WESTLOCK – Its upcoming inaugural awards gala, financials and how businesses have adapted over the pandemic were some of the highlights of the Westlock and District Chamber of Commerce’s 2020-2021 AGM.
Around 15 chamber members gathered at the Legion for the AGM, that was originally slated to take place in April but was delayed to Nov. 23 due to COVID-19.
The awards gala, initially scheduled for April 2020, was confirmed for April 23, 2022 as they have a venue, band and caterer already booked.
“Let's hope we can pick up where we left off,” said chamber vice-president Paul Olsen, who notes they received over 100 submissions for the nine awards to be presented.
During Olsen’s presentation he went over some events the chamber participated in over the past year, including several that they hosted. Olsen noted the recent Light Up Parade that ran Nov. 19 and applauded the town’s efforts.
The AGM also heard from chamber president Graeme Harrington who discussed the changes made by the organization and businesses adapted throughout the pandemic. Some businesses moved to online platforms, while others turned to take-out only models, something Harrington says has been hard on everybody.
“It’s crazy to fathom just how these last 18 months have gone and I’m going to look back at this time in my career and know that we will never see another time like it,” said Harrington
Even the chamber had to adapt its monthly meetings, switching from in-person attendance to utilizing streaming platforms such as Zoom and Teams.
“Everyone faced challenges through this time with staffing, economic challenges, not knowing if your business is going to shut down in a week. It’s been an unbelievably challenging time. Keeping businesses open was a feat in of itself, never mind thriving as lots did.”
Harrington also highlighted some of the presentations held for chamber members over the past year, including speeches about social media management, COVID-19 relief, taxes and even one from fire chief Stuart Koflick, who shared fire safety tips for business owners, something Harrington says was a timely subject following several business fires over the past year.
“It was pretty pertinent especially after several commercial areas went up in flames,” said Harrington.
