The Greater Summerside Chamber of Commerce had another successful year in 2015. My mandate this year was to continue to move forward the initiatives that had previously been put into motion over the past few years.
Financially, I am happy to report that we ended the year with a small surplus, thereby achieving our goal of a balanced budget. Net revenue from some events and projects came in below budget so it was a combination of the hard work of the Chamber (most notably Jane Sharpe, our Executive Director) to obtain new sponsorships and very diligent efforts by the staff and the Board to control and minimize expenses that allowed us to avoid a budget deficit.
The key highlight of 2015 for me had to be the second edition of The Way Forward conference. The initial 2014 event created a lot of buzz in the business community and got people thinking about what Summerside “could be”. This year, the objective was to build on the momentum and to come up with some very tangible action items that would set the vision for the business community in future years. I think many would agree that The Way Forward event in 2015 was a success as it resulted in four tangible actions (as prioritized by the event participants) that are in varying stages of development.
The first item is for Summerside to look at the Ignite Fredericton model and see what Summerside could do to develop a similar initiative that would have all the key business stakeholders in Summerside collaborate on a joint vision for the city’s future. The next item is appropriately named “Changing the Story” as it refers to an action to start communicating all the positives of the community. The third item is “Adopt a Newcomer”, which refers to the matching of current resident families with newcomer business families to ensure they become integrated into the social fabric of the community. The final item, which has already been put into action, is to reinstitute the Under 40 Mixers to allow the future leaders to get engaged and have an opportunity to be part of shaping the future vision.
The Policy Committee was very active again this year weighing in on several advocacy issues, developing a Municipal Scorecard and holding meetings with various levels of government to ensure that the role of the Chamber was well understood and that the Chamber membership’s voice was heard. I want to thank the Committee (Chair Dan Kutcher, Jonathan Greenan, Kelsie Montgomery, Georgia Ellis and Catherine Arsenault) for all their efforts this year.
In May, I attended the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce (ACC) Annual General Meeting; part of my mandate was to see how the Greater Summerside Chamber could benefit from increased collaboration with the ACC. I came away with the understanding that there could be benefit for the Summerside Chamber in the future if there is an issue that is also affecting another part of Atlantic Canada as it could be elevated to the ACC for a stronger voice. At the AGM, I was also asked to join the ACC Board of Directors and I accepted so as to give PEI a second voice on the Board (along with a Board member from the Charlottetown Chamber) and the first voice from western PEI in quite some time.
In addition to joining the ACC Board, I also joined the PEI Provincial Advisory Committee (PAC). The PAC is made up of representatives from all across PEI (including Jeff Cormier, one of the Summerside Chamber’s incoming Board members) and its mandate is to discuss issues of significance to PEI businesses and to make the ACC aware of those issues so that they can be addressed at the provincial or regional level with the appropriate stakeholders.
The final thing I would like to mention is the Strategic Plan. The Greater Summerside Chamber of Commerce undertook an investment in the future by holding a full-day session to develop a Strategic Plan that will guide the activities and efforts of the Chamber for the next few years. This plan takes into consideration the outcomes from The Way Forward conference combined with the results of membership surveys and the collective experience of Board members to establish an updated Vision, Mission and Values as well as three main Goals, which are to Enhance business advocacy, Champion business prosperity and Strengthen member value.
I would like to close by thanking all the people that supported me and the Chamber in our efforts to try to grow the prosperity of the business community, including:
- Sponsors as well as the hosts, exhibitors, volunteers and presenters/speakers for the various events and business mixers
- Members of the media for promoting our events and helping us to deliver our message to our membership and the business community at large
- All of the representatives at the Municipal, Provincial and Federal levels who took the time to listen to the Chamber’s messages and take them under consideration
- Past Chamber presidents and business community members that helped mentor me
- Various committee members that gave time to ensure the success of these initiatives
- Chamber staff – Kelly and Megan – for doing all the hard work behind the scenes to ensure events run smoothly and the Chamber office runs efficiently
- Executive Director – Jane Sharpe – who was a huge help to me in 2015 in so many ways
- 2015 Board members, most notably Gordie Montgomery and Georgia Ellis for their active involvement in meetings and participation on committees
- 2015 Executive – Past President Jonathan Greenan, President-Elect Dan Kutcher, 1st Vice Aaron Jackson, Treasurer Kelsie Montgomery, Secretary Catherine Arsenault for their passion, commitment and support at all levels
The Chamber is in very good hands with incoming President Dan Kutcher and I am confident he will be a great leader in the Chamber’s ongoing journey to provide strong advocacy, champion and collaborate with other business development organizations to grow the prosperity of the business community and finally to enhance value for Chamber members.
Respectfully,
Mark O’Keefe – President