WESTLOCK — The Westlock & District Chamber of Commerce executive, including president Graeme Harrington, is staying for a second one-year term.
The 11 members present at the chamber’s Sept. 24 annual general meeting voted to keep Paul Olsen as vice-president, Brandi Wolff for secretary and Lisa Boulerice as treasurer. Directors Denis Landry, Michelle Rigney and Phillip Petkau are also keeping their positions. No other nominations were made.
Both Harrington and Olsen ran down a list of accomplishments since the chamber’s reformation, including early sign-ons for memberships — an “impressive uptake,” said Harrington — and several successful events across the region, most in partnership with the Town of Westlock.
Currently, 69 different businesses are members of the chamber — membership dues brought the chamber $19,880 in revenue — with six joining since March mid-pandemic.
“For this town and county, the size that we are, it’s a good number and a very wide array. We’ve got everything from the Legion to the paper and professional businesses, farm companies, we’ve got other professionals, trades, real estate,” Harrington said. “Absolutely everything that Westlock has to offer economically, they’ve gotten involved in our chamber, we’re really glad about that.”
The chamber has shifted its membership renewal schedule due to COVID-19. Fees are now due in October, and for new members who join mid-year, the fees will be prorated based on a monthly join for the first year. Membership categories and associated fees haven’t changed.
“Obviously, we’d like to have as many premium members as we can.”
At the fiscal year end — for the chamber, that’s March 31 — Boulerice reported a net income of $11,612.21 and a “successfully completed” audit. Their most costly event of the year was the Mayor’s Breakfast in June, said Boulerice. Notably in chamber expenses, over $6,500 went to events and $4,500 to advertising.
The chamber’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Oct. 27 at the Westlock Legion, with a presentation from the town’s fire department.
