A new set of elected members for the Athabasca District Chamber of Commerce was decided last Wednesday night at their annual general meeting.
Penny Semashkewich was named president, Adrian Vraciu stayed vice president, Tova Schwede is secretary, and Christine Jensen remained treasurer.
The AGM took place at the Athabasca Regional Multiplex.
ìThe history of the Athabasca chamber goes back to about 1913 when they lobbied to bring the train station and the railroad to Athabasca,î past president Nigel Satchwell said. ìItís a real honor and a legacy that we have behind us.î
As the newly elected president, Semashkewich spoke to her fellow members.
ìWe must be the advocate to harness the power of business,î she said. ìMy hope as your president is that I can lead the members and committees to become enthusiastic and active in the organization, which will then inspire business to getting involved because of the great value and benefits there are to being a chamber member.î
Semashkewich wants to see the chamber be a club that people are proud to belong to.
ìI know the chamber must be dedicated to ensure opportunities exist for businesses to flourish in a competitive environment,î she said. ìIím hoping people will look at the chamber again as something that is great to belong to.î
She promised the members she would do the best job she could at being president.
ìIím very pleased that people think that I can do the job,î she said. ìIím hoping that I can bring some enthusiasm and inspire the chamber to a level where I believe it should be.î
Semashkewich wants to see the chamber expand their membership this year, and create more opportunities for Athabascaís business community.
The speaker for the event was Steven Rowe from the Northern Alberta Development Council.
ìI gave a presentation on living and working in northern Alberta,î he said. ìItís important to attend events like this to get feedback from the business community as to whether or not what the government is doing in order to help them is actually something that they want.î
Rowe said he thought northern Alberta was a great place to live, and it will stay that way for the foreseeable future.
ìThere are numerous agencies that promote jobs within Alberta, but no one is focusing on job opportunities in the north,î he said. ìFor Alberta to continue to be prosperous, we need to be able to grow our northern labour force, and grow our region. Ultimately, northern Alberta is the engine of Albertaís economy.î
Rowe said it is important to speak with communities to find out what works.
ìItís all about outcomes in this outcome-based budget world, and itís important to be able to come out here and engage the business community to find out if we are on the right track.î
