Derek Schmidt (vice chair), left, and Linda Machniak (chief operating officer) at the recent Battlefords Chamber of Commerce board meeting. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Busy year to come

Battlefords Chamber planning ahead for 2022

Dec 31, 2021 | 5:17 PM

The Battlefords Chamber of Commerce is getting ready for a busy year of activities in the year ahead.

“I still see that there will be COVID work to do — whether it is the test kits for businesses and perhaps the public — but I do see us trying to get back to more of a normal schedule for the chamber,” chief operating officer Linda Machniak told battlefordsNOW.

First, the chamber is planning its directors’ elections. The new directors will be officially installed at the board meeting in January.

Then, in late January or early February the chamber will have its annual luncheon and induction ceremony for the new chairperson.

“We’ve been doing banquets in the past,” Machniak said. “Last year we had to do a virtual luncheon, of course. This year we are trying to do a bit of a hybrid. We will have some folks in attendance and those who could watch can do so online.”

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She said an online hybrid-model will likely be needed in light of the current COVID situation with the surge of the Omicron variant across Canada.

Taking over from Melanie Roberts, the chamber’s outgoing chair, will be Derek Schmidt, who is currently the vice chair.

Machniak said the board will say a big thank you to Roberts for her work as chair over the past year and welcome Schmidt, of Bill & Don’s Men’s Wear, into his new role as chair for 2022.

The annual general meeting will likely be around the same time as the chair’s luncheon event.

Then in March, the chamber hopes to host another Power Hour, similar to the event held in 2019. Plans are to invite the local elected officials — the MP, MLA, the two local mayors and two of the regional First Nation chiefs — to take part in an hour-long chat with the chamber.

Coming in the spring, the chamber plans to hold its Chamber Business Golf Challenge event.

The annual Battlefords Business Excellence Awards gala (BBEX) were postponed in 2021 due to the pandemic. But the chamber is hopeful it will be able to host the awards ceremony in the year ahead, likely in October or November.

In other news, the chamber will be moving its monthly board meetings to the noon-time instead of in the evenings starting Feb. 15.

“The board voted that they would prefer to have daytime meetings, as opposed to evening meetings moving forward,” Machniak said. “[The change] was a positive for some of the members who allowed their name to stand for a seat on the board. It made it more convenient if they have young children or families at home.”

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow