A few years ago the Chamber initiated a regular meeting of community leaders towards the goal of learning more about what each group did in our community, what their particular responsiblities were to making Lloydminster the best place to live, work and do business, and to disucss the unique challenges that are encountered on a daily basis when delivering services in our border city. This group has been able to consider solutions to issues and offer support to each other. By being in the know about the needs of each leader group, we are better able to speak as one voice when meeting with government. On Tuesday of this week, The Chamber of Commerce coordinated and led a Community Leaders trip to Regina to meet with Deputy Ministers. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss ways that we might work together to overcome challenges and capitalize on opportunities that are presented in the Lloydminster region. Attending the meeting from Lloydminster were representatives from Health, Education, Advanced Education, Highways & Infrastructure, Municipal Affairs and Business. Deputy Minister's attending included Doug Moen, Deputy to the Premier and his colleagues from Municipal Affairs, Advanced Education & Employment, Ministery of Heatlh, Finance, Enterprise Saskatchewan and Highways & Infrastructure. The deputy ministers did indeed hear that one voice, helping them to appreciate the very unique and interesting challenges and opportunities that make Lloydminster such a vibrant, innovative and diverse place to live and work. Following the meeting with the deputy ministers our Lloydminster MLA, the Honorable Tim McMillan and some of his colleagues joined us for a reception along with members from Tourism Saskatchewan, Regina Chamber of Commerce, Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce and the Regina business community.
Our president, Kevin Lundell and myself have been involved in the Primary Health Care working groups and I have found it exciting to work on the model of health care that we hope will become part of our community in the near future. Some very knowledgable and experienced individuals contribute from their perspective and area of expertise, how health care needs to function in Lloydminster. This mix and blend of experience should ensure that the model meets the needs of everyone in our region.
Buisness Week is fast approaching and I hope that I will see many of you out at the Business Week events.
The luncheon with the Rotary Club on Monday, Oct. 17th will kick off the week with Tuesday Oct. 18th for the two sessions for Counterfiet Money and Credit Card Fraud workshop. Oct. 19th will feature the Awards Gala held for the first time at the Vic Juba Theatre and Thursday Oct. 20th is the day for the Men's Show and Conference which the Chamber is co-sponsoring for the first time. Should be an exciting week and I invite you to check out the details on the Chamber website at http://www.lloydminsterchamber.com/ .
Till next time ...
Pat
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Wonderful fall colors are beginning
Wow! What glorious fall days we have and the autumn colors have just begun. Our local farmers are busy with harvest and if the wet weather and frost holds off we should have some great crops.
The Chamber, along with Lloydminster Economic Development Corporation, Community Futures Lloydminster Region and Rotoract welcomed Lakeland College students to our Lloydminster campus today with a hamburger lunch cooked up by Century 21 and friends. It was pretty clear that our campus enrollment has swelled. There was hardly a spot to park in the parking lot. Great to see so many future business people in one spot.
The Chamber Connect will be held at the Vic Juba Theatre tonight with some great door prizes, excellent food and good company. Hope you will be there. The Chamber committees have begun to meet again for the new year. The Political Action Committee (PAC) met this week and Dabir Naqvi will head up a committee to continue the dialogue on the Premiers Council on the Economy report which was released this spring. If you are interested in working on this committee, please give me a call and I can connect you with Dabir.
I am looking forward to attending the Pioneer Lodge Grand opening next week. They have done some major renovations and upgrades to make it into a first class seniors residence. If you are interested in learning more about what funding and grants are available for small business, be sure to attend the seminar sponsored by the Incubator Committee on Sept 21st. More information available at http://www.lloydminsterchamber.com/newsletters/documents/incubator_sept21_event1.pdf
Don't forget about the Mayor's Prayer Breakfast on Sat. Sept 17th. Tickets available at Tunes or Verses. The guest speaker sounds very interesting.
The Lloydminster Chamber has arranged a meeting between the Community Leaders Group and some key deputy ministers in Regina at the end of the month. Representatives from health, education, post secondary education, civic government and business will have an opportunity for some dialogue with government about some of the challenges and opportunities in Lloydminster.
Be sure to check us out on Twitter and Facebook.
Till next time ....
Pat
The Chamber, along with Lloydminster Economic Development Corporation, Community Futures Lloydminster Region and Rotoract welcomed Lakeland College students to our Lloydminster campus today with a hamburger lunch cooked up by Century 21 and friends. It was pretty clear that our campus enrollment has swelled. There was hardly a spot to park in the parking lot. Great to see so many future business people in one spot.
The Chamber Connect will be held at the Vic Juba Theatre tonight with some great door prizes, excellent food and good company. Hope you will be there. The Chamber committees have begun to meet again for the new year. The Political Action Committee (PAC) met this week and Dabir Naqvi will head up a committee to continue the dialogue on the Premiers Council on the Economy report which was released this spring. If you are interested in working on this committee, please give me a call and I can connect you with Dabir.
I am looking forward to attending the Pioneer Lodge Grand opening next week. They have done some major renovations and upgrades to make it into a first class seniors residence. If you are interested in learning more about what funding and grants are available for small business, be sure to attend the seminar sponsored by the Incubator Committee on Sept 21st. More information available at http://www.lloydminsterchamber.com/newsletters/documents/incubator_sept21_event1.pdf
Don't forget about the Mayor's Prayer Breakfast on Sat. Sept 17th. Tickets available at Tunes or Verses. The guest speaker sounds very interesting.
The Lloydminster Chamber has arranged a meeting between the Community Leaders Group and some key deputy ministers in Regina at the end of the month. Representatives from health, education, post secondary education, civic government and business will have an opportunity for some dialogue with government about some of the challenges and opportunities in Lloydminster.
Be sure to check us out on Twitter and Facebook.
Till next time ....
Pat
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Is everyone in the spirit of the Chucks?
This fall the Chamber will be considering how we can keep the conversation going following the visit from the Premiers Council on the Economy in Alberta. There are copies of the executive summary available at the office and we would be interested in hearing from you if you might be interested in looking at the recommendations of the Premiers Council members. A copy of the full report can also be found on the government website.
The Chamber has two committees that assist the Board of Directors in their work. The Political Action committee is responsible for community scans to determine what the most pressing issues are facing businesses in Lloydminster and then bringing those issues to the table for discussion and possible action in the form of a formal policy resolution. The issues might be municipal, provincial or national in nature. Our Chamber has been quite successful when our voice is joined with other Chambers across the provinces and the nation in having governments listen to our suggestions and recommendatons.
The second committee is the Membership Relations committee. This committee reviews the various programs, activities and events of the Chamber, recommends suggestions for change or ugrade and introduces ideas for new events. Both of these committees meet monthly at noon hour and in addition to doing important work for the Chamber and the business community, they have lots of fun. It is a great way to get to know your fellow business person, and a way to have a voice with your local Chamber. If you have lived in Lloydminster for one year and if you are interested in becoming involved in either of these committees, please give me a call at the Chamber office and we can begin the approval process.
Another way that you can be involved with your Chamber on an ad hoc basis is as an event volunteer. The annual trade show is fast approaching in November and volunteers are always needed to assist with this event. Again, call the Chamber office if you would like to participate in this interesting and fun volunteer opportunity.
The City of Lloydminster, the owner of the Community Services Centre, has approved some upgrades to the Centre. The board room has been redecorated, the windows are being sealed and painted and air conditioning installed. These are welcome upgrades and the tennants and user groups of this building are most appreciative. There are 10 permanent tenants in the building as well as dozens of casual user groups who use the board room or one of the meeting rooms on a regular basis. The Chamber manages the rental of the meeting rooms under a contract with the City of Lloydminster.
Perhaps I will see you at the Chucks this week or at the Nine & Dine next week.
I hope you are checking us out on Twitter and Facebook.
Until next time..........
Pat
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
How do you welcome tourists to our City?
Last week Kathy and I attended a meeting at Lloydminster Economic Development Corporation. They hosted a noon hour luncheon with speaker Jim Marshel from Travel Alberta. Jim oulined some of the changes to the Destination Marketing Regions and provided some thought provoking ideas for marketing our City and region. The Chamber's involvement with Travel Alberta goes back 12 years when we began managing the Travel Alberta Visitor Information Centre under a contract with Alberta Tourism. The goal was at that time and still is to inform tourists about the City and our region while at the same time marketing Alberta. We have had a couple of "secret shops" at our VIC and the feedback has been excellent. We are very proud of our staff at the VIC and the excellent job they do serving our visitors.
This next week we will have an opportunity to serve tourists in a big way as we welcome the drivers, families and fans of the CPCA. The Chamber will be getting into the spirit of the "chucks" by decorating our office. We encourage our members to also decorate by painting your windows, decorating the interior of your business, or just dressing up western style for the week. The Lloyd Ex has some great events happening to add to the excitement so be sure to check out their website.
Be sure to check us out on Twitter. We have been tweeting for the last few days and we have a new facebook page as well. We hope that this will help us to reach more businesses in our community. Be sure to watch for special events and networking opportunities.
The City has been busy looking after some of the areas that our members tell us are issues or concerns. Highway 17 south has been receiving some upgrades and highway 16 west of 52 Ave. has also been recieving some repairs. Although this may be annoying, it is necessary for all of us to be patient, as the window of opportunity to get this work done is short and all the rain this year has made finishing up on projects like these difficult.
Streetscapes is pleased to see the new sidewalks depicting our border downtown being finished. Some of us may be indifferent to our border, but folks from out of town get quite excited to walk down the border and have a foot in two provinces at one time. It is one of our biggest tourist attractions and we need to promote it as much as we can.
Hope everyone is having a safe and relaxing summer.
Till next time ....
Pat
This next week we will have an opportunity to serve tourists in a big way as we welcome the drivers, families and fans of the CPCA. The Chamber will be getting into the spirit of the "chucks" by decorating our office. We encourage our members to also decorate by painting your windows, decorating the interior of your business, or just dressing up western style for the week. The Lloyd Ex has some great events happening to add to the excitement so be sure to check out their website.
Be sure to check us out on Twitter. We have been tweeting for the last few days and we have a new facebook page as well. We hope that this will help us to reach more businesses in our community. Be sure to watch for special events and networking opportunities.
The City has been busy looking after some of the areas that our members tell us are issues or concerns. Highway 17 south has been receiving some upgrades and highway 16 west of 52 Ave. has also been recieving some repairs. Although this may be annoying, it is necessary for all of us to be patient, as the window of opportunity to get this work done is short and all the rain this year has made finishing up on projects like these difficult.
Streetscapes is pleased to see the new sidewalks depicting our border downtown being finished. Some of us may be indifferent to our border, but folks from out of town get quite excited to walk down the border and have a foot in two provinces at one time. It is one of our biggest tourist attractions and we need to promote it as much as we can.
Hope everyone is having a safe and relaxing summer.
Till next time ....
Pat
Monday, July 25, 2011
Wild weather seems to be a regular occurance.....
Some of our business members received damage to their buildings and property during the high winds and crazy weather last week. We can be thankful there weren't serious injuries to humans or animals. The SPCA will need our community support even more now that they have lost the building that would have potentially been their new residence.
We have a member satisfaction survey out to members right now. Please take a minute to fill in this 5 questions survey and return to us. It is important that we hear from you about the priority issues for the upcoming year. At any time that you have a suggestion about how the Chamber can serve the business community better, we want to hear from you.
Kevin & I have attended our first Primary Health Care working group joint meeting. The vision and objectives were discussed and over the next few weeks it will be important for us to hear from our members about what the business community believes to be the important considerations. Surveys may be the tool used to collect that information.
The first ever Chamber Nine & Dine will be held on August 24th at Rolling Greens Fairway. This will be a nine hole texas scramble event beginning with registration at 5:00 and shot gun start at 5:30 followed by appetizers and refreshments. This event co-sponsored by the Chamber and Rolling Greens is a great deal. $35.00 for golf, half a cart, and food and refreshments with an early bird registration opportunity to win a set of golf clubs with bag provided by Sport Chek. Early bird deadline in August 12th. Call the Chamber office 780-875-9013 or check it out on the Chamber website at http://www.lloydminsterchamber.com/ . Mulligan draws, 50/50 and men's and ladies prizes.
You won't want to miss the Chamber Business Week Awards Gala this year. It will be held at the Vic Juba theatre. Watch for details in the Chamber newsletter. Many local businesses have been nominated for awards in eight categories. Every nominated business will be eligable to compete for the Business of the Year award. In addition to the usual business week events, the Chamber will be partnering with other local organizations to present the 2nd annual Men's Conference during business week. Watch for details.
The Chamber and Streetscapes encourages all businesses to get in the spirit of the CPCA finals by decorating your buisness in the western theme. Local artist, Michele Lake, is available for hire to paint your windows and the Lloyd Ex has said they have a few hay bales available for decorating purposes. Let's welcome the drivers, their families and the spectators to town. These types of events contribute to a healthy economy.
Till next time ........
Pat
We have a member satisfaction survey out to members right now. Please take a minute to fill in this 5 questions survey and return to us. It is important that we hear from you about the priority issues for the upcoming year. At any time that you have a suggestion about how the Chamber can serve the business community better, we want to hear from you.
Kevin & I have attended our first Primary Health Care working group joint meeting. The vision and objectives were discussed and over the next few weeks it will be important for us to hear from our members about what the business community believes to be the important considerations. Surveys may be the tool used to collect that information.
The first ever Chamber Nine & Dine will be held on August 24th at Rolling Greens Fairway. This will be a nine hole texas scramble event beginning with registration at 5:00 and shot gun start at 5:30 followed by appetizers and refreshments. This event co-sponsored by the Chamber and Rolling Greens is a great deal. $35.00 for golf, half a cart, and food and refreshments with an early bird registration opportunity to win a set of golf clubs with bag provided by Sport Chek. Early bird deadline in August 12th. Call the Chamber office 780-875-9013 or check it out on the Chamber website at http://www.lloydminsterchamber.com/ . Mulligan draws, 50/50 and men's and ladies prizes.
You won't want to miss the Chamber Business Week Awards Gala this year. It will be held at the Vic Juba theatre. Watch for details in the Chamber newsletter. Many local businesses have been nominated for awards in eight categories. Every nominated business will be eligable to compete for the Business of the Year award. In addition to the usual business week events, the Chamber will be partnering with other local organizations to present the 2nd annual Men's Conference during business week. Watch for details.
The Chamber and Streetscapes encourages all businesses to get in the spirit of the CPCA finals by decorating your buisness in the western theme. Local artist, Michele Lake, is available for hire to paint your windows and the Lloyd Ex has said they have a few hay bales available for decorating purposes. Let's welcome the drivers, their families and the spectators to town. These types of events contribute to a healthy economy.
Till next time ........
Pat
Monday, July 18, 2011
45 Chamber Executive Directors in town ...
Although I was unable to attend the parade due to my duties at the conference, I understand that it was entertaining and colorful with lots of SMILES! Corine and Carley along with our summer students, Kirsten and Eryn worked hard on our float and appreciated the help of volunteers to hand out the bubble wands.
The "fair" is such a great event for our community bringing hundreds and thousands of dollars to our economy. We appreciate all the hard work of the Lloydminster Exhibition Association who put on this first class event year after year.
Another very colorful event that I attended this past week-end was the Onion Lake Pow Wow. The talents of the dancers and singers at this event is outstanding. The clothing worn for the dancing events is beautiful and I would encourage anyone who hasn't had an opportunity to attend to mark it on your calendar for next year. In addition to the entertainment, there is great food and interesting and lovely crafts.
If you have been downtown you may have seen the Streetscapes summer students in their bright blue t-shirts working hard to keep our downtown free of litter. The students work for 7 weeks over the summer emptying the garbage cans, cleaning the bulletin boards, weeding the flower beds and picking up garbage from the street. I hope that everyone will remember to use the garbage cans and not throw litter on the street.
I am looking forward to working on the Primary Health Care working group over the summer. I will work on the Alberta group and president Kevin will work with the Saskatchewan group. If you haven't had a look at the consultant recommendations yet, please do so on the Prairie North Health Region website.
I am pleased to report that Karin Winter will be re-joining our staff on July 25th after her leave. We look forward to having Karin back.
Till next time ......
Pat
Thursday, June 23, 2011
It's great to see the sun ...
As I look out my window I see dirt piles and heavy equipment. Not the prettiest of sights, but it is the look of progress. The construction of the new RCMP facility has begun. This will provide much needed space for the expanding police force that is necessary to serve our rapidly growing community. Now if the rain will hold off for a bit the construction workers will have time to move forward on a number of projects that are on the go.
I enjoyed an 8 day vacation to Manitoba the beginning of June. The water, water everywhere scenerio of southern Saskatchewan and most of Manitoba was incredible to see. The work that has gone into diking and sandbagging to help prevent catastrophic damage and the innovative ways to get heavy oil tankers out to pump tanks off at well sights was also very interesting. Looked like the wild west movie town wooden sidewalks ... only bigger.
If you weren't able to come downtown on June 11th for the 2nd Annual Streetscapes Co. Downtown Streetfest, you missed a great time. The main stage was active with dancers, bands, singers, & fashion shows, while the streets held great food and lots of fun and things to see and do for all ages. The art market was held inside the Atrium Centre and presented works from many local artists. Thanks to all of the downtown volunteers who worked very hard to make sure this day was a great success. The rain also cooperated until about 3:00 pm.
The Lloydminster Chamber was pleased to host four members of the Premier's Council on Economic Strategy on Wednesday. The information shared was very interesting and can be found through a link on the Chamber website at http://www.lloydminsterchamber.com/ .
The Chamber met with City Council and City senior administrators today. This annual meeting is valuable to both the City and the Chamber in that it provides an opportunity to ensure that the leaders in the community understand the agenda's of each other and can offer discussion and assistance when necessary. There are a couple of joint nitiatives that may be pursued over the next while. It is important to make sure that we are speaking with one voice when we meet with politicians and goverment leaders.
Our members were given an invitation to participate with the Political Action Committee to let our MLA's hear about the issues and concerns that business people have concerning the health care issues in our City. Several businesses took the opportunity to tell their stories and share their concerns. We hope that receiving this information will be helpful to our MLA's as they take forward our concerns to government. The Chamber has been invited to participate on the Primary Health Care working groups in both Alberta and Saskatchewan. In this way, the voice of the business community will be heard.
The Charity Golf Tournament yesterday just couldn't have had better weather. I know there was a lot of anxious people after the many inches of rain that came down on the week-end. Our community came out again with their generosity to support the Health Foundation and several other non-profit organizations in the community.
Alberta Venture magazine rated Lloydminster again as one of the best places to start a business. It seems that we just continue to be in that top ranking for our business success and the place to be. What is it that makes us such a great place for business? Well, I think that we have had some very successful and community minded individuals who have blazed the trail over the years, we are determined and innovative, we are generous and welcoming and we are supportive. Who wouldn't want to try their hand at a business in Lloydminster? The Chamber welcomed over 55 new members last year bringing our numbers to over 540 members. A strong Chamber, a City Hall and Economic Deveopment Corp that are open to business and a generous community, first class facilities and every amenity that a regional centre can offer, make Lloydminster the ideal place to locate a business.
Till next time.....Pat
I enjoyed an 8 day vacation to Manitoba the beginning of June. The water, water everywhere scenerio of southern Saskatchewan and most of Manitoba was incredible to see. The work that has gone into diking and sandbagging to help prevent catastrophic damage and the innovative ways to get heavy oil tankers out to pump tanks off at well sights was also very interesting. Looked like the wild west movie town wooden sidewalks ... only bigger.
If you weren't able to come downtown on June 11th for the 2nd Annual Streetscapes Co. Downtown Streetfest, you missed a great time. The main stage was active with dancers, bands, singers, & fashion shows, while the streets held great food and lots of fun and things to see and do for all ages. The art market was held inside the Atrium Centre and presented works from many local artists. Thanks to all of the downtown volunteers who worked very hard to make sure this day was a great success. The rain also cooperated until about 3:00 pm.
The Lloydminster Chamber was pleased to host four members of the Premier's Council on Economic Strategy on Wednesday. The information shared was very interesting and can be found through a link on the Chamber website at http://www.lloydminsterchamber.com/ .
The Chamber met with City Council and City senior administrators today. This annual meeting is valuable to both the City and the Chamber in that it provides an opportunity to ensure that the leaders in the community understand the agenda's of each other and can offer discussion and assistance when necessary. There are a couple of joint nitiatives that may be pursued over the next while. It is important to make sure that we are speaking with one voice when we meet with politicians and goverment leaders.
Our members were given an invitation to participate with the Political Action Committee to let our MLA's hear about the issues and concerns that business people have concerning the health care issues in our City. Several businesses took the opportunity to tell their stories and share their concerns. We hope that receiving this information will be helpful to our MLA's as they take forward our concerns to government. The Chamber has been invited to participate on the Primary Health Care working groups in both Alberta and Saskatchewan. In this way, the voice of the business community will be heard.
The Charity Golf Tournament yesterday just couldn't have had better weather. I know there was a lot of anxious people after the many inches of rain that came down on the week-end. Our community came out again with their generosity to support the Health Foundation and several other non-profit organizations in the community.
Alberta Venture magazine rated Lloydminster again as one of the best places to start a business. It seems that we just continue to be in that top ranking for our business success and the place to be. What is it that makes us such a great place for business? Well, I think that we have had some very successful and community minded individuals who have blazed the trail over the years, we are determined and innovative, we are generous and welcoming and we are supportive. Who wouldn't want to try their hand at a business in Lloydminster? The Chamber welcomed over 55 new members last year bringing our numbers to over 540 members. A strong Chamber, a City Hall and Economic Deveopment Corp that are open to business and a generous community, first class facilities and every amenity that a regional centre can offer, make Lloydminster the ideal place to locate a business.
Till next time.....Pat
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