Olds and District Chamber of Commerce members received some good news at their annual general meeting last Wednesday.
The chamber added almost 20 new members in 2011, with a membership now totalling more than 225 members.
“I was very excited of the fact that we did actually increase the membership. I know that the other chambers around us have declined in numbers,' said Curtis Setso, Olds and District Chamber of Commerce president.
“It was very exciting to know that we actually had a 10 per cent growth in our number. Overall, I am hoping to see that again this year.”
The chamber also named four new directors: Kris Mickelson (The Brick), Setso (RBC Royal Bank), Terry Steward (Mountain View Credit Union), and Jeff Vanasse (BMO Bank of Montreal).
“I am very excited to see new directors. We have had struggles in the past getting them. It is exciting to see that we will have another full board this upcoming year,” said Setso.
“It's nice to have new blood on the board as well to ensure that there is ongoing change coming, with our ever-changing community in an ever-changing world.”
Directors Paul Hildebrand (Hildebrand Motors Ltd.) and Carmel Maloney (The Blooming Lodge) resigned. Hildebrand served on the board from 2008-12. Maloney resigned after serving one year of her three-year mandate.
The next monthly chamber luncheon will be on April 18. Dr. Cathy Wright will talk about her humanitarian trip to Kenya with A Better World, a group providing sustainable projects such as education, clean water and medical aid to people in dire need in Tibet, Afghanistan, Peru, Bolivia, India, and Kenya.
The annual Staff Employee Appreciation Luncheon (SEAL) will be held on April 25 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Olds College Alumni Centre.
