South Cariboo Chamber of Commerce - What's New

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/.