2020-2021
Brandon Chamber of Commerce
Annual Report
#STRONGERTOGETHER brandonchamber.ca
2020-2021
Board of Directors
Spencer Day President Progressive Westman
Laurie Brugger Century 21 Westman Realty Ltd.
Meredyth Leech Leech Printing Ltd.
Barry Cooper Vice- President Heritage Co-op
Tanya LaBuick Secretary-Treasurer CW2 Construction Guardian Fencing LaBuick & Co.
Cathy Snelgrove Past President Siere
Andrea Epp Epp Law Office
Chris Finley Mazergroup
Ryan Jacobson Affordable Storage Brandon Forbidden Flavours Roastery
Lois MacDonald
Scott Norosky South End Lumber Supply
Jaime Pugh MNP LLP
138 Total number of years the Brandon Chamber of Commerce has been incorporated in the city of Brandon.
Aida Tahhan Aida's Catering
WHO WE ARE ARE The Brandon Chamber of Commerce is an independent, membership funded, non-profit organization that represents Brandon business from the grassroots level. MISSION To encourage growth in the Brandon community by fostering a progressive business environment, favourable to enhancing existing and attracting new business.
STRATEGIC FOCUS
1
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Strengthen regional Economic Development to support a competitive Brandon, attract business and development, and reduce red tape.
2
WORKFORCE ALIGNMENT Provide resources to support employers’ human capital needs.
3
ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS Organizational improvements that maximize value for membership investment.
4
ORGANIZATION VALUE Enhance the success of Chamber members by offering valued business support, services and programs.
VISION A vibrant, growing organization with a diverse, inclusive membership that reflects the dynamic business environment in Brandon and delivers recognized value for its members. Through strategic partnerships with business and community organizations and leadership in the chamber movement, the Brandon Chamber is a catalyst for business development and growth in the region. Respected at all levels of government and the community as a highly credible and influential organization, the Chamber is the voice of Brandon’s business community. CORE MEMBER SERVICES Through membership in the Brandon Chamber of Commerce, businesses have access to: Business Connections Information Resources Business programs, products and services Business Promotion & Publicity Representation – an advocate that serves as the voice of business Community Leadership
VISION, MISSION + FOCUS
LEADERSHIP MESSAGE
This past year has been one like no other. 2020-2021 will go down in the Chamber’s history books as one of the most challenging years for business – full of challenges, uncertainty and hardship. Little did we truly appreciate the length and impact the pandemic would have on our lives. However, this past year that has also highlighted the resiliency, innovative thinking and perseverance of our members, and the coming together of our business community to support each other. While advocacy has always been a central focus of the Chamber, this past year, more than any other year, your Chamber has been at the forefront, actively advocating with government and working hard to help our members and the broader business community. Early on, we had to shift from providing high profile events to providing immediate support. We listened to member issues and concerns and worked hard to solve problems, get answers and connect you to the resources that would help. We worked together with chambers across the country to inform programs and policies and it is clear that the chamber network has never been stronger. As an organization known for our events and networking, we had to reimagine how to connect with members. Despite COVID-19 restrictions and closures, we were able to provide over 70 events and programs as we transitioned to on-line platforms. These have been quite successful with many members joining us on our various speaker series, virtual happy hours and coffees, and webinars. We celebrated our annual award finalists and winners through a produced awards show and PreShow Watch Party, and our second annual Superwoman Conference provided an opportunity for attendees across the province join us to get inspired and network in a whole new way. This year, more than any other, collaboration has underscored our success. From the many volunteers, dedicated board members, hardworking staff, engaged membership, and a strong Chamber network - our success is a reminder of what we can achieve when we work together. Thank you for your continued support and engagement! Our annual report highlights some of the ways we have delivered value to our members and our community. As you review this report and the activities and accomplishments of the Chamber for 2020-2021, please know that your chamber is now looking to the future and how we can help shape and support recovery, and we will continue to be there for you as we navigate what is hopefully the receding waves of this storm.
607
Total number of active Chamber members at the end of the 2020-2021 year.
THE CHAMBER NETWORK The Brandon Chamber is aligned with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, the largest and most influential business organizations in Canada and Manitoba. Through the Chamber Network, we work together to shape policy that will make a difference to business in our region. These organizations have achieved notable successes in influencing policy for the benefit of our members and Brandon Chamber delegates attend both AGMs to support and debate various policy resolutions that address business concerns. Provincially, we grew our connections and worked with other local chambers to advocate on shared issues, brought members together to make new connections (via our events) and deployed and built upon new projects shared within the network. WORKING TOGETHER From events to advocacy, the Chamber works with a variety of volunteers, partners and stakeholders to help better serve our members. By leveraging the talents and passions of a diverse group, we are able to work on common goals—a win-win for all. In the past year our collaborations included: co-hosting our annual HR Conference with Economic Development Brandon; working with MB Chambers to deliver surveys to understand business needs during COVID and working with government to address those issues. We also conducted the 2020 Business Climate Survey; having Chamber representation on various community boards such as Rural Manitoba Economic Development Corporation (RMED), Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP), Brandon Local Immigration Partnership (BLIP), and IANE to bring external expertise to our own committees; and working with 60+ volunteers with in the Chamber to develop and deliver programs, services and advocacy for our members.
COLLABORATIVE NETWORKS
The Chamber is proud to be the voice of business in Brandon and a leader in our community. This past year we worked hard to engage stakeholders and speak to all levels of government on a variety of business issues. The following is a summary of our leadership and advocacy work in 2020 & 2021. GOVERNMENT FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY The Chamber actively advocated on budgets for all levels of government, attending forums participating in consultations to voice concerns of our members and promote fiscal responsibility. The Chamber hosted pre-budget submissions and consultations on both the City of Brandon budget and the Brandon School Division budget. GOVERNMENT RELATIONS Chamber representatives met with Government officials of all levels of government to discuss issues of importance to our members including: Developing a clear, direct line for our members to communicate their issues to all levels of government Drafted four letters of recommendations to the Provincial Government Hosted multiple events for our members to get one-on-one answers from elected officials One on one connections with locally elected officials through Chamber Director/ City Councillor meet ups
Hosted government officials for discussions on issues which mattered the most to our members and community Had two policies renewed at the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce AGM, and four in total active. Developed the Business Recovery Taskforce to help advocate to all levels of government for supports for our local businesses. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT To address continuing business concerns around labour challenges and skill gaps, workforce development was a priority focus for the Chamber this year. The Chamber also supported other Workforce Development initiatives including hosting many events and workshops on diversity and inclusion, hosting an event on work integrated learning, participating in the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot Project, contributed to the Community Connections Expo and co-hosting the annual Westman HR Conference and developing policy to advocate for flexible funding for post secondary institutions so that they can address employer’s labour needs more effectively. BUSINESS SUPPORT & OUTREACH The Chamber extended its member outreach to better understand member needs through the 2021 Business Climate Survey, business visits and calls. In turn, we used that feedback to develop workshops, advocate on issues like red tape reduction, recommendations on COVID-19 restrictions and impacts businesses and to share concerns around crime and safety impacting our community.
ADVOCACY + LEADERSHIP
HELPING THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY IN 4 KEY WAYS RESOURCES & COMMUNICATIONS: PROVIDING RESOURCES AND COMMUNICATING TO MEMBERS MEMBER OUTREACH: LISTENING TO MEMBER CONCERNS, ANSWERING QUESTIONS AND CONNECTING THEM WITH SOURCES OF INFORMATION ADVOCACY & LEADERSHIP: ADVOCATING FOR GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS AND POLICY CHANGES EDUCATION & CONNECTION: PROVIDING EDUCATIONAL WEBINARS, INFORMATION SESSIONS AND VIRTUAL NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES TO HELP PEOPLE STAY CONNECTED AND INFORMED.
[The BERP (Brandon Economic Restart Program) was developed by the City of Brandon to help local businesses move towards recovery and grow post COVID-19.]
RESOURCES & COMMUNICATIONS E-news Bulletins – Through e-news communications, updates were sent out to deliver information and announcements to keep members informed with the latest news. MEMBER OUTREACH Direct Contact – We had direct contact with members to touch base with how they were managing and offer assistance in helping find the information they needed. ADVOCACY & LEADERSHIP Chamber Network partnership – Working together with our vast national and provincial Chamber network we advocated on behalf of the business community. - With member feedback we provided input on policy and programs to better support our business members - Attended regular meeting with Manitoba and Canadian Chambers of Commerce to stay updated with latest news and share concerns. GOVERNMENT OUTREACH Had regular correspondence with local and provincial government to share concerns and hear from industry and community leaders. EDUCATION & CONNECTION To do our part to prevent community spread, our inperson events were postponed or cancelled, but we introduced interactive webinars and virtual networking opportunities for our members to stay connected, share experiences and be informed, including COVID focused webinars such as Leadership during Crisis and Labour & Employment Law.
COVID-19 BUSINESS SUPPORT
PROGRAMS
Support Local Projects New - Over the course of the year, the Chamber led the pack on encouraging our community to #supportlocal. Through initiatives with funding provided by all levels of government, we were able to launch the following programs aimed at supporting our local business owners, whether they were members or not: Love Local Gift Card Program Holiday Gift Guide E-Commerce Program Support Local Bingo Westman Support Local Contact with the Brandon Sun Support Local Checklists Sponsor a Member Program New - The Chamber Sponsor a Member Program was inspired by our members reaching out, offering to sponsor new and existing memberships. As these offers started rolling in, we recognized that there was potential for a program to be built around this effort. In 2020-2021 we had 12 businesses retain or gain membership through this program.
SERVICES
Member Profiles and Recognition We worked with local production companies like Trident Films and The Media Garden to bring you countless member profiles throughout the year, We also launched the Member Monthly email, which highlighted new and existing members all in one place,
Communications/Marketing Staying connected with our members is important! We sent out 12 information mailers, increased our Chamber at a Glance newsletter to 12 issues a year, a weekly Chamber Insider e-newsletter, a quarterly Chamber Exchange spread in the Brandon Sun and published our annual roster book and Business Review Magazine. We grew our reach on social media through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We also launched our Marketing Value Packs to help our members save money while getting their name out there! "The support we have received from working with the Brandon Chamber of Commerce has been incredible. When hard times have hit us, the Chamber has reached out to our organization to keep us informed with what is happening in our business community. They have really been a partner!" Jaime-Lynn Dyck, Display Manitoba
CONNECTION
SPEAKER SERIES This year, our in-person monthly luncheons transitioned into virtual Speaker Series, successfully hosting up to 150 attendees each month. This year’s lineup featured a Olympian Jill Officer, a celebration of Small Business Week with entrepreneur Trish Fjeldsted or The BloomBox, and a presentation from Chris Turcotte on leadership.
CHAMBER FRIDAY COFFEES This year we found a "new" way to connect by hosting this monthly series virtually. Bringing together 30+ Chamber members each month from all industry and background to exchange ideas (and a few laughs), created a supportive environment throughout the pandemic. ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT Our 31st + 1/2 Annual Golf Tournament was one of our last events of the 2020 presidential year. While we had to postpone the tournament twice, we were thrilled this August to host the event at Shilo Country Club which brought together over 150+ attendees. BUSINESS AWARDS SHOW Our Annual Awards Gala is THE business event of the year, where we celebrate business and present our Business Achievement Awards. While our Gala was cancelled this past March due to COVID-19, we were happy to honour our 2021 recipients in a virtual celebration. SUPERWOMAN CONFERENCE Quickly becoming a stand out event in Brandon, we were excited to launch our second Superwoman Conference. This 1/2 day conference hosted virtually on the Hopin, featured a keynote speaker and panel discussions.
EDUCATION
HR CONFERENCE With partners Economic Development, we virtually hosted our 4th Annual Westman HR Conference for over 110 attendees. The theme this year was: Building a Healthy Workplace, which featured a keynote address, four breakout sessions, and a panel discussion.
COVID-19 BUSINESS SUPPORT
WORKSHOPS & WEBINARS We offered a new digital marketing workshop series that helped attendees go from developing a plan, utilizing web and social media, to determining their ROI, as well as offering workshops to help business tackle cyber security and learn how to utilize the Rural & Northern Immigration Pilot Project. We also offered various webinars on HR, leadership, and government supports to assist businesses during COVID-19.
RECOGNITION+ CELEBRATION
At our Annual Awards Celebration we honour the business community and recognize excellence through the presentation of our Business Achievement Awards. This year we changed the format as we could not gather in person as we have traditionally done. With the help of an amazing production team, we able to recognize 18 finalists and winners during our virtual celebration. Gus Vaskilaris – Business Person of the Year Rocked Community Fitness – Community Impact Chez Angela Bakery & Cafe – Outstanding New Business A&L – Business Excellence (Small Business) Joe Beeverz Canadian Pub – Business Excellence (Large Business) This year we also introduced two new ways to celebrate our local entrepreneurs, the Young Entrepreneur of the Year and the Westman Top 4 Under 40. Congrats to all of our recipients! From top left: Matt Berg (Young Entrepreneur of the Year); Danielle Adriaansen, Parker Easter, Jordan Ludwig and Hailey Jefferies (All Westman Top 4 Under 40 recipients).
2020-2021 SPONSORS Thank you for your support! Speaker Series Assiniboine Community College Brandon First Brandon University Centum Mortgage Choice Compass Credit Union myITsource Progressive Westman Sunrise Credit Union Westoba Credit Union Ltd. Westman Communications Group 138th Business Awards Celebration Assiniboine Community College Atom Jet Industries BDO Behlen Industries Better Business Bureau Brandon Business Interiors Brandon University Brockie Donovan Ltd. Burns Maendel Consulting Engineers Ltd. Cando Rail Services Excel-7 Fast Fired by Carbone Fusion Credit Union Greenstone Building Projects Guild Insurance Brokers Humble & Fume Inc Jacobson & Greiner Group of Companies Jamieson Construction Keystone Centre Leech Printing Livingstone Outdoor Maple Leaf Foods Inc. Martie Kruger Immigration Canada Meighen Haddad LLP MNP PC Caucus of Manitoba RBC - Dominion Securities - Nestibo Wealth RBC Royal Bank Shoppers Mall Siere Sunrise Credit Union Limited Velvet Dip Ltd. Vionell Holdings Partnership Western Financial Group Westman Communications Group Westoba Credit Union Ltd. Zeke's Jewellers
Annual Golf Tournament – 2021 Accent Striping & Lettering Avanta Financial Blue Moon Water Burns Maendel Consulting Engineers Career Connections CW2 Construction & Design Del Communications Inc. Dollars for Scholars Epp Law Office Flynn Canada Ltd. Forbidden Flavours Roastery Frito Lay Fusion Credit Union Greenstone Building Projects Guild Insurance Brokers Heritage Co-op Jacobson & Greiner Group Leech Printing McMunn and Yates Building Supplies Prairie Building Maintenance RBC - Ryan Nestibo Robinson Cancade Private Wealth Inc. Source for Sports St. John's Ambulance Subway Swiss Chalet/ Harveys T-Birds Universal Doors Westman Communications Group Westoba Credit Union World Trade Centre Winnipeg
Superwoman Conference – 2021 EPP Law Leech Printing Ltd. Westoba Credit Union Ltd. HR Conference: CPHR Manitoba
FINANCIAL REPORT
Commentary by: Jaime Pugh, Secretary-Treasurer On behalf of the Brandon Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and Staff, the following represents a brief summary of the information in the year-end financial statement. This statement is available to any member by visiting our office at 1043 Rosser Avenue, Brandon. For the fiscal year ending May 31, 2021, the Chamber realized an excess of revenues over expenses of $118,960. During the year the Chamber accessed some of the government funding that was available due to COVID–19. There were wage subsidies in the amount of $67,679 as well as a Grant of $25,000 to help with the campaign of shop local. It is also worth noting that the Chamber staff were able to shift to the new world and continue with our events, speaker series, women’s conference etc. that did not carry the same expenses that they did when attended in person. There also was some carry over revenue associated with the 2020 Gala that was recorded in the 2020-2021 year through sponsorship and some forgone ticket sales. Some of the events were pay what you can events and so the revenue is still not back to pre-pandemic levels. As at May 31, 2021 $149,241 has been moved into a conservative investment portfolio for future use against some expected large repairs to the building. With the change in the ability to generate revenue and the uncertainty our members were facing, the Board and Chamber team focused to follow the adjusted budget to ensure that our operating expenses did not exceed our revenue. With the continued uncertainty, we have applied for the full Canada Emergency business account loan to help us through the timing of learning how to do new events to generate income. The Chamber staff proved to be creative and positive to engage the membership and provide the necessary information to get them through this pandemic as we are all in this together. Carolynn and the staff’s leadership and drive has ensured the Chamber has been front and center working for the members during this pandemic and always. Thank-you for your ability to stay new, creative and relevant during these challenging times. We are thrilled about the feedback that has been provided by our members about the Chambers continued commitment to providing the necessary information to move us forward in this “new world”. This is reflective by the increase in membership revenue that has occurred in 2020-2021 despite zero increase to the membership fee. We thank the membership for trusting the Chamber and moving forward with us into the future.
2020-2021 COMMITTEES Thank you to all of our volunteers!
T h i s p a s t y e a r , t w o n e w t a s k f o r c e s w e r e f o r m e d – T h e Bu sin ess R ec o very T a skf o rc e a n d th e Bra n d o n Bu sin ess C l i m a t e S u r v e y T a s k f o r c e . T h r o u g h t h e s e g r o u p s , a n u m b e r o f p ro j ec ts w ere l a u n c h ed to h el p su p p o rt th e Bra n d o n busi n e ss c o m m u n i t y t h r o u g h r e c o v e r y a n d i n to g r o w th ! G o v e r n m e n t R e l a t i o n s C o m m i tte e
EXECUTIVE AND FINANCE COMMITTEE
T o p o s i t i o n B r a n d o n a s a c o m p e ti ti v e a n d p o s i ti v e
T o e x e r c i s e a l l t h e p o w e r s o f th e B o a r d w h e n th e y a r e n o t
environment in which to live and do business by
i n s e s s i o n a n d t o o v e r s e e a n d p e r i o d i c a l l y r e v i e w th e
c o n v i n c i n g g o v e r n m e n t a t a l l l e v e l s to i m p l e m e n t
C h a m b e r b u d g e t s , f i n a n c i a l s ta te m e n ts , a n d a l l o th e r
l e g i s l a t i o n , t a x e s , a d m i n i s t r a ti o n , a n d g o v e r n m e n t
financial matters.
i n v e s t m e n t i n a m a n n e r f r i e n d l y to th e i n te r e s ts o f Brandon and Brandon businesses.
EVENTS To organize all aspects of the Annual Chamber Dinner, Golf
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
T o u r n a m e n t , a n d s u c h o t h e r s p e c i a l e v e n ts f o r th e
T o p r o m o t e e x i s t i n g b u s i n e s s , a ttr a c t n e w b u s i n e s s ,
membership as may be required.
p r o v i d e e d u c a t i o n a l s e m i n a r s a n d i n f o r m a ti o n a l s e s s i o n s, and address specific business development concerns
MEMBERSHIP
within the community.
T o b e i n n o v a t i v e a n d s u p p o r ti v e to a ttr a c t n e w m e m b ers t o t h e B r a n d o n C h a m b e r o f C o m m e r c e a n d r e ta i n e x i s tin g
WORKFORCE ALIGNMENT COMMITTEE
m e m b e r s b y p r o m o t i n g t h e b e n e f i ts o f m e m b e r s h i p ,
T h e W o r k f o r c e A l i g n m e n t C o m m i tte e i s a c a ta l y s t to f o ster
ensuring quality of the Chamber services and
a w o r k f o r c e t h a t m e e t s t h e e v o l v i n g n e e d s o f e m p l o y e rs
communicating with members and non-members.
and community.
CHAMBER FAST FACTS 607
56
TOTAL MEMBERS The total number of Chamber members for 20202021.
NEW MEMBERS The number of new member who joined in 2020-2021. Welcome!
1419
60
EVENT ATTENDANCE The number of attendees at events last year.
"My experience with the Brandon Chamber has been nothing short of exceptional. The entire team was accepting and supportive when we came on board in 2018 as a new small business in Brandon. When the pandemic hit the Brandon Chamber continued to be supportive and informative as much as they could and never left us in the dark. You could tell the Brandon Chamber was feeling for all of its members as we all sat in limbo but they never fell back on us and have supported us every step of the way!" Darren Darvill, Resurrection Paint Correction & Auto Detailing
VOLUNTEERS The number of people that sat on our board and committees. Thank you!
SOCIAL MEDIA All our social media platforms grew this year! 2100 Facebook followers & 1413 Page Likes 2605 Twitter followers & 16.7k impressions 1643 Instagram followers