The Okotoks & District Chamber of Commerce recently saw some changes.

They held their Annual General Meeting on Jan. 19, with this year’s meeting being held virtually.

Chelsea Besuijen of Eyes 360 has stepped into the role of President, with Pamela Morgan of Key Instincts and Shanda Bouchard of RBC serving as Vice Presidents.

Overall, the chamber welcomed eight new members to their board, with seven returning.

Executive Director Dawn LeMaistre is well acquainted with Besuijen, who’s been with the chamber for a few years now, joining the executive board two years ago.

“She really understands business, her background coming from radio and broadcasting and a significant marketing base really helps her understand what would be beneficial to a business and what they need to move forward, especially right now. She values what business owners are spending their hard-earned dollars on, and wants to make sure there’s value for that,” says LeMaistre.

These changes to the chamber board come at an interesting time, with active COVID cases seemingly on the decline, and Premier Jason Kenney talking about easing restrictions if and when hospitalizations follow suit.

According to LeMaistre, many business owners aren’t holding their breath.

“Because it’s been such a long rollercoaster over the last two years, I think our business community is not getting excited before they actually see things falling into place. It’s created some optimism, which is great, but I think at the same time, they’re cautious.”

As far as how the chamber is able to lend a hand at the moment, LeMaistre says they’re looking into ways to get business owners together to collaborate in order to move forward together.

The chamber is also moving forward with a number of new initiatives, including their involvement in the Warm Welcome program, which is headed by the Okotoks Entrepreneurial Ecosystem, which is meant to make new business owners feel at home, especially during such a volatile time.

They’re also continuing their “MORE Okotoks” initiative.

MORE Okotoks initially rolled out in late 2021 and included the portable Okotoks sign and a tourism video that has played in a few Calgary cinemas.

It’ll continue this year with two murals to be painted on the side of the Thrive Chiropractic building and on the sea can near Hubtown Brewing.

The chamber is also optimistic that 2022 will see the return of the annual trade show, again in partnership with Market Square.

“Currently we’re over half sold with our booth space and we’re optimistic we’ll be sold out. There definitely is the need for businesses to get out there and create awareness for what they have to offer. We’re super excited that we’re going to get that opportunity. As of right now, it appears that we’ll be full steam ahead.”

It’s currently set to take place in early May.

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