Neepawa & District Chamber of Commerce hosts its Annual General Meeting

By Eoin Devereux Neepawa Banner & Press

It was a welcome return to normal for the Neepawa & District Chamber of Commerce (NDCC) during its Annual General Meeting on Monday, Jan. 30. For the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was held in person at the Neepawa Legion Hall, as opposed to being a video conference. That shift created a much more jovial feeling throughout all the night’s festivities for Neepawa’s business leaders.

Once dinner was completed, it was down to business, in both the figurative and literally sense. First, there was the welcome greeting to attendees by Chamber president Kerri MacPherson. After that, guest speaker Rob Wolfe of Northstar Seed provided a presentation and overview of the company and its connections both locally and globally (See full story on the presentation on page 7 ).

Next was the announcement of the Business of the Year. This year’s recipient was the Neepawa Veterinary Clinic Ltd (Separate story on the business on page 1)

After those items were attended to, there were the Chamber president’s remarks, as well as a review of the financials.

“The Neepawa & District Chamber of Commerce once again faced a challenging year, as COVID restrictions continued to impact our community early in 2022. However, we are very thankful for the support of the business community as those restrictions were

Absent from picture are lifted and we were able to bring a number of meaningful events [to Neepawa] over the course of the year,” said Chamber president Kerri MacPherson.

MacPherson lauded the success of the second annual restaurant challenge during the summer, the return of the Chamber Fair and expansion of the town wide garage sale.

As for the Chamber’s financial report for the year indicated that the total expenses for the year were $61,792.52, compared to an overall income of $60,677.61. While a loss is not optimal, with the uncertainty related to COVID restrictions early in the year, the losses could have been much larger. With more certainty in 2023, the Chamber is optimism about the year ahead.

Kindergarten

Registration for the 2023 Fall Term further assistance is needed you may contact Neepawa Settlement Services 204-476-2055.

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Tourism

Neepawa Tourism partnered with the Chamber at its AGM for the third straight year and providing an update on the year that was.

Tourism board chair Pam Brown shared some details on several successful effort by the board to attract visitors to Neepawa, including:

• The second annual Riverbend Maker’s Market;

• The inaugural Rockin’ the Riverbend concert;

• The debut of the Riverbend Antiques Market; and

• Expansion of Neepawa Tourism mural walk.

As for Tourism’s financial outlook, Neepawa’s economic development officer Marilyn Crewe provide an update on behalf of the volunteer group. The year-end figures noted total expenses last year at $32,607.18, while the income of $29.323.11. Those results created a loss for the year of $3,284.07. Fortunately, for Tourism, over the years, it has accumulated a financial surplus that allows for these types of one off loss yearover-year to be absorbed without issue.