Meet your new board, message from a member, welcome new members, survey and more

DECEMBER 2019 NEWSLETTER

January 30, 2020

The Sooke Region Chamber acknowledges the T`Sou-ke First Nation

and the Pacheedaht First Nation, on whose traditional territories,

Chamber activities take place.

___________________________________________________________________________________

You have a NEW Board of Directors!

Pictured from left to right: Brian White, Sandi Bowers, Bev Petow, Tim Ayres, Karen Mason, Mike Menard, Terrie Moore, and Les Haddad. Photo by Kim Dillon.

The Sooke Region Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce its 2020 Board of Directors, sworn in at the January 21, 2020 Annual General Meeting.

Karen Mason, Chamber President (Mason Financial)
Tim Ayres, Chamber Director (Royal LePage Coast Capital Realty)
Sandi Bowers, Chamber Director and former Treasurer (Independent, B&B prospector)
Les Haddad, Chamber Director (Sooke Delivery Guy)
Mike Menard, Chamber Director (Menard Plumbing and Heating)
Terrie Moore, Chamber Director (Sooke Fine Arts Show)
Bev Petow, Chamber Director (Sooke News Mirror, Petow Design)
Brian White, Chamber Director (Royal Roads University)

“Building community partnerships with other Sooke organizations is a priority for me and for our new Board,” said Karen Mason, the new President of the Chamber. “Creating common visions and goals for the betterment of Sooke's businesses can only help boost our growing area. We will also be working closely with the BC and Canadian Chambers of Commerce to bring their experience and knowledge to share with businesses here in Sooke and the surrounding districts. I truly believe that a vibrant business community equals a vibrant community overall.

“I'm excited about our new Board and I'm thrilled to be working with a group that is dedicated to business and to our community as a whole. We will be meeting soon for a strategic planning session to chart a way forward. I'm hoping that part of that plan will include a revival of some of popular past events. I look forward to sharing more information with you as our plans progress.”

Last year, the Chamber saw a number of successes including the introduction of Business Strategy Seminars and a viral Choose Sooke contest hosted on social media. The Chamber also co-hosted the 2019 federal election debate, an event that packed the EMCS theatre. The annual gala was well attended, with over a hundred nominations submitted for consideration. Many of the successes are attributable to our collaborators including the Sooke Multi-Belief Initiative, the mayor of Sooke, and individual initiatives.

The Chamber extends its appreciations to the 2019 Board Members who gave generously to the Chamber: David and Margaret Bloom (Spectrum Digital), Lorna Danylchuk (Your Perfect Gift), Ryan Chamberland (Vancouver Island Lodge), Susan Jones (Webmax), and Pierre Lacombe (Privateer Factory). Former acting president Britt Santowski (Sooke PocketNews) is taking on the role of Executive Director.

Board meetings are open to Sooke Chamber members and the general public, and the dates are posted on the website, https://sookeregionchamber.com/events/

Chamber Members News

A toast to 10 years of roasting!

From David Evans, owner of The Stick in the Mud

The Stick began roasting coffee on-site 10 years ago this month!

It was January, 2010 that we ran our first batch of green beans through our new little roaster and then a few days later we were serving them at our espresso bar! Since then we have upgraded to a roaster 4 times larger and our wholesale base has extended to include approximately 40 other businesses serving our Sooke-Roasted coffee in their offices, restaurants, hotels and cafes.

The Stick opened 07/07/07 (at 7) and we have been lucky to have been accepted by the community for nearly 13 years!

If you want fresh and local please support The Stick in the Mud and our local family of staff.

Thanks!

David

Do you have an update to share? Email us, info@sookeregionchamber.com !

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

The Sooke Region Chamber of Commerce would like to extend a warm welcome to our newest members, Steward Harbour Financial and Blissful Baskets by Christina!

STEWART HARBOUR FINANCIAL

Toby Johnston-Stewart

Website

Chamber Directory Listing

Email: toby@stewartharbour.com

Phone: 503-831-2244

Stewart Harbour Financial Ltd. provides non-Mutual fund products and services. Mutual funds are distributed through Global Maxfin Investments Inc.

---

BLISSFUL BASKETS BY CHRISTINA

Christina Scott

Website

Chamber Directory Listing

Email: blissfulbasketsbychristina@gmail.com

Phone: 250-818-1331

Christina creates thoughtful, useful and appealing gifts and utilizing local small businesses.

In other news...

Survey on Transport Canada measures to protect Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW)

The Hatfield Consultants’ Human Environment Group, in partnership with Nexus Coastal Resource Management and Sea View Marine Sciences, has been retained by Transport Canada to assess the economic and social impacts of measures put in place to protect the Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW).

They are currently seeking feedback from different marine stakeholders on how these protection measures may have affected them, their businesses and their communities. Chamber members are invited to share their thoughts by filling out a quick online survey . Your participation will help ensure they accurately capture the magnitude of impacts of the protection measures and enable them to make informed recommendations to Transport Canada.

The survey is completely anonymous and takes about five minutes to complete. There is an opportunity to participate in a more focused interview, if there’s interest in exploring economic and operational impacts further.

Extended Health Benefits: The Chamber Plan

Real benefits for your business!

When you are busy growing your business, you don't need any more surprises. That's why more than 30,000 business owners choose Chambers Plan, and with easy renewals and industry-leading stability, they stay on it.

Extended Health Care
Disability Coverage
Critical Illness
Dental Care
Employee Assistance Program
Group Retirement Solutions
Teladoc (r) - Connect with a doctor within an hour by phone or app anywhere in Canada
Unlimited access to Best Doctors(r) - an expert medical second opinion service
Business Assistance Service - providing resources and consults by accounting, legal, and human resource experts.

With its not-for-profit structure, Chambers Plan employee benefits has your business interest at heart.

Contact- Karen Mason CFP,CLU,CHS

Mason Financial

250-642-0776

karen@masonfinancial.net

Monthly Regular Board Meetings Open to All

Come hear what your Chamber is up to and share your thoughts, concerns, questions with our Board. Having members and the business community present has helped shaped our direction in a great way!

Meetings are held every 3rd Tuesday of each month, starting at 6:00 pm. Our next regular Board meeting is scheduled on February 18 at 6 :00 pm . Visit our website for the details!

MEMBER EVENTS

Do you have any special events coming up? We want to hear from you and help spread the word in our monthly e-newsletters.

The Sooke Region Chamber is here to support our members and their initiatives. If you have an event coming up in the Sooke Region that you would like to share with our subscribers , please email us the details in advance with a link and/or PDF, PNG or JPG image and we will do our best to include your event information or link in next month's e-news. Our e-newsletters are typically distributed during the end of each month so please send us the info by the end of the previous month.

We wish you much success with your events!

PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Want to get involved with the Chamber but not sure how?

We have several ways for you to participate:

Join the Board of Directors
Volunteer on Special Committees
Volunteer at Events
Partner or Sponsor events and programs
Donate prizes for events and promotions
Sponsor our staff with products, discounts or perks from your business
Lend talent and physical resources

To be added to the "Friends of the Chamber" newsletter to be informed of all partnership opportunities as they arise, let us know at info@sookeregionchamber.com . or 250-642-6112.

Appreciations and Thank you's

The Board of Directors would like to thank the following for their support in 2019.

Outgoing and resigning board members:

Ryan Chamberland, Vancouver Island Lodge

Lorna Danylchuk, Your Perfect Gift

Susan Jones, WebMax

Pierre Lacombe, Privateer Factory

and

David and Margaret Bloom, Spectrum Digital

Special mentions for providing meeting space

Village Foods

Special mention also to the many volunteers, collaborators, and committee members who tirelessly contribute to the Chamber

Shelley Godin (bookkeeper), Frank Antonsen (videography),

Susan Bennett (GALA Committee) Rosanne Day (idea generator),

the Sooke Multi-Belief Initiative,

Sooke Mayor Maja Tait, and

Sooke Councillors Megan McMath and Dana Lajeunesse

We encourage everyone to share our e-newsletter to all those who may be interested in receiving information and updates from our Chamber, regardless of membership.

Simply click on the button below and share away!