Burnaby NOW • Wednesday, July 20, 2011 • A13
JULY / AUGUST 2011
Burnaby Board of Trade
Voice of Burnaby OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE MOST PROGRESSIVE BUSINESS ASSOCIATION IN BURNABY
Business Roundtable Marks Milestone in the Fight to End Homelessness
Burnaby Board of Trade members and local community leaders attended the business roundtable meeting to tackle the issue of homelessness in Burnaby MICHAEL KELLER michael@bbot.ca
Burnaby, BC – Over the past year the Burnaby Board of Trade, in consultation with numerous community partners and government bodies, has been working to address the issue of homelessness in Burnaby – a process that reached a significant milestone last month with the completion of a business roundtable meeting attended by some of Burnaby’s most prominent business executives, community leaders, and elected officials. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss how the local business community could be engaged in solving the issue. The BBOTs engagement with homelessness began as part of its commitment to a triple bottom line of
economic, social and environmental sustainability. Last September the BBOT presented a resolution to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Surrey Board of Trade and the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce, which was successfully passed a short time later. Since the passing of the CCC resolution, the BBOT has been working to develop a ‘Made in Burnaby’ plan to address homelessness, an effort that has been generously funded to date by Vancity Community Foundation and Metropolis at Metrotown . Under the umbrella of its Social Development Committee, a Homelessness Reference Group was formed to work with consultants on the creation of a comprehensive see Business Roundtable, 2
www.bbot.ca
Message from Paul Holden It has been an exciting time for the Burnaby Board of Trade these last couple of months as we find ourselves in the midst of a very busy summer season. In recent weeks we have held our annual general meeting, co-hosted a members reception with other local chambers, reported on the HST referendum, and continued to grow our membership (just to name a few things). We have also made significant progress in our social development initiatives, hosting a business roundtable on homelessness last month with some of Burnaby’s most prominent business leaders Paul Holden, President & CEO and government officials, as well as establishing a new Immigrant Integration Subcommittee to continue our ongoing efforts to address employment barriers for internationally trained and educated new Canadians. Lately we have also been taking greater steps to connect with elected officials in our ongoing effort to bridge the gap between business and government at all levels. The BBOT strives to provide our members with unique access to policy makers from across the political spectrum, and in that spirit this month we will be hosting a luncheon with BC NDP leader Adrian Dix for a discussion on his views of the issues that face the people and businesses of British
Columbia. In addition, we have been meeting regularly with local MPs, MLAs, and Mayors from across Metro Vancouver to ensure our members have the most up to date information on the policies and decisions that affect them. I am also happy to announce as part of our free Boardroom Series, we are kicking off a three part Social Media for Small Business seminar presented by Business Centre Solutions. The first of the series, Getting Social for Small Business, will teach the fundamentals of successfully incorporating social media in a business environment and is perfect for the novice or beginner who’s unsure of where to start. Finally, I hope to see many of you at our annual charity golf tournament taking place in September in support of KidSport Burnaby. This year the tournament is being held at a new location – the beautiful Riverway Golf Course – and promises to be a terrific day. This is one of our most popular events of the year and it always sells out, so visit www.bbot.ca or call 604.412-0100 to register today. As always, I would like to thank you on behalf of the Burnaby Board of Trade for your continuing support, and I wish you the best of luck this business year. Sincerely,
Paul Holden President & CEO Burnaby Board of Trade
UPCOMING BBOT EVENTS
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Luncheon with Adrian Dix July 21, 11:30am – 2:00pm Creating Connections Sponsored by Titan IT July 22, 7:30am – 9:45am Social Media 1 July 28, 8:15am – 9:30am Social Media 2 August 10, 8:15 – 9:30am Annual Golf Tournament September 7
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