Chamber Update - January 2011

Thanks to the many members who have already renewed their dues for 2011.  Congratulations to Cariboo Truck and Equipment Repair, winner of the draw for $100 in Chamber Coins for renewing by December 31.  For those members who have not done so already, I encourage you to renew membership by January 31.  Payment can be made by Visa, Mastercard, cheque or cash.  Please contact me if you did not receive your invoice, which was sent the end of the November.

A warm welcome is extended to our two newest members, Sheridan Lake Bed and Breakfast and Canada's Log People, who recently joined the South Cariboo Chamber.

In today's update:

• establish a simple web presence for your business or organization through the Chamber website;
• Citizen of the Year 2010 call for nominations;
• upcoming Chamber events.

Develop Your Web Presence Using The Chamber Website
As you may know, the Chamber posts member contact information on the Chamber website, including hot links to existing websites, as a basic service provided with membership.  As an extended service to our members, we also provide hosting for simple web pages at an additional cost of $90 + HST.  A page like this can be helpful for those who either don't have a site or would like to expand their online presence and send more traffic to their main site. When completed, a link to your Chamber Page will be added to your membership listing.

To keep costs down and implementation relatively simple, Member Chamber Pages are based on a template, created by the Chamber's website designer, JN Web Design.  The first page, for Work 'n Play, is now up and launched. Click here to visit and get an idea of what your Chamber Page would look like.  After completion, simple changes or updates (e.g. prices, dates, names, replacing photo etc.) would be $10.  More extensive changes would be at JN Web Design's Chamber discount rate of $38/hour ($19/half-hour) + HST.

For details, contact either me or Jeffrey Newman at JN Web Design.


2010 Citizen of the Year: Call for Nominations
It is that time of year again when we look back and seek to acknowledge the community-building contributions of our dedicated residents.  A Committee of past Citizen of the Year winners, chaired by our MLA Donna Barnett, will review nominations.  I invite you to give some thought towards who has made an outstanding contribution of their time and energy for the betterment of our South Cariboo community.  Nomination forms can be obtained at the Chamber office, fascination street, the Free Press or the Visitors Centre.  All nominations must be submitted by January 31.


Upcoming Chamber Events
On Wednesday January 19, Sean Crouse from the Business Development Bank of Canada will be speaking at our Chamber lunch.  Sean is a Senior Manager for Business Development at BDC.  The lunch will be held at the Happy Landing Restaurant.  More details to follow next week.

On Wednesday January 26 from 5:30 until 7pm, the South Cariboo Arts and Culture Society will be hosting a Chamber Business After Hours at Parkside Art Gallery.  "After Hours" is an opportunity to network with other Chamber members and to learn about one of our members.  Several local artists will be on hand, as well as the Society's Board of Directors to share their passion for art.  Again, more details to follow.