The Winkler and District Chamber of Commerce is coming close to the end of a multi-year strategic plan.
Chamber Executive Director Tanya Chateauneuf says the Chamber executive will begin planning for the next few years later this fall, or early in 2024.
"I feel like we've accomplished a lot in the last strategic plan, so what can we do to move on from there," said Chateauneuf.
One of the things the Chamber talked about doing is expanding its wage surveys amongst different sectors. "We did a survey amongst manufacturers in the spring, and I believe it was really well received. It provides a lot of great information for the manufacturers in our community. And then we also want to focus on board diversity. We have some really long-term board members who will be timing off in the new year, so we want to make sure that we are representing most of our Community through our board. And so we'll be focusing on getting the right people in place there."
Looking back at the last multi-year plan, Chateauneuf says they definitely feel they honed in on the right areas, based on the outcomes of each initiative. Through their last plan, she says they found new ways to keep in touch with their members, provided new value, and gave board members a renewed purpose.
Those initiatives included striking a resource task force. Chateauneuf says the group was in charge of creating a really great toolkit for Chamber members and finding ways to assist employers in gaining, training, and retaining employees. "We know that's a difficult task at this time," added Chateauneuf. "We also looked to focus on creating more clear and concise communication with our members, And we did that with our e-news format and just changing that up a little bit and focusing on different things, streamlining our communication there. We also launched a new website which allows our members to have better control over their presence on our directory." A social media audit was also done to grow the Chamber's audience.
The chamber also put together an intentional connections task force to connect with members. Chateauneuf says the goal was to gain a better understanding of members' needs so the chamber could identify their top priorities. and create action items around those.
Meanwhile, with only four months left in the year, it will be a busy finish to 2023 for the Winkler Chamber. Chateauneuf says their full line-up of events will kick off in September.
"We've helped some amazing businesses plan grand openings that are coming up. You can find information on our website on those. We also have the all Candidates Forum planned for September 18th." The All Candidates Formun will be in partnership with the Morden Chamber of Commerce. "We are looking to host our business luncheon in October. That's always a really well-attended event and a great networking opportunity for business. And then finally, our November 16th President's reception and Awards Gala."
Click HERE to see who the Chamber will be celebrating in November.
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