DIDSBURY -- The Didsbury and District Chamber of Commerce held its annual general meeting (AGM) on March 13 at the Excalibur Building.
The new board of directors for 2019 is similar to last year's with only one new face: director Meaghan Neis, a member service officer at Mountain View Financial.
Isabelle Cadotte of MHR Law and Anna Conway of ATB Wealth return after joining midway through last year. Cadotte will be stepping in as treasurer, while Conway is a director.
Returning to the board are: president Brian Chita, web developer; vice-president Laurie Klassen, manager at ATB Didsbury; secretary Deb Johnson, assistant branch manager advisor at RBC Olds; director Kyle Turner, senior regional manager, Mountain View Financial; director Greg Poirier, manager at AG Foods; and Rob Steer, owner-operator at Longhorn Painting.
Chita said the AGM went well with about 15 people attending and hearing about the goings-on with the chamber.
Chita went over some of the highlights from the last year including the annual chamber barbecue, business awards gala, Didsbury Country Christmas, two business at breakfast events, and three lunch-and-learn lectures about cannabis legislation.
"This last season we moved toward working better with the Town of Didsbury on economic development," said Chita. "McSweeney and Associates, a well-known municipal company specializing in economic development, shared a lot of insights in our community along with talking about needed areas of improvement."
Chita said the chamber has taken plenty of steps forward this year and the board is hopeful for the future.
"We value our relationship with the town and trust we'll see great movement in the area of growth in Didsbury," he said.
Chita said the chamber membership has grown recently with eight new members in 2018 and five at the start of 2019.
"I trust a year from now the Didsbury business community, and overall economic development, will be well on its way, helping to bring prosperity not only for businesses but for a growing tax base for the Town of Didsbury," he said.
