May 2013 Inside this issue: GM’s Report Member Spotlight Annual Dinner Sponsorship President’s Message cont’d Events Recap Calendar of Events
CHAMBER at a glance
2 3 5 6 7 8
a publication of the Brandon Chamber of Commerce
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE The End of Another Term The Brandon Chamber of Commerce continues to be a strong voice for business in our community. We continue to be the voice of reason for fiscal responsibility as we challenge our local municipal government and local school board with fair taxation. We have to spend our local dollars efficiently and provide our citizens great value for tax dollars because they work so hard for that money in the first place. People brand the Chamber as the tax watchdog and to some extent that is true. There is no other voice for taxpayers in Brandon and we must continue to play that role. We just witnessed two very different budgets with the federal and provincial governments. Overall, the federal budget received a more favourable response from small business. They appear to be looking to make some tough choices, to trim their expenses and the fact that they are exploring reducing sick time is a positive step in reducing labor costs. The province certainly didn't get the same favourable response. The increase in
PST was a tough pill to swallow, especially in the retail and restaurant sectors. If the extra 1% of PST gets fenced and truly goes to core infrastructure, then there is some positives from that, but there is skepticism that money will get lost in general coffers. I hope we are wrong. We must also understand, as business owners we are dealt the hand we have been given, and we need to push forward with our competitive spirits. There are good reasons to set up shop in Brandon and area. Lets talk about those good things as we continue to forge ahead, while we continue to lobby our bureaucrats on more innovative and business friendly incentives to grow our tax base. This year I had four key initiatives. I touched on taxation and again the continued role we need to play. However, I wanted to focus on positive growth in the form of economic growth and how the Chamber can play a greater role in generating opportunities for our city. I wanted to focus on our skilled labor shortage. Nationally, we are going to be
“There are good reasons to set up shop in Brandon and area.”
Nate Andrews, Chamber President in a great competition for the people of tomorrow and we must find new ways to retain our people and to attract new ones in order to achieve our prosperity. I also chose to encourage spending more of our dollars locally, a great importance as small business continues to be benevolent in our communities, but we need consumer support to continue that role. We are moving the needle in many of these areas. In regards to economic growth, we are discussing opportunities and looking to replicate opportunities like we did with WestJet earlier in the year. Whether WestJet comes or not, the collaboration was invaluable with the Chamber partnering with the city to promote Brandon. We have too many connections in the business world and we have too many great minds, that not utilizing that powerful resource to grow our city would be a waste. I believe