The annual general meeting (AGM) of the Estevan Chamber Of Commerce provided a chance to reflect on the successes of last year while looking forward to all the opportunities that 2018 holds.
The meeting, which saw a large turn out was held in the basement of the Western Star Hotel on March 14, and highlight of the meeting was a seven-person panel that discussed the future of business in Estevan.
“We had a panel of seven different people from Estevan to talk about business in Estevan and what their last three years were like what they see on the future for the next three years,” said Jackie Wall, the executive director of the chamber.
Participating in the panel were Ron Areshenkoff (Spectra Financial), Joe Billesberger (B&S Construction and Prairie Sky Kitchens), Laurel Buck (A&A Jewellery), Brady Johnson (Encompass Fitness Studio), Jeff Pierson (Days Inn), Ed Turnbull (Turnbull Excavating) and Jim Wilson (Wil-Tech Industries).
Wall spoke at the event and she had a very good talk with business leaders and the chamber’s membership.
“We went over the state of the chamber and we made it known that we had a very strong year during 2017. We also meet the objectives that we set the year prior and things have been going very good,” said Wall.
The executive for this year will be president Cathy Welta-Eagles, first vice-president Jeff Richards and past-president John Williams.
“The board wants to get more engaged with the chamber so we are only focused on what the membership wants,” said Wall.
“We lobby on the local, provincial and federal level to best suit the needs of the business community in Estevan and meet the needs of our membership.”
The tax changes that federal government has handed down were a big topic of discussion during the meeting.
“We have done a lot of work in the area of the proposed tax changes that have been handed down by the federal government. Other work we have done was in the unemployment insurance (EI) area we wanted to do something about how the money is distributed,” said Wall.
Wall was in Bismarck, N.D., recently where she learned some interesting similarities between North Dakota and Saskatchewan.
“I met with Cassandra Torstenson, who works with the city on environmental issues relating to the energy sector,” said Wall.
“I was surprised about how similar Estevan can be to some cities in North Dakota. Torstenson mentioned that under the Obama administration the state was given a time-limit on its switch to greener energy and that the time limit wasn’t related to the pace that North Dakota was comfortable with,” she added.
Cathy Empey is the current office manager for the chamber and has enjoyed her time in the job.
“I am really enjoying my new position with the chamber of commerce,” said Empey. “Jackie and I worked well together right from the start. It has been a great experience getting to know her as my employer and personally as well.
“I am happy to be back to a bookkeeping position, which I enjoy. I had 14-and-a-half years of experience bookkeeping with Dee Jays. When I went to work for Watson Land Services I missed the accounting aspect of the job,” she added.
Empey noted that the recent economic downturn resulted in her being laid off from Watson Land Services, and she said that her new job allows her to be a great mom to her two daughters and a great employee for the Estevan Chamber of Commerce.
“I didn't realize how much the Chamber does for the business community, whether it be lobbying and advocacy, as well as planning and hosting events that offer valuable knowledge to the businesses or connecting and networking with other businesses,” said Empey.
