CEO Report for December 2020 - A Year in Review

Our purpose at the Lethbridge Chamber is to be the voice of our business community by providing growth opportunities and advocating for government policies that enable your success. This tumultuous year has highlighted the purpose and importance of this work.

Our year began with events of which we are very proud. In January, we took 24 members to Canada’s Agriculture Summit in Calgary, in partnership with the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. We also held Mental Health in the Workplace, the State of the City, and our sold-out bowling evening at Holiday Bowling. In February we held “Local & Provincial Government and You” and launched the Exchange. On March 7, we hosted a Meet the Minister Event with Minister Toews, discussing the budget and the world as we knew it at that time. That was our last in-person event for three months. Every event since has been modified to ensure the safety of our staff, members, and the community.

When the pandemic arrived in March, like so many businesses, the Lethbridge Chamber adjusted to new realities, prioritized the health of staff, and focused even more acutely on the business community.

With the situation changing day by day – sometimes hour by hour – our business community needed to stay connected and supported. Our Chamber team worked together to reach out to member businesses to understand their challenges and connect them to resources. We advocated to all levels of government for policies to support business and added a comprehensive toolkit of resources to our website. We also hosted nine (9) state of the industry events with experts in human resources, communications, finances and more. We pivoted to host The Exchange virtually so that our members could still access the information provided by this initiative. On June 24, we partnered with five Chamber restaurants so that we could hold and celebrate our traditional Chair’s Reception. Then, in August, we were able to hold our annual Golf Tournament, in a smaller format, but with just as much enthusiasm as previous years.

We also served as partner on the Lethbridge Economic Recovery Task Force, chairing the Barriers to Business stream. The purpose of the task force was to monitor, evaluate, and manage the sustainability and wellness of the business community through the pandemic. Once the immediate crisis began to stabilize, but also realizing that COVID-19 would be with us for some time, we set our sights on the short, medium, and long-term needs of our business community.

Through member roundtables and consultation with businesses, we developed and advocated for a series of initiatives to keep Canadians safe, ensure resiliency for our economy, and allow us to emerge from this pandemic on our front foot. Alongside the Chamber movement and other partner organizations, we were able to secure several critical wins for the business community.

At the Federal level, we saw fixed-cost relief programs such as rent relief and wage subsidies, as well as programs to increase and improve access to capital. At the provincial level, we saw an economic recovery plan that included supporting our base industries, diversifying our economy, and supporting technology and innovation. We also saw strong, unilateral action to remove trade barriers between provinces at a time when we needed it most.

At the municipal level, we saw property tax deferrals and new funding agreements with the provincial and federal government to ensure continuity in the delivery of essential services.

With the arrival of fall and heading into the end of the year, it became clearer that while COVID-19 posed many challenges, it also brought out the very best in our business community. We knew we needed to celebrate and accelerate this resiliency.

Business of the Year 2020. Where do I even start with the roller coaster of planning this event. In the end, we got to celebrate the grit and determination of local business in very small crowds over four hours, broken into small sessions, enabling us to showcase the finalists and winners. There have been over 1,200 views of the event on our social media platform. We wanted the event to been seen and celebrated by everyone. In times of crisis, business and government collaboration is particularly important. We continue to participate in a variety of virtual conversations with a variety of political leaders to ensure that the evolving needs of our business community are well articulated at the right tables.

As we close this year, we want to simply say thank you to you, our business community. Thank you for the sleepless nights you have spent working on solutions for your employees and business, while at the same time caring for your family. Thank you for leaning into your creativity and adapting, while at the same time facing the mental health challenges many of us are experiencing.

Thank you for going above and beyond to help our community, without knowing what the future held for your business. Know the Lethbridge Chamber will be there for you, every step of the way.

On behalf of the entire Lethbridge Chamber team, thank you for putting your trust into us, and we wish you a safe and healthy remainder of 2020.

Sincerely,
Cyndi Vos, MEd
CEO, Lethbridge Chamber