Special Features - Chamber of Commerce week 2020

Celebrating Chamber of Commerce Week February 18 - 21st 2020

Recognizing the outstanding contributions that the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce makes to the Langley community.

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Member Relations director KristiAnn Maier and events coordinator Sumner McCulley were out supporting the Salvation Army Gateway of Hope by volunteering at a kettle in December.

(Below) The gang from the local chamber teamed up with others in the community to ride the Big Bike and raise funds for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Langley Advance Times files

Jack Nicholson (left), past president, emceed a gathering with federal and provincial politicians. The chamber has also hosted election debates and lobbies all levels of government on issues of concern to the business sector.

The chamber of commerce isn’t just about the bottom line but about helping create a sense of community.

Gus Hartl was named the chamber’s recipient of the H.D. Stafford Good Citizen of the Year for all the local businessman does for the community.

Langley Advance Times files

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Monthly Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce dinner meetings include a chance to welcome new member businesses. There are also lunch meetings on educational topics, mixers to help members network, and more.

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Shopping local vital

Chamber strives to help business retain customers and build markets Heather Colpitts heather.colpitts@langleyadvancetimes.com

When was the last time Amazon sponsored baseball uniforms for local kids? Has anyone heard of retailers from south of the border ponying up funds for the hospital?

The ability for area businesses to provide support to the Langleys through as charity donations, sports equipment, sponsorship of events, and more is part and parcel of being part of a community that shops local, commented Jack Nicholson, past president of the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce.

The local business organization encourages people to support their local businesses for several reasons. Nicholson said people may not understand the circular relationship between shopping local and key factors such as employment levels, taxation, and the sense of community.

“It helps pay for some of those taxes, keeping people’s tax rates lower. Those businesses are contributing money

Langley Advance Times files

Jack Nicholson, CEO at Otter Co-op and past chamber president, is a big proponent of shopping local.

in wages,” he said.

First and foremost, having a healthy local business sector means local employment and workers wages circulate through the local economy.

As well, local businesses provide more than just goods and services. They help their community, whether that’s sponsoring fundraisers, donating directly to causes and

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events, or giving staff support to take part in charity efforts.

“Yes, you might pay a few cents more than what you might find it online for but what are those companies doing… to support your local community,” he said.

Shopping local allows businesses to keep the doors open and provide a wider selection so people don’t have to start looking farther afield for those goods and services.

“The less shoppers you have, the less buying power your have to bring stuff in,” he noted. “You want your local business to bring in more selection. How do they do that, by having more buying power.

How to they have more buying power, by you supporting them.”

Chamber members see community groups and people with causes come to them to ask for support and sponsorship throughout the year but do those making the requests support those businesses?

“Langley is so close to the border,” he said, noting that the value of the Canadian

dollar is a big factor in whether people shop outside the community. “I think the U.S. dollar has slowed some of that.”

A recent phenomenon arising from online ordering is showrooming. People will go into bricks and mortar stores to examine an item then go home and order it online.

“We definitely see that.

People need to ask themselves what they are sacrificing for the cheaper prices.

“What kind of customer service are you getting for that,” Nicholson commented.

If bricks and mortar stores become part of history, people will have to travel further afield to find goods, there won’t be as much tax revenue for municipal, provincial and federal governments, non-business property owners will have to shoulder more of the tax burden, consumers will see higher tax rates since governments are in the business of raising taxes, not lowering them, and the public will see dwindling selection at whatever retailers do remain.

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If something isn’t done about an increasing shortage of industrial land, there is a chance Langley and the rest of the Lower Mainland could effectively run out of space by 2030.

That’s the assessment of Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce director Garth White, a commercial real estate broker with Avison Young Commercial Real Estate.

Every year, White noted, there is less industrial land available.

“There’s about nine to 10 years of supply,” White commented.

“We’re definitely starting to run out.”

A post by the Metro Vancouver regional authority agrees there is an impending shortage of industrial land, calling it “crucial to support a prosperous, sustainable regional economy” with roughly one in four Metro jobs, about 23 per cent, or 275,000, located in industrial lands.

Used mainly for manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, wholesale trade, retail trade, and professional and technical services, industrial lands provide for the day-to-day needs of the region’s population, with services like vehicle repair, industrial laundry services, catering companies, breweries, and couriers.

As industrial land gets harder to find, it’s becoming more expensive, with prices rising an average of 11 per cent a year, White noted Locally, with the U.S. border on one side and mountains on the other, there isn’t as much space compared to other metropolitan areas, White observed.

“If you look at Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, there’s ability to expand outward,” said White.

But beyond geography and borders, White maintains the big reason for the

Dan FergusonfLangley Advance Times

Fraser Highway between 240 and 248 Street is an area that could accommodate industrial development, Great Langley Chamber of Commerce director Garth White pointed out impending shortage is one of policy.

There is space, it’s just not being utilized, according to White, who points to the loss of large industrial sites that have been re-zoned for residential, and land that can’t be touched because it’s in the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR).

“I think there’s a lot of unproductive land that’s in the ALR that isn’t farmed and can’t be farmed,” White commented.

It isn’t a popular opinion,” he acknowledged, but it White “needs to be looked at.”

There is also available land that isn’t in the ALR that could be used for industrial, he added, citing as an example, the stretch of Fraser Highway in Langley between 240th and 248th Streets.

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Something needs to be done before we “hit that wall and run out of land,” White commented. “I think there’s a lot of talk about it, but little action.”

Much of the industrial land base is being lost because of market pressure to convert industrial lands to multi-family residential and commercial developments, a report by the Langley Chamber has warned.

It described the shortage of industrial land in Greater Vancouver as “severe” and said preservation of the existing stock cannot be accomplished by local governments alone, but will require regional cooperation and provincial leadership.

The chamber has called for a provincinal strategy with regional and local governments “to prevent further depletion of critical industrial parcels and to ensure the replacement of lost industrial lands and a potential increase in the size of the industrial land base.”

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Chamber there to help with import/export Policy not keeping up with the times

manufactured in Langley.

Dennis cited the example of when the Sumas-Huntingdon border crossing – open 24 hours – encountered flooding the first weekend of February.

Sarah Grochowski Black Press Media “It would have made sense to open the Aldergrove border all of that night,” he said.

Businesses of Langley, both large Instead, “an immense backup and small, are being weighed down and re-routing of goods” occurred by the same exporting challenges for those that couldn’t cross in the they faced 20 years ago, stunting eastern Fraser Valley, he said. potential economic growth.

Langley exports are not arriving This is according to vice-president as fast as those sent out from other Ken Dennis of the Greater Langley Heather Colpitts/Langley Advance Times Metro Vancouver cities.

Chamber of Commerce. It along Ken Dennis is vice president of the Greater Dennis said local prosperity with the BC Chamber, has pushed Langley Chamber of Commerce. “depends on our ability to export for Aldergrove’s border crossing our goods and services across the to expand operations to 24 hours clock border service two decades country and around the globe,” and instead of its 8 a.m. to midnight ago, Dennis noted. companies prioritize shipping times schedule.

Such a change would result in based on when they are able to The chamber first signed a policy reduced wait times for markets initiative advocating for round-the- around the world that rely on goods move goods.

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Langley, in specific, has two industrial-sector areas where mass manufacturing produces goods for trade – Aldergrove’s Gloucester and Campbell Heights in parts of Langley.

It also has the largest concentration of logistics businesses in the Lower Mainland, along with Abbotsford and Surrey – which are connected to railway terminals and ports that assist in exporting their goods, such as CN rail terminal in Surrey and the Sumas border crossing, Dennis said.

“We need to be able to move goods, whether out of a port or land border, at reduced times,” Dennis emphasized.

In addition to lobbying on border issues, the local chamber can help Langley’s small to mid-size enterprises (SMEs) the Trade Ac-

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celerator Program (TAP) and International e-Commerce Essentials Program (ICE) to offer exporting know-how.

To date, the BC Chamber has engaged more than 170 companies in TAP, and participants have experienced an average growth of 28 per cent in international sales within a year, Dennis added.

The ICE program consists of a one-day interactive workshop to equip SMEs for online market entry and international market development. ICE complements TAP in that it is open to product and service-based companies that wish to enter new retail markets through internet sales.

B.C. is an an export-driven economy. Its prosperity “hinges on its ability to trade openly in the global and Canadian markets,” Dennis said.

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Avoiding gridlock is key for Langley’s entrepreneurs

Matthew Claxton matthew.claxton@langleyadvancetimes.com

Getting goods to market and people to jobs means the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce has long had a keen interest in transportation.

That means both in Langley and around the region.

“The challenge in this part of B.C. is that we’re growing fast,” chamber director Frank Bucholtz said of road and transit infrastructure.

Two of the top priorities are getting SkyTrain to Langley and widening Highway One to the east.

“Willowbrook is ripe to benefit from that,” Bucholtz said of the planned SkyTrain line. “Not just the mall, but the whole business district.”

He hopes it would also create benefits for communities like Brookswood, Aldergrove, and Fort Langley as TransLink connected them to the SkyTrain with more bus routes.

Bucholtz is hopeful, although there’s been no cheque signed and sent from Ottawa just yet.

“There’s pretty well an all-party consensus federally that more funds should come to the Lower Mainland [for transit],” he noted.

That’s a far cry from decades past, when most of the money for transit projects was provincial or local.

But roads and highways are also high on the chamber’s agenda.

Matthew Claxton/Langley Advance Times

Frank Bucholtz, the North Langley director for the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce, said transit and highway projects, like the 216th Street interchange, are key to keeping business moving.

In 2019, the provincial and federal governments announced a project that will see Highway One widened to six lanes as far east as 264th Street.

Widening the highway even further towards Abbotsford and Chilliwack has been important for Langley’s business community.

Bucholtz noted that Abbotsford and Langley are neighbours with a lot in common. But they’re divided – one in Metro Vancouver, one in Fraser Valley Regional District, one under TransLink, the other under BC Transit.

The connecting highways aren’t just for commuters, Bucholtz noted, but for trucks.

“Langley has a lot of truck-

based businesses,” he said.

Once roads are widened, there also needs to be more transit options, so we don’t just end up with more gridlock in 10 or 20 years, said Bucholtz.

“We have to think more about transit getting people out of their cars, making it viable for them,” he said.

“At the very least, any widening should include HOV lanes, to encourage carpooling,” he said.

Tuesday’s Throne Speech in Victoria made mention of improved transit in the Fraser Valley, and Bucholtz is waiting to hear details.

Getting a transit link to the Gloucester Industrial Estates is another thing businesses in that area would like to see,

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Bucholtz said. Right now there is no bus that goes to the busy industrial site just off Highway One at 264th Street.

The chamber is also looking forward to seeing 216th Street interchange open this fall.

A significant number of businesses are expected to be created in the Williams neighbourhood on the south side of the highway, including a 600,000 square foot film studio planned by Martini Film Studios of Langley.

Bucholtz noted the film industry is a huge employer in the region, and getting people to and from studios – as well as location shoots – is enhanced by having another way on and off the highway.

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Celebrating the outstanding contributions that Chambers of Commerce and Boards of Trade make to communities across B.C.

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done,” she said.

Wow Factor Staging owner Shirley Belzer took it a step further, applaudBeing a member has its benefits, ing the chamber for its numerous as several members of the Greater networking events – many of them Langley Chamber of Commerce can featuring an educational component. attest.

“It’s a very dynamic organization “I love the Langley chamber for the that is a blend of learning and comloud and proud network of diverse munity,” Belzer said. businesses and voices it has brought “The social aspects and networking together,” said Kristine Simpson, a at a pub night or a dinner meeting partner with BDO Canada LLP. are always a must,” Belzer said.

“The Langley chamber provides And what other organization in the platform for our evolving needs Langley serves as the voice of busito be heard and represents [us] in our ness, advocating and liaising with growing community to help make government representatives on issues us even more successful and key to local enterprise. progressive,” she added.

Jolicoeur commended the In addition to becoming efforts made to keep local a part of a vibrant business business owners, like herself, organization consisting of up to date on issues of conmore than 1,025 members, cern at the civic, provincial, Langley chamber members and federal levels. are also provided options for And similarly, Simpson cost saving programs from elaborated on her reasons for fuel and Visa/MasterCard “loving” the chamber.

Maier packages to email marketing.

“In addition to the great Of course, many are also municipal impact, the Langdrawn to the chamber of commerce’s ley chamber is also a fearless leader group insurance plan, which provides with the B.C. and Canadian chamcustom medical and dental plans bers, driving the conversations on even if for one-person operations, provincial and federal matters that explained director of membership impact our business environment.”

Kristi Maier.

Of course, there are other benefits, Naturally, any business owner too, including promotional opportudoing their due diligence is going to nities that come with being part of an ask why they should join the chamall-encompassing business group. ber.

Plus, there the chamber’s Call A Among the top reasons: memberMember 1st program, where they put ship brings with it networking and member businesses front and centre connections, Maier said. when handling the “many requests” Long-time member and Welcome they receive from people/businesses/ Wagon representative Marya Jo Joli- government agencies looking to buy coeur lauded many services provided goods and/or services in Langley. by the chamber, including the links it “I love the choices and benefits I provides her to other local businesses. have within this organization, so the “Whenever I need a certain service, value is definitely there,” Belzer said.

I can look into the directory and find “It’s up to you to get as much or as a local business to do what I need little as you choose.”

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2019-2020 BOARD OF DIRECTORS ■ P R E S IDE NT:

Brad Kiendl – Ashdown Capital ■ V ICE -P R E S IDE NT:

Ken Dennis – Dennis Network of Companies ■ S E CR E TA RY-TR E A S UR E R :

Tingting Chi – PwC ■ PA S T-P R E S IDE NT:

Jack Nicholson – Otter Co-op ■ COMMUNITY DIR E CTOR S :

ALDERGROVE: Michelle Burrows – Aldergrove Credit Union LANGLEY CITY: Jenny Hinch – Lucid Water Co. Ltd. NORTH LANGLEY: Frank Bucholtz – Freelance writer SOUTH LANGLEY: Alisyn Killeen – CBM Lawyers ■ DIR E CTOR S AT L A R G E :

Garth White – Avison Young Commercial Real Estate Shirley Samujh-Dayal – TransLink Melissa Toth Joanne Saunders – Kwantlen Polytechnic University Brody Mcintosh – Bromac Mechanical Cynthia Dreger – Cynthia Dreger Mortgage Professional

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Businesses face staffing struggles 25

Chamber invites owners to share feedback

once more to $15.20 an hour in June 2021.

“It is a challenge right now for businesses, and I think really what’s happening is businesses end up paying higher for employees than they othJoti Grewal erwise would have years ago, joti.grewal@blackpress.ca which ultimately drives the cost of the product they are Finding and retaining a providing up slightly.” strong workforce has been Finding and retaining an ongoing struggle for local good staff is one of the most businesses, but the Greater common complaints the Langley Chamber of ComLangley chamber receives merce wants owners to know from business owners, Kiendl the organization is in their explained. corner.

There have been cases of Heather Colpitts/Langley Advance Times “The chamber is always businesses forced to turn Brad Kiendl is president of the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce. working to advocate on down contracts because they behalf of businesses,” said “It gets tougher probably “It’s a common theme that lack the workforce to comBrad Kiendl, president of now with the minimum wage plete the job, he added at every level there’s talent the chamber. “We’ve always being higher than it use to shortages,” he said. “It’s get“If you were to speak with been a voice of business. We ting harder for people to ob- be,” Kiendl noted. people in the construction certainly work closely with “I think a lot of businesses industry, it’s been a challenge tain staff, and I don’t know if municipal, provincial and the that’s a factor of housing af- use to higher entry level and for years,” he said. “Finding federal government to express fordability, where people are spend a lot of time training good skilled traders workers some of these concerns and staff… and working them moving further and further to fulfill those projects that then ultimately working with east… or if it just simply that into skilled positions in their business owners are taking politicians to see if there are business… Nowadays I don’t on.” there is not enough skilled ways they can support local workers compared to the de- know if it’s just a different Although Kiendl said he business.” mentality with the workforce, isn’t aware of a simple fix he mand in the market.”

The problem of retaining I find a lot of people are But what is clear is the ininvites local business owners staff is not clear-cut, which hopping from job to job a lot to share their concerns with crease in minimum wage to makes pinpointing the source $13.85 an hour from $12.65 more frequently.” the chamber. of the issue difficult, Kiendl Wages are set to rise again an hour in June 2019 has “Is there one simple soluexplained. to $14.60 an hour in June and tion? I don’t think so.” played a role.

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A foursome of dynamic business women are currently leading the staff at the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce – always on hand to help the business organization’s members.

Heading up that team is Colleen Clark, who has more than a quarter century of leading chambers under her belt.

In her capacity as chief executive officer (CEO) of the local chamber, Clark provides her expertise and leadership to the board of directors, while also guiding the chamber staff.

She joined the Langley chamber in 2016, after serving for 22 years as executive director of the Sechelt and District Chamber of Commerce.

Just this past summer, the organization changed her title from executive director to CEO to reflect the direction the chamber is taking – as one of the largest chambers of commerce/boards of trade in the province.

Among her duties, Clark also aids the board in its dealings

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Langley Greater Chamber of Commerce has a staff ready to go to work for its members. That team includes CEO Colleen Clark (left), Kristi Maier, Jaclyn Van Den Berg, and Sumner McCulley. with federal, provincial and municipal governments, as well as other associations and stakeholders.

For example, she currently represents the chamber both provincially as treasurer of the BC Chamber executives association, and federally as a director on the board of the chamber of commerce executives of Canada.

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relations Kristi Maier, who joined the team in September 2017 and is focused on providing services, managing more than 20 member benefits, and focusing on member retention and recruitment.

Director of communications is Jaclyn Van Den Berg, who has more than 20 years experience managing events. She is responsible for the management of all chamber communications, promotions,

and branding – including social media.

And Sumner McCulley is the newest member of the team, joining in July 2018, and currently serving as events coordinator.

She is responsible for all chamber events from the early planning stages through to completion.

With more than 75 events per year, Sumner is continually working to bring new, educational, and networking

opportunities to the chamber members and community.

The Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce is Langley’s largest and most broadly based business organization, representing more than 1,025 businesses from every sector of the community.

Under the direction of the board, Clark and this team help ensure it is remains strong as the voice of business in Langley.

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Chamber a ‘community conduit’ Workshops and networking opportunities part of spring events

Learn features workshops that span the gamut from filing taxes to improving habits Golf tournaments, dinner and business performance meetings, leadership panels, – with the latter happening barbecues, and Christmas Wednesday, Feb. 19. gatherings – Greater Lang“We are increasing the ley Chamber of Commerce number of these learning seshas a calendar filled with sions to offer a diverse seleclongstanding events and new tion of topics to serve all of workshops embracing change our variety of membership,” in the business world.

Clark said.

The 34th annual golf tour“The hope is that we can nament at the Redwoods assist our members and the Golf Course was just anbusiness community as a nounced for Thursday, June wholeto increase their knowl4, and registration is now edge or connect them with a open for teams to sign up and business that can assist them sponsors to get involved. with what they need to excel.”

The Redwoods tournament The tag-line is “use your is their biggest event of the lunch break to learn.” year – just behind the BusiGuests must bring their ness Excellence Awards, said own lunch, but at each one, Colleen Clark, CEO of the speakers take turns educating Langley chamber. chamber members and the “If businesses are looking general public on different for a fantastic way to market business-related topics. and connect with 150 differ“This year we are also ent members in a fun atmobeing selective in our dinner sphere and on a beautiful meeting speakers planning on golf course, this is the event offering a variety of usable, for them,” Clark said. learn-able topics for “We have some sponour members,” Clark sorship opportunities added. available, and I would “We are also workrecommend anyone ining with various terested in golfing book partners to bring in Clark soon so they are not special workshops disappointed.” on a variety of topics Last year, roughly $20,000 including marketing, buying was raised for the chamber local, exporting and importof commerce with 140 golfers ing.” and an additional 70 guests With every event, whether it attending. is hitting the green or sitting Of course, the tourney only down for a meal, networking scratches the surface when has become a key component it comes to what’s in store that the chamber wants to through the chamber. help facilitate for its members A series called Lunch & and residents.

Ryan Uytdewilligen news@langleyadvancetimes.com

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Langley Chamber of Commerce’s annual golf tournament at the Redwoods Golf Course is one of the group’s biggest events of the year.

“We view the chamber as a conduit; we link, connect and assist businesses find what they need. Networking is connecting, enabling people and business to meet the products or service that they need. This is a vital part of what we do. Most of our events we offer a portion of networking to provide this aspect of our services,” Clark explained.

On Feb. 27, a Business After Hours Mixer and 3rd Degree Training will be held specifically for mixing, as well as the Aldergrove Networking Open House at Boston Pizza on March 10.

With the year only just beginning, plans are in motion for several new workshops,

and of course, mainstay events such as the Business Excellence Awards, she said.

“We are launching our Women’s Event that will take place in September. Our Business Excellence Awards will be in October. Our March dinner meeting will be our Langley Leadership panel, hosting our mayors, MLAs and MPs to discuss the future of Langley,” Clark added.

Next up is the February dinner meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 18, which members and anyone interested can attend.

For a full list of Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce events and to register, visit www.langleychamber. com/events.

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