There are new faces on the board and exciting new ventures on the horizon for The Strathmore Wheatland Chamber of Commerce.

This year the Chamber’s AGM was held via zoom, nevertheless, Executive Director Scott Silva explained the AGM went well.

“It was a great chance for us to really acknowledge not only our membership base but all of our directors and all the hard work that they put in through all of their committees and subcommittees.

All in all a really good AGM,” he said.

Silva said, “Our membership has achieved a 20 per cent growth target. We have engaged with our First Nations and the Town of Strathmore Indigenous Liaisons and are working towards a better future of reconciliation and understanding with our Indigenous communities.”

“We have formatted our Partnership Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding respectively with our Regional Stakeholders, setting precedence for a continued path of success for the SWCC,” he said.

Acting Chair Hayley Poirier said, “Our largest project to date and one of our success stories of 2021 was the ability to secure a federal grant. That grant money was used to promote our local businesses through video and social media awareness. Over 40 businesses were able to take part in what we called - TOUR 564. With the help of a local business, RocketGrid, and the dedication of our communications team, they created incredible professional videos for local businesses to help promote them.”

Joining the chamber’s new board of directors are Michelle Bissett (Scotiabank), Ryan Carriere (Rocking R Guest Ranch), Natasha Fyfe (Wheatland Crisis Society), Whitnee Montgrand (104.5 More Country & StrathmoreNow), and Evan MacLeod (Parenting Littles).

Silva says they are honoured to have them as new members of the chamber which is also remarkable as some are new to the community.

“It's great to see the active involvement and for those that aren't new to the community just great to see them still wanting to get involved in and to make a difference,” he said explaining that it is refreshing to see a new group wanting the support the chamber and in turn, the community.

In May, following the departure of Acting Chair, Hayley Poirier, a new SWCC Chair wil be named at the May Chamber of Commerce meeting.

On May 28th and 29th the Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a community tradeshow called Tour 564.

“We're very excited about our regional Tour 564 trade show,” said Silva. He noted that it will be a lifestyle trade show showcasing everything featured in Strathmore and Wheatland County.

The event will be an excellent chance to showcase a variety of vendors ranging from agricultural and regional tourism to local artisans and retail vendors.

“It's a nice opportunity to showcase the entire region both in Wheatland and Strathmore, and we're very thankful to our regional partners, Strathmore, and the county because without the town's help and the county's help, we really wouldn't be able to put all this together,” said Silva.

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