The chimes toll again ...

A good crowd came out to help celebrate the sound of the chimes ringing again on the old post office downtown. This heritage building is one of a very few that we have left in Lloydminster and thanks to Larry & Robert Olynyk of Furniture Clinic, the City of Lloydminster, Mark Elliott from Enhanced Engineering and Braden Stolz and James Anderson from Bi-Systems Electric & Control for all the work they did to source parts, re-build the mechanisms and get it running. In the recognized style of Larry Olynyk, the chimes started with a bang and a colorful flair when Mayor Jeff Mulligan and former Mayor, Pat Gulak pushed the button.
Thanks to Ernie's Coffee House for making the special cake and for hosting the coffee time after the outdoor program.

Tonight I will be off to the Saskatchewan election All Candidates Forum at Lakeland College at 7:00 pm. This is a regular event coordinated by the Chamber when ever there is an election, either municipal, provincial or federal. It is a great opportunity to meet the candidates, hear what they have to say and ask some questions. Attending will be Meggan Hougham of the Green Party, Wayne Byers NDP candiate and Tim McMillan with the Saskatchewan Party.  It's open to the public with doors opening at 6:30.

We are busy at the office getting ready for the Christmas Trade Show on Nov. 18, 19,. 20 at the Lloyd Ex Alberta Building and Prairie Room. This three day event, held in conjunction with the Christmas Craft Fair has over 12,000 people through the gate over the three days. The spin off is huge  to the Lloydminster economy with hotels nights, restaruant visits, shopping and other consumer purchases in addition to the economic benefit to the vendors in the two shows. Hope to see you there.

Till next time ...... Pat

Mayor Jeff & former Mayor
Pat Gulak cut the cake

 

Getting a way ahead of myself..

Please by advised that the All Candidates Forum for the Saskatchewan election will be held on Oct. 27th at 7:00 pm at Lakeland College cafeteria instead of the next month as reported in my Thursday blog.
See you there
Pat

Business excellence celebrated ..

President Kevin Lundell & the Chamber of Commerce celebrated buisness excellence in Lloydminster with the Business Week Gala Awards on Wednesday night. Congratulations to Ken Kay on receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award. It is individuals like Ken who contribute so much to our community that make Lloydminster the best place to work, live and do business.  Congratulations as well to Lloydminster Animal hospital for receiving the Business of the Year award and to all of the recipients and nominees. The new format and location for the Gala appears to have been well received. Lakeland College provided some excellent appetizers and a huge thanks to Dale Beaudry and his staff from ATB for their excellent wine and service. Lloydminster Co-op very generously provided the appetizers for the intermission and Murray MacDonnell and his jazz band had great reviews. Thanks to the Vic Juba Theatre staff for their cooperation and to Ruth Knipsel for her beautiful piano contribution. Angela Rugama's singing of O Canada made us all proud to be Canadian. Glamour and Glitz as usual provided a special touch with their decorating talents. Karin Winter and Rob Anderson were a great team for the big screen presentation and vice president, Leana Ross and the  presenters did a fine job of handing out the awards. Thanks to all of you for making this a special night for Chamber members.

Once again Lloydminster has been recognized nationally, this time by CFIB, as one of the top two entrepreneurial cities in Canada for the 3rd time in 3 years. Businesses like the ones honored at the Business Awards gala are an example of why Lloydminster is repeatedly recognized as the one of the best locations to start a business. Many of our honored individuals and businesses have provided a fertile ground for business success, support and mentorship.

The work of the primary health care working groups is winding down and it has been an interesting and fruitful endeavor. Lloydminster will see some changes in the way health care is delivered in our community. It will be a longer term process but one that will benefit our residents and our health care professionals.  

I hope that I will see many of you out for the Saskatchewan election forum on Thursday, Nov. 27th at 7:00 pm at Lakeland College cafeteria. This is your opportunity to hear from the candidates prior to the election.

Till next time........

Pat

Small Business Week is here ....

Chamber president Kevin Lundell makes
presentation to Lloydminster Rotary club

Small Business Week will be celebrated in Lloydminster Oct. 17 - 21. Today, president Kevin Lundell gave an update on what the Chamber has been doing over the past year to the Lloydminster Rotary Club. It was interesting to see how many past presidents of the Chamber are also Rotary members. Rotarian, Hnatiuk started off his introduction of Kevin with the words something like .. "If you want something done, ask a busy person" and that is certainly an apt statement when you look at those in attendance at the Rotary luncheon today. Each person there has contributed in a significant way to helping to make Lloydminster the best place to live, work and do business. We have alot to celebrate in our community and Business Week is a great time to it.

Last week I attended the Saskatchewan Chamber Executive Leaders meeting in Humboldt. We were treated to some inspiring speakers and great networking with counterparts from across Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan  has had some exciting announcements and wins in the past week ... from the 2013 Memorial Cup in Saskatoon to the Grey Cup in Regina as well as the 2012 Briar and Tournament of Hearts in Saskatoon and Humboldt respectively. These are just a few events that I can think of off the top of my head and these kinds of events are possible due to dedicated volunteerism and a strong  business environment.  The Lloydminster business community has consistantly been an economic contributor for the province of Saskatchewan and has made possible in our community the many events that we have been so successful at hosting.

Congratulations to one of our contract staff, Vickie Lamb, on being awarded the Sask High School Athletics Assoc. Official of the Year for 2011. Vickie has devoted countless hours to officiating herself and mentoring and supporting other officials.

I hope to see you at the Business Week awards gala on Wednesday night at the Vic Juba Theatre.

Until next time......
Pat

Community leadership ....

 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

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

Is everyone in the spirit of the Chucks?

Michelle Lake did a great job of painting the front door at the Community Services Centre where the Chamber office is located. Carley and Kathy also decorated the front foyer in a western theme. Stop by and have a look. Although the Chamber isn't entered to win any prizes, our president, Kevin Lundell, will be one of the judges when the NewCap crew hit the streets on Thursday afternoon to inspect all of the artwork and decorating that businesses have had some fun with. Thanks to all of the businesses who participated in decorating their businesses to welcome the hundreds of drivers, families and fans to town for the CPCA finals.

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