ANNUAL REPORT B R A2014-2015 NDON
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
2014-2015
CONTENTS 2 Mission/Vision
4 Events
8 Advocacy
2 Board of Directors
5 By the Numbers
9 Financial Report
3 Leadership Message
6 Highlights
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10 Sponsors
ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015
2014-2015 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President TODD BIRKHAN BDO Canada LLP
Vice-President JORDAN LUDWIG Brandon Business Interiors
Secretary/Treasurer TERRY BURGESS RBC Royal Bank
Past-President CRAIG SENCHUK Agri-Trend Business Management
TERRY CARLISLE Cando Rail Services Ltd.
GREG CRISANTI Tim Hortons
DANIEL A. BURNS Burns Maendel Consulting Engineers Ltd.
KARLA DANE Meighen Haddad LLP
FRANK ARNDT myITsource.ca/MTS Connect Corral Centre
BONNIE NAY-DRAPER Entrepreneurship Manitoba
CARLA MILNE MNP LLP
JASON THORPE Thorpe Construction Ltd.
WHO WE ARE The Brandon Chamber of Commerce is an independent, membership funded, non-profit organization that represents Brandon business from the grassroots level.
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LYNDSAY MURRAY Murray Auto Centre Brandon
TYLER RICE Powell Construction
MISSION
VISION
To encourage growth in the Brandon community by fostering a progressive business environment, favourable to enhancing existing and attracting new business.
A vibrant, growing organization 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 growing business community.
ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015
LEADERSHIP MESSAGE Thank you to our nearly 600 members, for your continued support, participation, and membership. Your investment enables the Chamber to continue its work to champion for local business and a strong economic environment. 2014-2015 was another active year for the Chamber and we are pleased to have accomplished many goals on behalf of our members. The Chamber has served as the ‘voice of business’ in our community for over 132 years. We take tremendous pride in our commitment and responsibility in providing valuable services and benefits to help our members grow and prosper and representing business with all levels of government. Financially, the Chamber continues to strengthen its position and we are pleased to report another profitable year. Our events continued to be a popular benefit of membership and we are pleased to be able to report strong attendance and profitability. The support, sponsorship and engagement from members assisted in making our events successful and meaningful and we will continue to work to bring these high quality events in the year ahead. Our advocacy efforts continue to be a very important aspect of our work. You will see a continued focus on policy development and advocacy from our Chamber as we progress through the coming year. In the past fiscal year, 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 drafted and submitted a policy speaking to a solution to the hog barn building moratorium to the Manitoba Chambers AGM, followed by actively lobbying the provincial government for movement on this issue. We’ve been actively engaging our engineering and planning departments at City Hall in an effort to reduce red tape and regulatory burdens on developers and contractors. In partnership with the Portage Chamber of Commerce, we brought a policy to the Manitoba Chamber on flood protection for the Assiniboine River Basin. We continued to dialogue with our local MLAs and MP to actively pursue issues on provincial and federal levels to ensure that local business 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 Chambers 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 businesses in our area. We continued to offer many valued added benefits through our Affinity and discount programs. In addition to exclusive offers from local members, our affiliation with both the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Manitoba Chambers of Commerce allow our members direct access to additional benefits for their business. In the year ahead, we will continue to seek your input, participation and feedback in our efforts to strengthen the work and activities of the Chamber. With a strong and 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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ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015
EVENTS The Chamber delivered another year of strong events programming which offered attendees exceptional networking and business development opportunities as well opportunities to keep informed and hear from various thought leaders and elected officials. In 2014-2015, the Brandon Chamber hosted over 75 events including monthly luncheons, signature events, workshops, Business after Fives, Friday Chamber Coffees and more— with over 4900 in total attendees.
This year, through our monthly Luncheon Series, we offered you the opportunity to hear from Manitoba Pork, Farmery Estate Brewery, Mark Wafer of Tim Hortons and the first mayoral address of Mayor Rick Chrest, to name just a few. Our two signature events, the Annual Gala Dinner and Golf Tournament were once again huge successes with both events sold out. We also hosted our second conference on oil and gas: Bakken 2.0 which provided an outlook and overview of the continuing opportunities in the oil and gas industry. This year, we were also honoured to be able to showcase Brandon and host Chambers from across the province for the 84th Annual Manitoba Chambers of Commerce AGM!
YEAR IN REVIEW: 2014-2015 EVENTS June (2014) President’s Luncheon and Changeover Ceremony 25th Annual Golf Tournament Lunch & Learn: Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation July/August Chamber 101: Maximize Your Membership Business Information Series: Centraillia MB 2014 September Luncheon Series – Karl Kynoch, Manitoba Pork Council BA5: Sutton—Harrison Realty October Friday Chamber Coffees: Meet the Mayoral Candidates 2014 Mayoral Election Debate Workshop: Feedback: The Other ‘F’ Word Luncheon Series: Small Business ‘Kick Off’ Luncheon with Guest speaker Mark Wafer BA5: Brandon Area REALTORS Chamber AGM November Luncheon Series: Farmery Estate Brewery Workshop: Email Marketing 1.0 Business After 5: Brandon University Workshop: Capitalizing on Critical Skills BIS: The Accessibility for Manitobans Act Chamber 101: Maximizing Your Membership Brandon Black Friday Campaign December Christmas Luncheon
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January Workshop: Social Media Luncheon Series: Winnipeg Jets February Bakken 2.0 Conference & Luncheon Friday Chamber Coffee: Rana Bokhari, Leader of MB Liberal Party Friday Chamber Coffee: Brandon School Trustees on Budget Friday Chamber Coffee: Mayor & Councillors on Budget March Champion of Ag Luncheon—Jim Snyder, BDO Canada 13th Annual Aboriginal Job Fair 132nd Annual Awards Gala Dinner Friday Chamber Coffee: International Women’s Day April State of the Province Address with Premier Selinger Brandon Marketing Fest 2015 May
Friday Chamber Coffee—US Consulate Chris Gunning Manitoba Chambers of Commerce AGM State of the City Address with Mayor Rick Chrest Past President’s Dinner Friday Chamber Coffee: Gervan Fearon, BU
Weekly Every Friday – September-June – Chamber Coffees
ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015
By the Numbers 494
593
Number of attendees at the 132nd Annual Gala Dinner
Number of total members
5 Number of Business Achievement Awards handed out.
2899 Number of luncheon attendees
78+ Number of new members
Number of Chamber events last year (including Chamber Coffees)
1390
146
Number of Chamber twitter followers
Number of Event Sponsors
35
27 Number of cost reduction programs offered through the Chamber Network
132 Number of years the Chamber has been the Voice of Business
250
1000 Approximate number of cups of coffee consumed at Chamber Friday Coffees.
8 Number of Chamber Committees
4 Number of Chamber Staff
Facebook Page Likes
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ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015
HIGHLIGHTS COMMUNICATIONS The Chamber strives to communicate effectively with our members and in 2014-2015, we sent out 12 informational mailers, with 6 issues of our Chamber @ a Glance newsletter in addition to approximately 50 Chamber Insider e-newsletters to approximately 1100 subscribers. These publications keep members up to date on Chamber events and advocacy issues as well as regular features such as ‘Member News’ and ‘Member Profiles’ and ‘New Member Mondays’ as an additional no cost benefit. We continued to boost our social media presence increasing our twitter followers to just under 1400 this past year, while also enhancing our Facebook page. We also sent our annual membership survey to better understand how our members utilize chamber programs so we can better support their needs. We profiled members in the 8th edition of our Brandon Business Review Magazine and published our annual Membership Roster.
Through partnership with Interprovincial Association on Native Employment (IANE) we cohosted the Annual Aboriginal Job Fair. We continued Chamber representation on a number of external committees including Crime Stoppers, Brandon Salutes, Brandon Development Group, an Economic Development Leadership Group and the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce Board. The Chamber partnered for a second time with World Trade Centre Winnipeg to host our Bakken 2.0 Conference In partnership with Entrepreneurship Manitoba and Economic Development Brandon, we provided educational opportunities through various workshops and panel discussions focusing on HR, Social Media and marketing We worked with various stakeholders and other Chambers to develop policy resolutions. Through partnership with the Manitoba Marketing Network, members attending the Marketing Fest Conference had the opportunity to interact and learn from marketing experts. We hosted a Mayoral Debate in partnership with our media partners: the Brandon Sun and CKLQ/ StarFM and Westman Communications Group. The Chamber continued to meet with BU and ACC to discuss and explore education programs and employer needs.
A revamp of our website is underway and will include more information on Chamber programs, advocacy work, memberships and more. The website launch is planned for the fall of 2015.
AMBASSADOR PROGRAM
EDUCATION
Increased new member engagement was a goal this past year, and a dedicated group of volunteers helped encourage greater participation in Chamber events by facilitating introductions amongst members and integrating new members in Chamber networking activities.
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 the business opportunities in the oil and gas industry, Municipal Election issues, the Manitoba Hog Supply, and Manitoba business success stories, to name a few.
PARTNERSHIPS Partnership Development remained a strategic priority this past year with the Chamber renewing and developing community partnerships and collaborations on a number initiatives and events. Highlights of those partnership include:
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In addition to our joint partnership workshop offerings, we provided a number Lunch & Learn sessions on AntiSpam Legislation, Accessibility in the Workplace and maximizing your membership to name a few.
ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015 RECOGNITION
THE CHAMBER NETWORK
In recognition and celebration of success in our business community we presented our Annual Business Achievement Awards:
Your Chamber is part of a larger business network. Being aligned with the largest and most influential business organizations in Manitoba and Canada, we can work together to shape policy that will make a difference to business in our region.
Business Person of the Year— Heidi Howarth, Trails West Motor Inn Lifetime Business Builder— Jeanne Millis, BDO Canada Outstanding New Business Award— got mats? Business Excellence Award— The Party Professionals and Rental Co. Community Service Award— Darryl Andrews, Guild Insurance Brokers Inc.
These organizations have achieved notable successes in influencing policy for the benefit of our members. Both organizations provide superior advocacy work on behalf of businesses, and initiatives can be viewed on their websites: www.chamber.ca and www.mbchamber.mb.ca. Highlights:
Brandon Chamber delegates attended the Manitoba Chamber AGM in Brandon and supported various motions on provincial balanced budgets, aligning skill development with labour force needs, improving Manitoba Competitiveness, a call for the review of the provincial tax structure among others topics.
The Brandon Chamber successfully brought forward motions on improved flood prevention and food processing changes (including hog supply issues)
Delegates attended the Canadian Chamber of Commerce AGM in Charlottetown, PEI to lobby on behalf of Brandon Chamber members and supported a number of policies on national issues.
Brandon Chamber General Manager, Carolynn Cancade continues to serve on the Canadian Chamber of Executives Board and serves as the chair of the Chamber Executives of Manitoba.
Award winners received recognition at our Gala Dinner held in March as well as being profiled in our annual Brandon Business Review Magazine. At our Small Business Week Luncheon, we recognized those members who celebrated milestone anniversaries. In partnership with Prairie Mountain Health, we also presented the annual ‘Best Boss Award’ to a deserving recipient nominated by their staff. The 2014 recipient was Gail Freeman-Campbell of Daughter on Call.
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ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015
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. This year we put particular focus on policy development. The following is a summary of the priority issues we advanced in the 2014-2015 year.
BUSINESS OUTREACH To increase member feedback and engagement and to better understand member needs we increased our business outreach though 12@12 Member Input sessions, Ag Industry Interviews and targeted business tours and roundtables. Feedback from these meetings helped shape policy development and our consultations with government.
POLICY DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK We formalized a framework plan that outlines the process and requirements for policy development.
MUNICIPAL RED TAPE REDUCTION POLICY The Chamber developed policy urging the city to improve the business development environment to encourage growth. The policy provided various recommendations to improve transparency, communication accountability and clarity on the development process.
MANITOBA CHAMBER RESOLUTIONS The Brandon Chamber worked with various stakeholder to develop policy on improved flood prevention and food processing changes (including hog supply issues).
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. We also participated in the WCG LIVE Provincial Budget Reaction Show to give feedback on Chamber positions.
SHOP BRANDON In support of local business, the Chamber launched the Destination Brandon: Shop Local Passport Campaign that helped profile local businesses and encouraged 8 BRANDON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
consumers to shop locally for the Black Friday and the holiday season.
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS There were a variety of meetings between members of City Council and the Chamber Board of Directors to discuss infrastructure, budget concerns and other issues. A Chamber representative was also at each City Council meeting. Provincially, Chamber representatives met with both local MLA’s as well as various ministers and other key staff to discuss members concerns including hog supply issues, taxation, and labour challenges. Federally, we met several times with MP Larry Maguire and various ministers to express concern over the changes to the Temporary Foreign Workers Program, labour challenges at large and trade barriers amongst other issues.
MUNICIPAL ELECTION We developed a candidate’s questionnaire on important business issues to gauge candidates’ positions. In partnership with media sponsors, we co-hosted a Mayoral Election Debate for members and the community at large to be informed about relevant policy position of the various candidates and parties. We hosted Candidate Coffees with each Mayoral candidate to allow members an opportunity to ask questions and provide comments to each candidate.
LABOUR CHALLENGES The Chamber continued to meet with elected officials and impacted businesses to discuss continuing labour challenges including labour supply issues and aligning skills development with employer needs. We have also been working to identify and educate members on various support services that represent underrepresented workers.
ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015
FINANCIAL REPORT On behalf of the entire Brandon Chamber of Commerce Board, the following represents a synopsis of the information in the Year End reports. These reports are available to any of our Chamber Members at our 1043 Rosser Avenue, Brandon, Manitoba location. Our year end report, dated May 31, 2015, highlights a net surplus of $34,266. This surplus can be largely be attributed to an increase in revenues and prudent management of expenses within the annual budget. As a result of the net surplus, the Chamber remains in a strong financial position with approximately $329,250 held in cash after adjustments for accounts payable. Looking forward to 2015, we are confident that our strong financial position will remain and a financial plan is in place, to further support our membership activities. We have planned for and anticipate a couple areas of increased spending in the upcoming year including; painting the interior Chamber offices and technology and website upgrades. Special thanks to Carolynn Cancade and her staff for the prudent financial management of our Chamber organization and Sharpe & Co. Chartered Accountant Ltd. for the preparation and review of our Financial Reports.
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ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015
THANK YOU TO ALL OUR SPONSORS and SUPPORTERS! LUNCHEONS Sunrise Credit Union Entrepreneurship Manitoba Assiniboine Community College Keywest Photo Image by Design Corral Communications Centum Mortgage CPA Manitoba – Westman Chapter Westman Communications Group Brandon First Crocus Credit Union Scinnoca’s Corporate Promotions Westman Employment Services Oliver’s Bistro & Catering Human Resource Management Association of Manitoba Canadian Cancer Society MS Society - Westman Child & Family Services BAKKEN 2.0 CONFERENCE Assiniboine Community College Brandon Sun CKLQ/STAR FM Precision Health Synergy Land Services Walinga University of Winnipeg – Faculty of Business Western Safety Sign Brandon Flight Centre RM of Pipestone Workplace Education MB Manitoba Trade and Investment FRIDAY CHAMBER COFFEES Tim Hortons 132nd ANNUAL DINNER— 2015 BDO Bell Media Brandon University The Party Professionals Brockie Donovan Keywest Photo Image by Design Behlen Industries Benmarks Cando Rail Services Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries The Brandon Sun Westman Communications Group Sunrise Credit Union West-Fit Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Clinic Canad Inns Destination Centre Guild Insurance Brokers Inc. Maple Leaf Foods Remington's Seafood & Steakhouse RBC Royal Bank Telexperts (Manitoba) Ltd Zeke's Quality Jewellers 10 BRANDON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Workers Compensation Board Roy Johnston TDS Leech Printing Ltd. NetSet Communications & I-Net Link Wireless HUB International STRATA Benefits Consulting Westoba Credit Union MNP LLP Burns Maendal Consulting Engineers Canexus Manitoba Public Insurance Vanguard Credit Union Western Financial Group Blinds by Anita Brandon Wheat Kings Daughter on Call Dick Agencies Image & Wellness Leon's Furniture Winnipeg Blue Bombers Winnipeg Jets BA5s Sutton Harrison Realty Brandon Area REALTORS Brandon University ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT—2014 CPA Manitoba – Westman Chapter IDC Communications (Cart) Myphone.ca/MTS Connect Shoppers Mall myITsource/Corral Communications Murray Auto Group Western Financial Group Altus Geomatics Canadian Tire Guild Insurance Brokers Inc. St. John Ambulance Source for Sports Alternative Landscaping IM+M/Leech Printing MTS Inc RBC Royal Bank Pattison Outdoor Advertising IDC Communications (Hole Sponsor) HUB International STRATA Benefits & Consulting Total Eye Care / FYi Doctors Shoppers Mall West-Fit Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Clinic Westman Communications Group RBC Royal Bank Victoria Inn Duraco Windows Sargent Lock & Safe Minnedosa Golf & Country Club Westoba Credit Union InfoMetrics Joe Beeverz Bar & Grill Tim Hortons Blue Moon Water Subway
Frito-Lay BRANDON BLACK FRIDAY CAMPAIGN A&L Cycle Blinds by Anita Blu Brandon Source for Sports Budget Blinds Canadian Tire Franks Computer FYidoctors Lasting Images Murray Auto Group Precision Toyota Reesor’s Jewellery RONA Shoppers Mall Super Thrifty The Brick The Dock The Green Spot Union Shoe Store Waves Leisure Zeke’s MAYORAL ELECTION DEBATE Brandon Sun Westman Communications Group CKLQ/Star FM MANITOBA CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE AGM The Brandon Sun Remington’s Seafood & Steakhouse Victoria Inn Blu Kitchen Bar Olivier’s Bistro & Catering Roseanne’s Silk Design NetSet Communications & I-Net Link Wireless Sunrise Credit Union Victoria Inn & Convention Centre Daughter on Call Brandon Business Interiors Leech Printing Lasting Images Minnedosa Golf & Country Club BRANDON CHAMBER AGM Remington’s Seafood & Steakhouse WORKSHOP PARTNERS Entrepreneurship Manitoba Economic Development Brandon Manitoba Marketing Network BEST BOSS AWARD PARTNER Prairie Mountain Health