A message from the Executive Director of the South Niagara Chambers
Well here we are again. I feel like I just wrote this column for our December 2017 issue. Last year at this time we were trying to figure out how
we were going to engage our membership in the upcoming municipal election. Being the voice of business in 6 Niagara communities meant a lot of resources would have to be allocated to this one task. Our team was able to work with a number of partners to organize Mayoral Debates and All Candidates Meet & Greet events in all of our respective markets. We feel we did a good job ensuring our members had the opportunity to hear from the candidates and to get the facts they needed to make their decision on election day.
We proudly continued our work with the Niagara USA Chamber of Commerce. On February 23rd a delegation of South Niagara Chamber representatives attended their Annual Dinner Gala, celebrating their 100th anniversary. On that evening we officially signed a document re-confirming our binational partnership. Over the year we had a number of opportunities on both sides of the border for members to participate in.
Again this year we hosted over 70 events, and we added monthly webinars to provide additional training and education for our members and their staff.
We provided hundreds of referrals to members across South Niagara, and
continued to connect members to each other for potential business opportunities.
We published 12 monthly newsletters this year, and just recently published our second South Niagara Business Book, featuring all 2000 members. This becomes an incredible referral resource across Niagara.
As we did last year at this time, we reflect on our year, and we again encourage our membership to reflect as well. Ask yourselves did you take full advantage of your Chamber membership? Did you come out to some of the events? Did you connect with any of the other chamber members? Did you participate in any of the learning opportunities? Did you take advantage of advertising and sponsorship opportunities? Did you call the Chamber office to ask any questions or obtain direction on a particular issue that your business may have been experiencing? These are the things that we want you to do! These are the things that make your membership fee a true investment!
Finally, I want to thank each and every member across South Niagara for your support this past year. We have a dedicated team of Board Members and Staff, and their inspiration is YOU! Happy Holidays!