Message from our General Manager Erin Hanson
For those of you who may not know as yet, the Penticton & Wine Country Chamber of Commerce has moved out of the Wine Country Visitor Centre and into temporary offices in the Trade & Convention Centre. Paul O'Beirn and the crew at the Penticton Trade & Convention Centre have made us very welcome as temporary tenants and we thank them for that. We'd also like to thank Jim Murray at Oughtread Coffee & Tea Ltd. who dropped by the other day to set us up with a coffee machine and coffee. It's great! We invite members to stop in and see us anytime between 9a to 5p - just follow the directional signage once you are through the front doors of the convention centre.
2011 Business Excellence Awards
On January 17th, the Chamber held its Mayor's Reception where all the category nominees were announced and had opportunity to mingle with Council, Chamber Directors, other nominees and their guests. Despite the sudden 'winterish' day, a large turnout came to enjoy the evening. The Board and Staff of the Chamber are looking forward to seeing the business community out to our gala evening Saturday, January 28, 2012 where everyone will enjoy a 'swashbuckling' event and celebrate the 2011 Business Excellence Award winners.
Business After Business Networking
Two Chamber Business After Business networking events will happen in February. The first takes place Thursday, February 9th from 5p to 7p at the Barley Mill Pub located at 2460 Skaha Lake Road and the second takes place Thursday, February 23rd from 5p to 7p at Windward Software located at 200 - 3547 Skaha Lake Road. Our Ambassador team and attending Directors and staff look forward to seeing many of you out!
Board of Director Changes
With the departure of Directors Judy Poole, Jackie Frederick, George Little and Keith Bevington in late 2011, the Chamber Board had need of filling their seats for the rest of the current term in order to ensure business could be conducted as required. At the December 14, 2011 regular board meeting, in accordance with the bylaws, a motion was passed to appoint Jon Milligan, Elizabeth Cucnik, Deborah O'Mara and Rick Riddall as interim Directors. Welcome all!
Survey Results
Thank you to all who participated in our recent survey question. The survey was to determine how Members felt with respect to the allocation of the new City of Penticton electrical rate increase. Of the 85 respondents, 35% felt the increase should be shared equally across residential, commercial and industrial classes, while 59% felt the increase should be rebalanced to mirror the FortisBC rate class structure. (5 survey viewers or 6% did not complete). The Chamber will be presenting these results to City Council at the public input session scheduled for January 18th at 6 pm.
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