Upcoming Changes at the Chamber
Dear Chamber Members,
As the heat of the summer begins to set in and my home office feels less and less appealing on these beautiful sunny days, I can’t help but think about how different this summer feels from those of the past two years.
Without a doubt, COVID-19 disrupted our summers, our lives and especially our local businesses. Some pandemic pivots forced business owners to become digitally innovative and adopt technology that increased efficiency, while expanding marketplaces to new online audiences.
Throughout the pandemic we repeatedly saw that entrepreneurs who embraced both IRL and virtual ways of communicating came out ahead. COVID-19 truly showed us that those that don’t, or can’t adapt, don’t survive. We’ve been taking notes!
For many years the Chamber maintained an underused physical office space on Esquimalt Road. Prior to the pandemic we hoped this office would become a business hub and we took steps to set ourselves up for coworking and shared meeting space, however COVID put those plans firmly on hold.
As business has fundamentally shifted through COVID, so has your Chamber. We see our local businesses being more creative in how they operate and we’re following suit. We’ve heard from members that they want the Chamber to engage in greater promotion and advertising of Esquimalt, along with more advocacy and opportunities for B2C connection. In addition, we recognize the need to become more fully engaged in the online community to promote all of the businesses that support the Chamber by being our valued members and to make it easier to reach out to your Chamber with ease even with your busy schedules.
To allow for the Chamber to run more efficiently and effectively, we’ve decided to redirect resources away from our physical office location and into more programs and services to benefit our members. As of August 1, 2022 the Chamber will no longer occupy our former office on Esquimalt Road.
With this change you can expect to see the launch of a fresh, new Chamber logo and rebranded website coming in Fall 2022. We’ll also be hosting the 5 Chamber Mixer on September 22, 2022 at the amazing Gorge Park Pavillion. We have great things in store and plan to continue our monthly mixers, member spotlights and a member recruitment incentive program.
As your incoming Chamber President, I can’t wait to support these exciting initiatives and continue to build a resilient business association in Esquimalt. I encourage you to reach out to me with any questions or comments and I am ready to start connecting you with your business peers in Esquimalt and beyond to assist you in growing your business in a sustainable and enjoyable way.
Sincerely,
Holly Courtright, Chamber President
