april 15, 2020 News Advertiser PAGE 5 www.NewsAdvertiser.com
Vegreville & District Chamber of Commerce Working to Assist Local Businesses Michelle Pinon News Advertiser Hand sanitizer has been in short supply since the initial outbreak of COVID19. And now the Vegreville & District Chamber of Commerce has been able to secure a supplier of the much-indemand product. Chamber General Manager Michelle Henderson explained how it all fell into place, stating that Fort SaskatchewanVegreville MLA Jackie ArmstrongHomeniuk had reached out to the chamber and put them in touch with West of the 5th Distillery to make arrangements for the purchase and delivery of the product which arrived on April 6. The Barrhead based company stated on its Facebook page last week that it has just increased its fermenting capacity. “Once everything is up and running we will be running 21 runs through our still a week producing over 5,000L of hand sanitizer a week for clinics, front line workers, seniors homes, food banks, truckers, grocery stores, liquor stores and so much more.” The chamber is also doing what it can to support local businesses and encourage residents to shop local. “Now more than ever we do need to shop local. I think we’re a great town, a great community. We always face adversity headon and we always seem to have been able to work together, to come together, to do what needs to be done. These are unprecedented times, and even the stuff that’s happening is unprecedented. I’m trying to think of it as a glass half full. I think it’s going to change the way a lot of people do business. Not always ideal for some, and if businesses have questions and concerns to please
reach out.” Henderson said that If they don’t have the answers they can access information and resources which are readily available from the Alberta Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. The Economic Developers of Alberta is providing participants with resources in a Resilience and Recovery Program which is designed to give economic development organizations and local government officials what they need to
help their communities. The chamber is also planning to do a real-time survey to determine the expectations and needs of its members. Henderson also said the Government of Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, has now established the Canadian Business Resilience Network to help Canadian businesses navigate the COVID-19 reality and prepare for recovery. For more information go to https://www.canadianbusinessresiliencenetwork.ca/
