
• Youth Skills BC Workplace Pilot Program.
  

Chamber AGM
On Wednesday March 23, at our well-attended Annual General Meeting, the membership elected a new Board of Directors:   
    President - Vern Peever, Investment Planning Counsel
    Vice-President - Tom Bachynski, Central GM
    Treasurer - Dave Dickie, Donex Pharmacy & Department Store
    Secretary - Chris Monnon, WLD Financial Services
    Past President - Chris Nickless, 100 Mile House Free Press
    Directors:
        Rita Giesbrecht, Chris Harris Studio Gallery
        Carina Krahn, Easy Go Ranch
        Jeanette McCrea, Larry McCrea Law Corp
        Rainer Meyer, Rainer's Health House
        Ralph Myhill-Jones, TIM-BR Mart
        Maddi Newman, Keyboard Graphic Design
        Maureen Pinkney, Cariboo Accents/Blinds by Maureen
        Rick Takagi, Ainsworth Engineered

My sincere appreciation goes to the outgoing Directors and I look forward to working with the new Board. 


Business Excellence & Citizen of the Year Awards Banquet
Tickets are selling well for the Chamber's big social event of the year, to be held on Saturday April 9 at the Hills Health Ranch.  If you wish to attend, please contact me to reserve your tickets.  Tickets are $30 and are available from the Chamber office, Donex or fascination street.

Remember that voting in 8 awards categories is open to Chamber members until April 1.  Please drop me a line if you did not receive your ballot earlier this week.

If you are interested in contributing to our silent auction, please contact Chamber Director Rita Giesbrecht at 250-791-6631 or rita@chrisharris.com.  As silent auction items come in, they are put on display at the Chamber office for advance viewing.


BDC Information Session in Kamloops

INFORMATION SESSION AND SOCIAL We are pleased to invite you to a special presentation on the current wood market conditions and opportunities for exporting log and lumber products to international markets, particularly Asia. The presentation will be facilitated by Mr. Russ Taylor – President, International WOOD Markets Group. The presentation will be followed by refreshments and networking opportunities. We look forward to welcoming you!   03.29.11 Tuesday, March 29, 2011 3:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. St. Andrews On The Square 159 Seymour Street Kamloops, British Columbia  V2C 2C6 R.S.V.P. before March 23, 2011 Pamela Schilling pamela.schilling@bdc.ca | 250 851-4917

If you wish to attend this session, please RSVP to BDC right away ... apologies for the short notice...


Youth Skills BC Workplace Pilot Program
I have mentioned this initiative in a previous update but thought I'd include the information once again. 
This is a new program, offering BC employers a $2000 hiring incentive (up to 3 employees at $2000 each) to hire eligible youth between the ages of 15 and 29. The Youth Skills BC program, funded through the Canada-British Columbia Labour Market Agreement, has been specifically created as easy-to-use for employers and employees. There is also an additional training allowance, of up to $1000, available should an employer wish to train their new employee externally.

The criteria for the employer to qualify for YSBC:
*      In business for a minimum of one year
*      In good standing with WCB
To learn more about the program (available until March 2012) please visit http://www.bowmanemployment.com/ysbc/.    

Call for Silent Auction Items

As we prepare for the Business Excellence Awards and Citizen of the Year Award Celebration on Saturday April 9 at the Hills Health Ranch, please find a message below from one of our Directors, Rita Giesbrecht.

Dear community supporters;

This year’s Business Excellence Awards/Citizen of the Year Banquet will see some changes, which we hope everyone will enjoy.  One of the aspects of Awards Night has always been the silent auction. It’s fun and popular, and it helps to fund this important evening.  Historically the silent auction has relied on donated goods and services; much appreciated and very well presented.

This year we want to approach the auction using a different formula for acquiring donated items.

I’ll use our business, Chris Harris Gallery, as an illustration;

Our donation policy is to give everyone who asks, one of our publications. It’s easy, straight forward and economically easy to absorb.

In some instances, however, we contribute a larger item for which we cannot absorb the entire cost, such as a framed print or canvas.

When doing that, the auction is set at a minimum bid that is enough to cover our outright production costs, plus give the organization a small return. After that initial minimum bid, however high it goes is the gain of the organization. In other words, we donate our regular retail profit, but do not absorb the actual cash outlay for production.

We on the Board are thinking that this option may appeal to some of our members and donors, depending on the types of goods and services your firm or organization offers.

In this way, we are asking for a donation to the Business Excellence Awards/Citizen of the Year Banquet that properly represents your business, and if applicable wish to offset the cost of the donation.

We hope that this approach makes it possible for you, the donor, to make available an item more reflective of the quality of the product you offer, and showcase it in this prestigious setting.

Contact me at 250-791-6631 or rita@chrisharris.com to contribute; or to find out more.