BRANDON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
ANNUAL REPORT 2012-2013
CONTENTS Leadership Message Mission/Vision 2012-2013 Board of Directors Highlights Advocacy Events Summary Treasurer’s Report Thank you to sponsors
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LEADERSHIP MESSAGE Thank you for being a member of the Brandon Chamber of Commerce. Your ongoing support is something we never take for granted. Your investment enables the chamber to continue its work to champion for local business and a strong economic environment. This past year the Chamber celebrated its 130th anniversary as the ‘voice of business’ in our community. We take tremendous pride in our commitment and responsibility in providing valuable services and benefits to our members and representing business with all levels of government. The 2012-2013 year was another active year for the Chamber and we are pleased to have accomplished many goals on behalf of our members. The board of directors were kept busy with many meetings and functions including regular executive, finance, business development, government relations, membership and events committees as well as various stakeholder and adhoc meetings. We provided members with many value added benefits through our affinity program and low cost marketing and sponsorship opportunities, as well as an events program which provided excellent networking and professional development opportunities. We have worked hard this past year to further strengthen our partnership and collaborative efforts with various stakeholders. Some of these initiatives included successfully working with the City to land WestJet air service, multiple meetings with all our educational institutions to discuss the challenges around skilled labour and matching educational programs with employer needs, and the engagement of members with the start-up of a shop local taskforce. We also worked on a number of internal driven initiatives such as the new referral and ambassador programs, the new member ID, and a new membership management system. The Chamber actively participated in the annual budget reviews of the City and Brandon School Division attending various public forums and stakeholder meetings to promote fiscal responsibility and to ensure the business perspective was heard. We continued to dialogue with our local MLAs and MP to actively pursue issues on provincial and federal levels to ensure that local businesses interests were represented at all levels of government. Provincially and nationally we remain connected to the Chamber Network with our alignment with organizations such as the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce, which represents over 10,000 businesses, and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce which represents over 200,000 businesses. Together we help shape policy that will make a difference to business in our area. Financially, the Chamber finished the year in a positive position and we are pleased to report another profitable year. The nominations committee was tasked with recruiting nominees for the Board of Directors for the 2013-2014 year and we are pleased to welcome new directors Terry Burgess, Tyler Rice and Lyndsay Murray, as well as welcoming back Craig Senchuk, Todd Birkhan, Frank Arndt, Carla Milne, Daniel Burns. The Chamber was also invited to attend various community events of which we were pleased to represent the business community. Thank you to retiring directors Cam Clark, Sharon Shepherd and Denny Bouchard for your time and commitment during your service with the Chamber. With a strong a dedicated board, hardworking and knowledgeable staff, and a vibrant and active membership the Brandon Chamber of Commerce will continue its success as a your business advocate in the year ahead. We thank you for your support.
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2012-2013 BOARD OF DIRECTORS WHO WE ARE The Brandon Chamber of Commerce is an independent, membership funded, non-profit organization that represents Brandon business from the NATE ANDREWS, President Guild Insurance Brokers Inc.
CRAIG SENCHUK, Vice-President Agri-Trend Business Management
TODD BIRKHAN, Secretary/ Treasurer, BDO Canada LLP
grassroots level.
MISSION To encourage growth in the Brandon community by fostering a CAM CLARK, Past-President CKLQ-StarFM
DENNY BOUCHARD Mazergroup
TERRY CARLISLE Cando Contracting Ltd.
progressive business environment, favourable to enhancing existing and attracting new business.
VISION A vibrant, growing organization CHAD WALLIN Joe Beeverz Bar & Grill
JORDAN LUDWIG Brandon Business Interiors
KARLA DANE Meighen Haddad LLP
that reflects the dynamic, diverse business environment in Brandon and delivers recognized value for its members. Respected at all levels of government and the community as a highly credible and influential organization, the Chamber is the voice of Brandon’s
SHARON SHEPHERD West-Fit Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Clinic
DANIEL A. BURNS Burns Maendel Consulting Engineers Ltd.
FRANK ARNDT myITsource.ca/MTS Connect Corral Centre
CARLA MILNE MNP LLP
BONNIE NAY-DRAPER Manitoba Entrepreneurship, Training & Trade
growing business community.
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HIGHLIGHTS COMMUNICATIONS In 2012-2013, the Brandon Chamber sent out 12 informational mailers, with 6 issues of our Chamber @ a Glance newsletter, and approximately 50 Insider e-news. We continued to be more active in social media outputs and grew our twitter following to over 600! We also sent both a membership survey and a business climate survey to learn from our members how we can better support them and to hear directly from business leaders on the challenges and opportunities they are experiencing. We profiled members in the 6th edition of our Brandon Review Magazine, published a new colour format for our Membership Roster, and created a 130th Anniversary promotional video that we presented at our Annual Dinner. This year we also transitioned to a new and exciting member management software—ChamberMaster. This has already helped to make our operations more efficient and opened up the opportunity to provide more value added services for our members which we will explore in the upcoming year. PARTNERSHIPS 2012-2013 saw the Chamber develop and renew community partnerships and collaborations on a number initiatives and events. We continued our partnership with Interprovincial Association on Native Employment (IANE) to co-host the Aboriginal Job Fair as well as continued Chamber representation on a number of external committees including Crime Stoppers, Downtown Brandon Biz, Brandon Salutes, and the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce Board. The Chamber met with BU and ACC to discuss education programs and employer needs and we also developed a Chamber/Brandon School Board Taskforce to discuss and explore opportunities for better understanding and engagement between the school division and the business community. EDUCATION Over the past year, the Chamber continued to strive to provide a variety of educational opportunities. We had a number of informative speakers at our monthly luncheons and other special events who educated members on a variety of topics including Agriculture trends around science and technology, the Shilo Military Base, our local business climate and the Canadian Taxpayers Federation . As well, we hosted workshops on Facebook for business, the fundamentals of customer service and looking outside conventional business thinking. AWARDS RECOGNITION To help recognize, celebrate and profile the accomplishments of our members, we once again presented five recipients with awards for: Outstanding Entrepreneur—Ellite Safety Services Business Builder—Gord Peters Business Person of the Year—Kerry Campbell Business Excellence Awards (under 15)—Webber Printing Business Excellence Awards (15 and over)—Alternative Landscaping Ltd. As well, five nominations were forwarded to the Manitoba Chamber Awards. In partnership with Prairie Mountain Health, we also awarded the 15th Annual Best Boss Award to Amy Noto of Rideau Park Personal Care Home.
ADVOCACY Advocating on behalf of our members is a central mandate of our chamber, and 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 the priority issues we advanced in the 2012-2013 year.
AIR SERVICE The Chamber worked with the City to attract air service by helping gather information to build a strong business case. The Chamber, alongside the city, met with WestJet to present the our business case and in the spring of 2013 our efforts paid off with the announcement of WestJet service to start in September of 2013. 4
BUSINESS CLIMATE SURVEY In partnership with MNP LLP, we surveyed local business leaders to learn more about the issues and challenges facing our business community. TAXATION The Chamber was actively involved in the local, provincial and federal government and school division budget processes, attending all public forums and consultations, all day budget sessions as well as a variety of additional meetings to encourage fiscal responsibility. The Chamber successfully lobbied for the Brandon School Division to slow it’s implementation plan of the K3 class sizes. Participated in WCG LIVE Provincial Budget Reaction Show to give feedback on Chamber position GOVERNMENT RELATIONS The Chamber met several times with the City to discuss air service, budget concerns, economic development, downtown and city wide development and other issues. Chamber representatives attended every City Council and School Division meeting. The Chamber met with local MLAs Drew Caldwell and Reg Helwer as well as MP Merv Tweed to discuss local perspective on provincial and federal issues. The Chamber met with various government representatives to discuss a variety of issues and challenges including meetings Minister Peter Bjornson to discuss Manitoba and Brandon’s competitiveness, Minister Stan Struthers to discuss the local concerns about the budget to name a few. TEMPORARY FOREIGN WORKERS PROGRAM The Chamber sent letters of concern regarding the changes to the temporary foreign workers program and the negative impact that could have for employers and our local economy SHOP LOCAL The Chamber is a strong supporter of ’shop local’ and developed a taskforce to explore opportunities to encourage local support of local businesses. TRANSPORTATION The Chamber sent letters of concern regarding regulatory controls of charter bus services in Manitoba that unfairly restricted local motor coach operators. CHAMBER NETWORK We Sponsored motions at the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce (MCC) AGM in support of the Manitoba’s involvement in the New West Partnership Agreement and the investment into LiDAR technology as a cost effective water management tool. We also supported a number of motions including encouraging provincial budget planning and fiscal responsibility, provincial venture capital strategy and opposition to the proposed increase to the PST. Brandon Chamber delegates attended the Canadian Chamber of Commerce AGM in Halifax, Nova Scotia to lobby on behalf of Brandon Chamber members.
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EVENTS We were active in providing a variety of networking opportunities and our events continue to be a popular activity. In 2012-2013, the Brandon Chamber put on 21 events as well as 34 Friday Chamber Coffees, with over 4,000 in total attendance. Our Annual Dinner and Golf Tournament were once again huge successes with both events sold out. June President’s Luncheon and Changeover Ceremony Annual Golf Tournament
September Luncheon Series – Colin Craig, Canadian Taxpayers Federation Business After 5: Murray Auto Centre Manitoba Marketing Network Event October Small Business ‘Kick Off’ Luncheon 12@12 Member input session November CFB Shilo Luncheon with guest speaker Colonel Richard W.H. Goodyear, Base Commander, CFB Shilo Business After 5: RBC Royal Bank December December 6 – Christmas Luncheon January Business Climate Survey Luncheon Business After 5: Brandon University Workshop: Customer Service 101 and Fundamentals of Customer Service February Federal Issues Luncheon with guest speaker James Rajotte, MP and Finance Committee Chair Workshop: Entrepreneurial Trap Champion of Ag Luncheon with guest speaker Rober Saik, AgriTrend March Aboriginal Job Fair 130th Annual Dinner April 12@12 Member input session State of the Province Address with Premier Selinger May State of the City Address with Mayor Shari Decter Hirst Past President’s Dinner Weekly Every Friday – September-June – Chamber Coffees
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TREASURER’S REPORT Another whirlwind year at the Chamber has come to a close and it is time to review our financial position. The Brandon Chamber of Commerce fiscal year ended May 31, 2013 shows a decrease in revenues of $80,557 from 2012, primarily due to a $59,332 decrease in the one-time flow-through funding related to the flood compensation advertising fund. Events revenue, memberships, and sponsorships, which are our main revenue drivers, show a slight year-over-year decrease which is slightly offset by growth in our lease, parking lot, and affinity revenues. The Chamber Board and Management team are working actively to control our revenue streams and we should see an uptick in revenues related to our roster book in 2013. While revenue was slightly down, there was a substantial decrease in expenses across the board with total expenses being $100,637 less than 2012. Our largest savings came from event related expenses which were down $20,537 and our salary line by $5,590. There was a decrease in flood campaign related expenses of $52,866 as the campaign came to a close in this fiscal year. As event revenue declined, the related expenses associated with hosting the events also showed a decrease - when event revenue goes down, our variable expenses decrease accordingly. Overall, the Chamber showed a net surplus of $35,782 in the year, meaning that our revenue decrease was offset by our containment of expenses. This shows that the Chamber effectively manages their bottom line and is able to live within their resources. Looking towards 2014, the Chamber remains in a strong position with approximately $218,000 left in the bank after deducting for accounts payable. While this does sound like a lot, our aging building needs some upkeep and the Board has placed $100,000 of this amount into a restricted building renovation fund to deal with future upgrades to the building envelope and other necessary projects.
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Thank you all our sponsors and supporters! BIS Joe Beeverz Bar & Grill LUNCHEONS Assiniboine Community College Brandon First Canadian Cancer Society-Westman Region Corral Communications CGA Manitoba Crocus Credit Union Dirty-T Shirt Productions Keywest Photo Image by Design Inc. Manitoba Entrepreneurship Training & Trade MNP LLP Sunrise Credit Union Ltd. Westman Communications Group FRIDAY CHAMBER COFFEES Tim Hortons 130TH ANNUAL DINNER— 2013 BDO Canada LLP Benmarks Blinds by Anita Bloom Box Brandon University Brockie Donovan Ltd Burns Maendel Consulting Engineers Ltd. Cando Contracting Ltd. Canexus Chemicals Canada LP Crane Steel Structures Created 4u Dick Agencies Guild Insurance Brokers Inc. Haven Salon & Spa Keywest Photo Image by Design Inc. Leech Printing Ltd. Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Manitoba Public Insurance Maple Leaf Fresh Foods Inc. Mazergroup MNP LLP MTS Connect (Split) RBC Royal Bank Remington's Seafood & Steakhouse Sargent Lock & Safe Ltd. Sunrise Credit Union The Brandon Sun The Party Professionals & Rental Co. Western Financial Group West-Fit Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Clinic Westman Communications Group/ 880 CKLQ & 94.7 Star FM Westoba Credit Union Ltd. Zeke’s Quality Jewellers Ltd. Vanguard Credit Union Limited BA5s Brandon University Murray Auto Centre Brandon RBC Royal Bank
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23rd ANNAL GOLF TOURNAMENT—2012 Allen Leigh Security & Communications Altus Geomatics Manitoba Professional Land Surveyors Assiniboine Community College Atom Jet Industries BDO Canada LLP Behlen Industries Blue Moon Water Brandon Source for Sports Brandon Wheat Kings Brandon Real Estate Board Brandon Source for Sports Brandon Wheat Kings Brockie Donovan Ltd. Bromley's Menswear Burns Maendel Consulting Engineers Business Development Bank of Canada Canadian Tire Canad Inns Brandon Cellular Communications Plus- MTS Connect Victoria Avenue CGA Manitoba City of Brandon CMS Services / Westman Mechanical Services Crane Steel Structures Domino’s Pizza Economic Development Brandon Frito-Lay Canada Gold Business Machines Guild Insurance Brokers Inc. InfoMetrics Incorporated Joe Beeverz Bar & Grill Leech Printing Ltd. Leon’s Meighen Haddad & Co. Memories Chapel & Preplanning Centre MGI Financial Inc. MTS Allstream Inc. MNP LLP Molson Canada myITsource.ca-Corral Communications myphone.ca Oak Island Golf Paddock Drilling Paul’s Hauling Ramaya Cosmetic RBC Royal Bank Scotiabank St. John Ambulance—Brandon Branch Subway Taylor Jackson Financial Services Inc., Sun Life Financial The Brandon Sun Tim Horton’s Total Eyecare /Varsity Eye Centre - a division of FYi Doctors Union Shoes United Way Vern’s Pizza Western Financial Group West-Fit Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Clinic Westman Communications Group Westoba Credit Union YMCA Brandon