HACOC

The next meeting of the Chamber will be held May 13th at Community Services in Agassiz at 6pm.

To All Harrison Agassiz Chamber Members
 
Don Ramsay Memorial Golf Tournament
Thursday May 22   Start Times 11:30am-12:50pm
 
Come one Come all to the Harrison Agassiz Chamber Of Commerce’s annual Don Ramsay Memorial Golf Tournament to be held at the Sandpiper Golf Resort in beautiful downtown Harrison Mills.
 
All Chamber members are encouraged to get a team together and join other members for a fun afternoon of golf and networking.
 
The Tournament will be a variation of a Texas Scramble format:
 
Texas scramble involve 4-person teams playing four balls, but with each shot coming from the same spot (the best of the four drives is chosen and all four team members then hit from that spot, and so on).
 
The variation to be used at this Tournament: at least four drives of each member of the team must be used during the course of the round: At least four drives hit by Player A, four by Player B, and so on. In a regular scramble, a great driver might have his tee ball used on every hole. A Texas Scramble eliminates that possibility and allows even the weakest driver on the team to get into the action.
 
The event will feature lots of great prizes including an opportunity to win a hole in one prize of $25000, prizes for the ladies and men closest to the pin on one hole, longest drives and putting contest.  There will be a wine draw consisting of your team winning all the wine everyone brings.  Even the worst score wins a prize.
 
The goody bag
If any businesses, whether attending the tournament or not, would like to submit coupons, pens brochures key chains or what have you that would be great…..
Donations for prizes bring them on! Gift certificates or whatever.  Hole sponsorships are available @$100.
 
Any member interested in donating prizes or items for the goody bags should contact Chris Lepine at kit@prettyestates.com.

The next Chamber of Commerce Meeting will take place March 11th, 6pm at Muddy Waters.

Take a minute and complete the Chamber Survey.  If you have already submitted your answers by email please do not take the online survey or your results will be double counted.

Click Here to take survey

The February Meeting will take place at Harrison Heritage House starting at 6pm.  The agenda will focus on the results of the Issue Survey and the transition of the current Website.

  
• January 8th - Rowena’s Inn Breakfast meeting 8:00am 
• February 12th - Heritage House B & B - 6pm
• March 11th - Muddy Waters  - 6pm 
• April 8th - Harrison Resort  - 6pm
• May 13th - Community Services  - 6pm
• June 10th - Laroan – to be confirmed 
• July - no meeting 
• August - no meeting 
• September 9th - Location to be determined 
• October 14th - Kilby Historic Site  6pm
• November 11th - AGM - Location to be determined 
• December 9th - Joint meeting with Tourism Society     

 

Looking ahead, 2008 is promising to be a year of growth and change both for the area and for the Chamber of Commerce.  Municipal elections in November will bring increased focus on Council activities both in Harrison and Agassiz.  Harrison’s draft plan to redevelop the beach and lagoon should be finalized by February 2008 followed by the start of implementation.  This will be an exciting and positive change that will be enjoyed not only by visitors and tourists but local residents as well. 
With the introduction of the 2% Tourism tax in 2007 and the start of operations of the Tourist Society, marketing for the Harrison area will get into high gear in 2008.  This will be good for all the businesses in the Agassiz-Harrison area.  It also opens the door for the Chamber to refocus its activities. 
To that end the Directors of the Harrison-Agassiz Chamber of Commerce met recently to define a new focus for the organization and plan for its future.  To stay relevant the organization must add value for its members and the community.  In the communities where the Chamber of Commerce is most successful they invariably play three major roles.  1. They act as an advocate for Business with all levels of Government, providing a business perspective and ensuring business issues are understood.  2. They provide leadership to the business community in terms of local and regional issues and initiatives.  3. They support and stimulate local economic development by providing information and assistance to potential investors, developers and new businesses. 
With these roles in mind the Directors have defined as the new vision for the Chamber: To be “the Voice” of business, providing leadership to the business community and support to sustainable economic development.” 
A vision statement sets out the kind of organization that the Chamber wants to be, while the mission statement describes how we will make that happen.   The newly defined mission of the Chamber:  “We exist to strengthen business and community through Leadership, Advocacy and Support. We will accomplish this by providing services of value to business, by working closely with all levels of government and by acting as a catalyst for economic development”
The next step for the Chamber is to translate this high level ambition into specific goals and objectives for the coming year.  This important planning exercise will be the primary agenda item of the next Chamber meeting taking place on January 8^th.

For Immediate Release May 28, 2007

On May 26th the Greater Kamloops Chamber of Commerce was presented with the prestigious “Chamber of the Year” award, the big prize at the British Columbia Chamber of Commerce Annual General Meeting.

The award was judged by the Board of Governors of the BC Chamber who stressed that there were excellent submissions made on behalf of Chambers of Commerce across the province. After much discussion it was decided that the role the Kamloops Chamber has played in building and nurturing partnership and cooperation within the community along with the strong advocacy role at every level of government undertaken by the Chamber made them a worthy winner.

“The key to this year’s award was relationships and the role the chamber has played in bringing everyone in the community who wishes to build a vibrant economy together” says Gerry Martin, Chair of the Board of Governors of the BC Chamber of Commerce. “This clear focus from the Kamloops Chamber has positioned them as a leader in the community by building and fostering partnerships that have galvanized the entire community.”

Over the past year the Kamloops Chamber developed a unique connection with key stakeholders on the community through their Business Sector and Large Company’s Roundtables. Through these forums the Kamloops Chamber has ensured that they have become the catalyst in building a network of support for their members and the entire business community. The Chamber has also continued with its unique local chamber policy process. At their Annual General Meeting chamber members are invited to debate and vote on which issues will be the priority for the Chamber. Where appropriate these issues are then taken to the BC and Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

“The Kamloops Chamber has a goal to be the #1 chamber of commerce in Canada, this is an award which shows they are well on their way to achieving the ambitious goal” stated John Winter, President and CEO of the BC Chamber of Commerce. “Through a focus on members as well as on the wider community Kamloops are setting a new standard for Chambers across BC and across Canada by taking a true leadership role on behalf of their community”.

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For further information, please contact:

John Winter, President, BC Chamber of Commerce (604) 376 3577

VANCOUVER - Economic Development Minister Colin Hansen was joined by several well-known British Columbians today to launch WorkBC, an innovative new labour market strategy to ensure the Province’s success in meeting key economic priorities and advancing B.C.’s global economic competitiveness.

“Increasing the size of B.C.’s workforce and enhancing productivity are vital to keep our province thriving,” said Hansen. “We are honoured to have successful and proud British Columbians join us in our efforts to help B.C. employers find the skilled workers they need.”

Complete News Release

Backgrounder

More Media Information

The 5th Chamber meeting of 2007 is scheduled for Tuesday, May 8 at the Executive Inn in Harrison Hot Springs.

This is the regular monthly Board of Directors business meeting; however, all members are invited (and encouraged) to attend.

Full details to follow