The Strathmore Wheatland Chamber of Commerce (SWCC) has elected its new student liaison for 2024–2025. 

Addison Terry, a local grade 11 student at Strathmore High School (SHS), has been selected as the SWCC student liaison. 

According to SWCC Director and Communications Chair, Cody Holdaway, there are many benefits and experiences that Terry will gain in her new position. 

“Addison will first be receiving a $1000 bursary from the chamber, and she will also go through a full mentorship program where she will learn lots of different aspects about business, what it takes to run a chamber, and what a chamber of commerce does for local businesses,” Holdaway said. 

Through this experience, Terry will also learn basic marketing knowledge and will help the chamber with their social media presence and digital platform. 

Each year, SWCC works with SHS to hand-select a student who would be fit for the role of student liaison. 

“There were many reasons why we selected Addison, but from what we hear, she is excelling in her classes at school, and overall, we think she is the best option for this role,” Holdaway said. 

The student liaison is often a grade 11 student because grade 12 students are usually busy with exams and navigating post-secondary options. 

Holdaway was the first-ever SWCC student liaison, so he understands firsthand the importance of bringing youth into the business community. 

“I learned so much during my experience with SWCC as the student liaison that I now own my very own business at 20 years old. I think it's important to get youth out there, connect them with the older demographic, and get them involved within the business community,” Holdaway said. 

In an interview with Terry, she expressed how excited she is for this new opportunity. 

“I think it will be a great experience to get out into my community and hopefully be a role model for younger students,” Terry said. 

Through this experience, Terry is looking forward to helping the chamber plan events and get the community together. 

At this point, she is unsure if she wants to pursue post-secondary education in marketing or business but sees this experience as a great opportunity to test it out. 

“This will be a chance for me to figure out what I want to do, and if I enjoy it, then I could potentially study business. It will be good for me to find out what all the aspects are,” Terry said. 

According to Holdaway, “The chamber is pleased to have Addison as our new student liaison. The program has been kind of stale for the last couple of months here, and we’re so glad to have a new team member join us.”

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