Chamber at a
OCTOBER 2023
Glance
What's Inside A Message From Your President
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Upcoming Chamber Events
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Meet a Member: Certified Green Cleaning
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See Who Is Celebrating a Milestone Business Anniversary In 2023 Leadership Brandon Participants Revealed And More!
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A Message From Your
President
Welcome back! It is hard to believe that we are almost into October already. The summer has flown by, and we are all back into our regular routines. I wanted to take this opportunity to fill you in on a few things that the chamber has and will continue to be working on. Grow Brandon: We are beyond excited to see this come together as it has. With the partnerships of the City of Brandon, the Brandon Chamber of Commerce, Assiniboine Community College and Brandon University we are able to move onto the next stage of Grow Brandon. The tender was released to hire a consultant to help us put together a comprehensive economic development strategy to grow Brandon. Growth generates new jobs, income and tax revenue, and raises property values offering residents more choices and diversity. Grow Brandon is a collaborative effort to help our city grow in the way that it should. We will keep you posted as this grows. Our board is back in action and have all had a chance to have their first committee meetings. The Workforce Alignment Committee continues to work on developing content for their human resource conference as well as tackling job constraints within the City of Brandon. Our Government Relations Committee is working with local businesses to identify major issues to the business community and develop strategies and advocacy positions on how to tackle them. They are working on plans to understand, analyze and advocate on provincial, city and school division budgets from a business community standpoint. Work is being done to meet regularly with the Brandon School Division to work together on future workforce needs. Finally, they worked on developing the questions for our much-anticipated leader’s debate.
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We are very excited for the hard work that was done to bring the provincial election debate to Brandon. As we continually say Brandon is the second largest city in our province and so we are thrilled that we are able to host this debate to go through the questions that are important to the business community and citizens of Brandon. The Governance Committee is continually reviewing our policies to ensure that they fit with our mandate and plans. The Business Development Committee have put forward an action plan to meet with businesses to hear what their needs are. They also have been working with different groups to help figure out constraints that are causing our local businesses or future businesses and to develop an action plan to deal with these. Before we know it, the awards season will be starting up again so we can all start thinking of the amazing businesses and businesspeople that we can celebrate this season. We continue to develop and maintain our relationships with local politicians so that we can advocate directly to them for our members. We will continue to work for our members, and we look forward to what the next eight months will bring. Warm regards, Jaime Pugh 2023-24 Board President Brandon Chamber of Commerce
First Friday Coffee Friday, October 6th 9am-10am | 1043 Rosser Avenue
Sponsored by
October Luncheon: Small Business Story with Charles Tweed owner of Tweedia, & recipient of the 2023
Outstanding New Business of the Year award
Thursday, October 19th | 11:30am-1:00pm Clarion Hotel & Suites
We would like to say
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to last month’s breakfast sponsor
Presenting Sponsor
Meet a member: Established in 2008, Certified Green Cleaning (CGC) provides quality cleaning services to primarily commercial clients. We are privately owned, operate nationally and pride ourselves on being an environmentally friendly, high quality service provider. Our motto is “Quality Clean” and we strive for perfection every clean. We are proud to celebrate 15 years in business, having grown our team to 6 full-time staff and almost 40 Technicians! We offer a variety of services, including: Commercial cleaning Green Cleaning Office Cleaning
Apartment & House Cleaning Janitorial Cleaning Emergency Cleaning Service
We also offer the option of becoming a Technician and building your own career! As a CGC Technician you will be a partner working with us to build your own business. Unlike typical franchise arrangements, CGC operates as a team with Head Office and our Technicians working together to build a successful business across Canada. Joining CGC removes the risk level for our Technicians so they can focus on completing the contracts/jobs awarded to them and leaving the administration and sales to the CGC office. If you join CGC you will experience the following benefits as opposed to the traditional franchisee relationship: No high startup costs No ongoing royalty costs No fixed time for the contract – as long as the Technician continues to do a great job and continues to want to build their business – CGC will work with you We offer a well known and respected brand in commercial cleaning, supportive staff/owners in getting started and beyond, as well as access to affordable cleaning products. Our model takes the stress out of starting your own business by becoming part of an already established company. We offer a well known and respected brand in commercial cleaning, supportive staff/owners in getting started and beyond as well as access to affordable cleaning products. Our model takes the stress out of starting your own business by becoming part of an already established company. Some projects we are proud to work on would be cleaning at the Investors Group Field, and cleaning the CanadaLife Centre after events. Although we work primarily out of Winnipeg, we have offered services in Brandon and surrounding area for over a year now, and we look forward to continuing growing in Manitoba and across Canada. Contact us today to learn more about who we are and how we can help your business!
1-877-270-0269 3
certifiedgreencleaning.com
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to the Brandon Chamber of Commerce
efficiencymb.ca/business 204-945-8537
north-star.ca 204-571-3929 thriveagric.com 204-574-8721 pristinecleanbrandon.ca 204-570-3127
buyerbuddy.ca 204-201-3755
MEMBER-EXCLUSIVE DEAL!
Buy 2 Advertisements, Get 1 Free
*Ads can only be used in Chamber at a Glance or Chamber Insider. All 3 ads must be used by May 31, 2024
On behalf of the Brandon Chamber of Commerce
to the following businesses celebrating milestone anniversaries this year...
5 YEARS Apple and Pine Market The Chopped Leaf Create Marketing Delta Claims Management Inc. LightandMe Cloudtric Inc. Fusion Credit Union Real Broker Resurrection Auto Detailing - Tint & Protection Tweedia
15 YEARS The Bloombox Sunrise Credit Union Ltd Gontree Tree service Ltd. Burns Maendel Consulting Engineers Ltd. Brandon Downtown Development Corporation CB Casinos & More Certified Green Cleaning Denray Tire Ltd. Elite Safety Services My Canada Payday Reaxion Graphics Siere
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10 YEARS Coffee Culture Cafe & Eatery LaBuick & Co. Pivotal Elements Bell Media Inc. Aqua Splash Pools Branstone Financial Strategies Inc. Anytime Fitness Brandon Habitat for Humanity - Brandon Chapter Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Rocked Community Fitness
20 YEARS A Hair Affair Brandon Sunset Rotary #12171 Sutton-Harrison Realty BRW Contracting Ltd. Visa2Canada Immigration & Settlement Services Brandon First Westman Immigrant Services CENTUM Mortgage Choice A Pet Lovers Warehouse Jamieson Construction Manitoba Agriculture McMillan Bookkeeping Services Muddy River Enterprises Ltd. SV Benefits
On behalf of the Brandon Chamber of Commerce
to the following businesses celebrating milestone anniversaries this year...
25 YEARS Sunridge Homes Ltd. HQ+ Alternative Group Brandon Heating & Plumbing Ltd. Canadian Blood Services Forman Honda Landmark Cinemas Brandon myITsource Pattison Outdoor Advertising, LP The Group Insurance Guy
35 YEARS The Brick Warehouse Westman Lions Manor Raynor Bookkeeping Services Kim’s Asian Restaurant Brandon Source for Sports Persnickety Furtniture Refinishers Professional Transport Driver Training School two farm kids NATURAL FOODS
We are proud to celebrate 118 local businesses with milestone anniversaries this year! 9
30 YEARS Manitoba Metis Federation inc. Southwest Region Allen & Bolack Excavating Ltd. Subway Westman Dreams For Kids
40 YEARS Curt Shoultz J & M Industries C & E Locksmiths & Hardware Ltd Cancade Restoration Ltd Dominos Pizza Hobbs Manor J & M WIndow & Door Inc. MCM Architects Mood Disorders Association of Manitoba (Westman Region) The Counselling Centre
45 YEARS
The Keg Steakhouse & Bar Victoria Inn Ben Wiebe Construction Ltd Westman Chiropractic Centre Brugger Wealth Management Cando Rail & Terminals Chown Electric Flynn Canada Grand Valley Mechanical Pro Janitorial Roy Johnston TDS Shippam & Associates Inc South End Lumber Ltd The Green Spot Home & Garden Westside Plumbing & Heating Brandon
On behalf of the Brandon Chamber of Commerce
to the following businesses celebrating milestone anniversaries this year...
55 YEARS
50 YEARS
Shur-Gro Farm Services Ltd ProTELEC Ltd - Prevision Cam - Allen Leigh Security Chemtrade Electrochem Inc Pizza Hut
Met Credit
60 YEARS Westoba Credit Union Wheat City Concrete Products Ltd
70 YEARS Western Concrete Products Ltd. Kal Tire Manitoulin Transport Brandon
65 YEARS
Brandon and Area Youth for Christ/Westman Youth for Christ BDO Canada LLP MNP LLP
75 YEARS
Westland Insurance
85 YEARS
105 YEARS
Ducks Unlimited Canada
G.T. Smith & Sons Electrical Ltd
110 YEARS
115 YEARS
Construction Association of Rural Manitoba Andrew Agencies
26th Field Artillery Regiment RCA
120 YEARS
150 YEARS
Konica Minolta Business Solutions
BMO Bank of MOntreal TD Canada Trust
Small businesses are the heartbeat of your neighborhood, the spine of your local economy, and the spirit on your town. UNKNOWN
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Jessica (left) and Destiny, (right) volunteering during Truth & Reconciliation Week
Member Relations Coordinator, Jessica Saler, volunteering at Fuel Good Day, pictured with Barry Cooper of Heritage Co-op
Rob Starkell (L) & Enver Naidoo (R) at our Business After 5 at the Helping Hands Centre
(L-R) Meredyth Leech, Gillian Leech, Samantha Falloon, Cora Dupuis at our Business After 5 at the Helping Hands Centre
(L-R) Dougald Lamont, Leader of the Liberal Party, Wab Kinew, Leader of the NDP, and Heather Stefanson, Leader of the PC Party, stand off during our Chamber Provincial Election Debate on September 26th.
(L-R) Connor Ketchen, Cliff Cullen, Dougald Lamont, Jaime Pugh, Murray Oliver, Kelly Saunders, Wab Kinew, Tanya LaBuick, Jennifer Ludwig, Lois Ruston
Meet the 2023-2024 Leadership Brandon Participants Matt Penner, CW2 Construction & Design I joined CW2 Construction and Guardian Fencing in late 2022. I fulfill the role of Company Safety Officer (CSO) and Operations Manager. I have eight years of direct safety experience and am responsible for applying the professional practices required of Health, Safety and Environment professionals at Guardian Fencing and CW2 work sites, to achieve the corporate goal of zero incidents. My personal value system is paramount, and it is important that it aligns with my work environment.
Kirby Sararas, Brandon Police Service My name is Kirby Sararas, and I have been living in Brandon since August 2000 when I was hired to be a member of the Brandon Police Service. I am currently the Sergeant of the Community Support Section and the Public Information Officer for BPS. I have been heavily involved in the community through my work, but also as a long-time volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Westman. I decided to get braces 15 months ago, and as a result I can no longer whistle. So, when I go see Billy Joel in November, I won’t be able to participate if he performs The Stranger, and that is kind of a bummer.
Heather Reimer, City of Brandon I’m Heather Reimer, I’ve worked in Brandon for over 15 years in the areas of program delivery, community development and facility management. I currently work for the City of Brandon as the Manager of Recreation. Recreation is an important part of my professional and personal life, and I advocate that recreation is an essential service for growing healthy, vibrant and connected communities. Outside of work, I volunteer on the board of Recreation Manitoba, participate in several leisure sports leagues and enjoy spending time with my family and friends.
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Dezarae Bodnar, Metis Community Advocate I am a Métis community advocate who is passionate about reconciliation in Brandon. My work for the local Indigenous community has covered academic research, event coordination, committee work, local historic research with Elders and creating educational materials for the Brandon Indigenous Tourism social media platforms. Previously with the Riverbank Discovery Centre as the Indigenous Interpreter, I am excited for what the future holds as I continue my career journey. I have recently graduated from Brandon University with a 4 year Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with Cooperative experience.
Mark Atabor, Myphone | TELUS & KOODO Authorized Dealer I am the General Manager of MyPhone, a TELUS and KOODO Authorized Dealer. I am saddled with the responsibility of driving improved sales performance across 3 stores in Brandon and Virden. I also manage the company’s CRM responsibilities and lead a dynamic outbound sales team to bring bespoke TELUS Business Solutions to small and medium-sized businesses. I love people and am a firm believer that there is a great advantage in the diversity that each individual brings to the workplace and community.
Lisa Noctor, Brandon Friendship Centre My name is Naanookazance-equay. My English name is Lisa Noctor. I am an Ojibway mother from Treaty 4 Territory, standing on the shoulders of a strong bloodline of Matriarchs. I am thankful for the unusual education experiences I have had that led to a varied career working in private business, government, and non-profit sectors. Many people have lent me their strength along the way, and I feel blessed for the path I am discovering in this life. I believe the spirits have offered me many opportunities to honour the spirit of my name, the spirits of those who came before us, and to honour the youth - who are our future. By helping when I am asked, I am offered opportunities to learn, and for this I am forever grateful. Miigwetch!
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Kent Nordin, RBC As an experienced banker, leader and business development professional, my career has taken me down an exciting journey that has led to success in all areas. I started on the front lines, creating knowledge that leads to exceptional client service. I then progressed to growth and advice-based positions in business development, building deep referral relationships and partnerships that were mutually beneficial. My career then took me into management and leadership where I truly found my purpose. I am passionate about the employee and client experience. Each FI I have worked for has helped me gain valuable knowledge and expertise and I have used this to become the successful leader I am today. I am community driven, have served on the Board of Directors for Edmonton and Northern Alberta Crime Stoppers Association for several years. I have also been on the Board of Directors for the Edmonton Old Strathcona Business Association. I most recently partnered with the Dauphin Lions Club and Parkland Chamber of Commerce.
Sandra Mutasa, Westman Immigrant Services My name is Sandra Mutasa, I am a Workforce Development Specialist for the Rural Manitoba Immigrant Employment Council. I graduated from Brandon University with a degree in Business Administration and a minor in Economics. I am passionate about creating positive changes within my community. I am excited to be part of this program and I look forward to gaining valuable insights on the economic and social dynamics of our community.
Mayur Nankar, Westfit Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Clinic My name is Mayur, I am from Mumbai, India, where I completed my Bachelor of Physiotherapy before pursuing an MSc. in Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Manitoba, Canada, in 2013. On June 10, 2023, my journey took a new turn as I became a business owner at Wesfit Physiotherapy. This transition signifies a significant milestone in my professional journey—one that fills me with great anticipation to positively impact patients' lives through this newfound responsibility. I am committed to my professional growth; I continuously seek opportunities to enhance my skills through ongoing professional development courses.
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Erin Houck, Brandon Chamber of Commerce My name is Erin, and I come from a small rural farming community, and I obtained my Bachelor of Recreation Management and Community Development from the University of Manitoba in 2016. I have been with the Brandon Chamber of Commerce for 3 years, and am the Chamber’s Office & Project Manager. Taking on large projects that extend over a period of time, such as planning for our annual Awards Gala, is what I enjoy working on! I am very grateful to be amongst fellow Brandon peers in the first class of the Leadership Brandon program. I believe this is a great city to live and work, with ample opportunity for growth and am most looking forward to understanding our city’s challenges and opportunities regarding potential growth.
Meet the facilitator:
Megan Foster, Mosaic Engagement Megan has been leading individuals and organizations through energetic, interactive facilitation to generate action-based solutions for almost two decades. Now specializing in organizational culture development and strategic planning, she began her professional career in the high-energy world of revenue development where she quickly understood the importance of creative problem-solving to overcome obstacles.She is passionate about helping leaders inspire and energize their team members. As the founder of Mosaic Engagement, she is on a mission to motivate organizations to harness expertise and creative power within their own team
Thank you to our Leadership Brandon sponsors:
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Chamber at a Glance is published twelve times per year by the Brandon Chamber of Commerce 1043 Rosser Avenue | Brandon, MB R7A 0L5 Phone: (204) 571-5340 www.brandonchamber.ca BOARD OF DIRECTORS Jaime Pugh | President MNP LLP Lois Ruston | Vice President YWCA Westman Jennifer Ludwig | Secretary-Treasurer Super Thrifty Drugs Canada Ltd. Tanya LaBuick | Past-President CW2 Construction & Design Guardian Fencing LaBuick & Co. Courtney Baxter Bushel Plus Matt Berg Livingstone Outdoor Emelio Brown IntriTech Digital Marketing Andrea Epp Epp Law Office Samantha Falloon Myphone - TELUS & KOODO Authorized Dealer Chris Finley Mazergroup Tilda Fortier Greenstone Building Products Meredyth Leech Leech Group Brent Miller Victoria Inn Rob Starkell West-Can HR Solutions
CHAMBER STAFF Connor Ketchen General Manager Jessica Saler Member Relations & Marketing Coordinator Erin Houck Office & Project Manager DeShawn Ingraham Events Coordinator Destiny Maluga Office & Marketing Assistant
THE BRANDON CHAMBER of COMMERCE Setting the pace for a greater Brandon since 1883.
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Did you know? The Brandon Chamber of Commerce partnered with the Canadians Chamber of Commerce to advocate for an extension to the repayment deadline for the Canadian Emergency Business Account (CEBA). To read the letter submitted to Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, click here.
The Brandon Chamber of Commerce will be closed MONDAY, OCTOBER 9th
We will resume regular hours Tuesday, October 10th. Who We Are: The Brandon Chamber of Commerce is an independent, membership funded, non-profit organization that represents Brandon business from the grassroots level. Our Mission: To encourage growth in the Brandon community by fostering a progressive business environment, favourable to enhancing existing and attracting new business.