2021-2022 Annual Report

REPORT

Brandon Chamber of Commerce

OUR MISSION, OUR VISION, OUR FOCUS

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.

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.

Focus

Alignment

Leadership Message

from Barry Cooper

“If it was easy, anyone could do it”. I have shared these words with many young managers, my own sons and often said them quietly to myself in the mirror! This saying certainly must resonate with all our Membership as we have navigated the challenges that 2021 22 has thrown at us all The original optimistic estimates of how fast we would end Covid 19 changed the 2 week sprint into a multi year marathon A better understanding of the virus and the development of vaccines allowed the strategy for governments to move from business closures and restrictions to managing risk and public education Your Chamber spent most of last year working closely with our government decision makers advocating for decisions that allowed for personal safety AND business sustainability I cannot count how many times we shared with the government and media that “if legal, well run businesses are being forced to close for the greater good of the community, it is also fair that they be provided with support from that community so they can survive”. That advocacy paid dividends as we continued to work with multiple groups impacting our business futures. We worked closely with our Provincial government, directly and in alignment with Manitoba Chambers to create grants, funding, and advertising supports for business and influenced several changes in the Covid mitigation strategies. We worked with the City of Brandon to create the Brandon Economic Restart Program, providing growth incentives for businesses in our community.

With great pride and excitement, your Chamber also helped lead the community back into social events, starting last September with our first luncheon of the year! Following all public health rules, we proved that people could come out and interact safely This helped us improve our mental health and share some of our challenges and wins from the past year with each other Standing at the podium, I was always struck by how much energy was in the room The buzz of excitement proved the need for us to be reopen! We continued throughout the year with multiple events, including Business After 5 and Chamber Coffee Out Board meetings were also held in person

With the uncertainty this past year brought with it, your Chamber continued to follow a strong business model for finances and ended the year with a strong balance sheet. Paying down debt, maintaining our building and ensuring that we had cash flow to fun all events and activities. I am most proud of the tremendous group of leaders that I have had the privilege of working with this past year. Our Operations and Governance teams were aligned, and laser focused on the needs of our Membership and the best ways that we could serve them. Our staff were creative, supportive, and

never lost their excitement for each small victory or “member help” that they achieved. Our Board brought that same energy and imagination to its role. We also had numerous Chamber members step forward to participate. They brought wisdom and excitement to our committees and task forces, events, and interactions I hope you will agree that they have all provided value to you as a Member

As with each of your businesses, your Chamber needs to spend much of it’s time looking forward Every year we rejuvenate our Board with a change in Executive leadership and new board members, and this year we will do the same with our management team New ideas, new strategies, but the same commitment to you, the Membership

Thank you for your continued support We are so much stronger together!

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 worked with other local chambers to advocate on shared issues, bring members together to make new connections (via our events) and deploy and build 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; having Chamber representation on various community boards and bringing 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

Advocacy & Leadership

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.

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 2021 & 2022

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

One on one connections with locally elected officials through Chamber Director/ City Councilor meet ups Hosted government officials for discussions on issues which mattered the most to our members and community

BUSINESS SUPPORT & OUTREACH

The Chamber extended its member outreach to better understand member needs through the 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.

Programs & Services

Support Local Projects

Over the course of the year, the Chamber led the pack on encouraging our community to #supportlocal.

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:

Sponsor a Member Program

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 20212 2022 we had multiple businesses retain or gain membership through this program

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 developed and created the short series of Love Local on our YouTube Channel. We also launched the Member Monthly email, which highlighted new and existing members all in one place

Communications/Marketing

Communicating with our members is a key priority of ours. We sent out 12 issues of our Chamber at a Glance newsletter, a weekly Chamber Insider e newsletter, published our annual Roster Book, and Business Review Magazine We grew on our social media by adding LinkedIn to our list of social platforms, and continued to grow our outreach on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram

Connection

Speaker Series

After a year of online events, we were so thankful to transition back to in person luncheons After a 3 year hiatus, we welcomed the Honorable Heather Stefanson for a State of the Province address after a three year hiatus from hosting the Premier, and wrapped up the season with the last State of the City address from Brandon Mayor, Rick Chrest. Overall, we averaged about 150 people per luncheon!

Annual Golf Tournament

Our 32nd Annual Chamber Golf Tournament took place in June at Wheat City Golf Course. With 152 golfers in the tournament, we lucked out with great weather, great activities from our sponsors, and an excellent meal provided by the Eagles Nest Bar & Grill.

Business Awards Gala

We had some déjà vu this year when we had to post pone our Gala, however this time it was just for some bad weather not a worldwide pandemic! We were able to gather on May 18th with over 550 attendees to celebrate the Brandon Business Community and announce our award winners! Congratulations to all nominees and award winners!

Superwoman Conference

With 154 attendees this was our biggest Superwoman Conference yet! This half day conference was back in person, featuring a keynote speaker, panel discussions, with YWCA Brandon as our charity recipient.

Chamber First Friday Coffees

This monthly series, held both virtually and in person later on in the year saw some special guests including the new City Manager, Chamber Board Members, and CEO of Rural Manitoba Economic Development.

Virtual Networking

While in person events ceased in Mid March, we shifted to virtual events where members could connect, share and learn via virtual Happy Hours and Coffee Hours

Education

HR Conference

The 2021 Westman Human Resource Conference focused on “The Post Pandemic World of Work” and was delivered virtually to 54 registrants. The half day conference consisted of a Keynote presentation, as well as two breakout sessions A big thank you to CPHR Manitoba for being the conference sponsor!

Workshops & Webinars

We offered a variety of workshops and webinars this year, some of which focused on Covid 19 and information you needed to know surrounding funding, taxes, and more. We also featured workshops that focused on leadership and inclusion practices

Our Committees

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Sponsors

First Friday Coffees: Tim Hortons

Annual Chamber Golf Tournament

Avanta Financial Services Inc Blue Moon Water Burns Maendel Consulting Engineers Ltd

Career Connections Inc

Del Communications Inc. Epp Law Office

Flynn Canada Ltd. Forbidden Flavours Roastery Frito Lay Canada

Fusion Credit Union Greenstone Building Products Guild Insurance Group Heritage Co op Jacobson & Greiner Ltd Leech Group

Prairie Building Maintenance RBC Dominion Securities Nestibo Wealth Robinson Cancade Private Wealth Inc , a Division of Cardinal Capital Management Inc Source for Sports St John Ambulance Brandon Branch Subway Swiss Chalet/ Harvey’s Restaurant T Birds Food Fun Games

Universal Door and Truck Accessories Westman Communications Group Westoba Credit Union Ltd. World Trade Centre Winnipeg

Monthly Chamber Luncheons:

Siere

Sunrise Credit Union Limited

Compass Credit Union

Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba Assiniboine Community College St John Ambulance Brandon Branch Westoba Credit Union Ltd

myITsource

Supply Chain Canada MB Institute Brandon University Progressive Westman Westman Communications Group Brandon First

2021 2022 Workshops: Assiniboine Community College’s Continuing Educations Department

Business After 5: Brandon Riverbank Discovery Centre Epp Law Office

2022 Superwoman Conference: CoWorks Inc.

Epp Law Office

Gontree Tree Service Ltd. Progressive Westman Westman Communications Group

Westoba Credit Union Ltd

2021 Westman Human Resources Conference: CPHR Manitoba

Sponsors

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Alternative Landscaping Ltd.

Assiniboine Community College

Atom Jet Industries Ltd

BDO Canada LLP

Behlen Industries

Bell Media Inc

Bell MTS, a division of Bell Canada

Benmarks

Better Business Bureau

Brandon Business Interiors

Brandon University

Brockie Donovan Funeral and Cremation Services

Burns Maendel Consulting Engineers Ltd

CAA Manitoba

Cando Rails & Terminals

Chemtrade Electrochem Inc. Chilli Chutney

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CW2 Construction & Design Ltd.

Dick Agencies, A Division of Westland Insurance Group Ltd.

Epp Law Office

Excel 7 Ltd.

Flynn Canada Ltd.

Fusion Credit Union

Greenstone Building Products Guild Insurance Group

Heritage Co op

Keywest Photo Image by Design Inc

Leech Group

Manitoba Blue Cross Manitoba PC Caucus Maple Leaf Foods

MNP LLP

Prairie Building Maintenance

R & M Homes Ltd

RBC Dominion Securities Nestibo Wealth RBC Royal Bank

Reesor’s Jewellery (1978) Ltd Shoppers Mall/Morguard

Siere

Sunrise Credit Union Limited

The Brandon Sun Vionell Holdings Partnership

West Fit Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Clinic Western Financial Group

Westman Communications Group Westoba Credit Union Ltd. Workers Compensation Board Brandon Xplornet Enterprise Solutions

Thank you for your support!

Financial Report

On behalf of the Brandon Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and Staff, the following represents a brief summary of the information from our year end financial statement for 2021 22. This statement is available to any member by visiting our office at 1043 Rosser Avenue.

For the fiscal year ending May 31, 2022, the Chamber realized an excess of revenues over expenses of $13,747. This is in contrast to the 2021 excess of $118,960, mostly due to the fact that the organization began returning to semi normal operations throughout this fiscal year. At the end of May 31, 2021, the Chamber of Commerce had $195,985 invested in a conservative investment portfolio, earmarked for future building maintenance and upgrades.

As events slowly made their way back into the organization’s landscape, we acknowledged $82,398 of deferred ticket and event revenue that was held for pre paid events that were cancelled during COVID, and brought into this year ’ s income. This year ’ s budget reflected a hybrid of in person and remote programming and events, and was managed closely to ensure that the organization could sustain operations regardless of the pandemic restrictions.

The Chamber staff once again showcased their flexibility in adapting to ever changing restrictions, working hard to serve our members and provide timely programming and services that would respond to their needs, and those of the community.

The Board of Directors is excited to see what our new GM, Connor, and his team can deliver in the year ahead, with a solid financial foundation to build upon.