OLDS — Effective immediately, the Olds & District Chamber of Commerce (ODCC) no longer has an executive director position.
For the foreseeable future, the chamber plans to get by with volunteers undertaking various tasks that need doing.
In an interview, ODCC president Cassidy Kirsch said that decision was forced on the chamber board by the effect that pandemic restrictions have had on the organization’s revenue.
Caroline Bodmer had served as the chamber’s executive director for the past three-and-a-half years.
“The pandemic has severely impacted the chamber’s ability to host events, raise funds and increase its membership base. Like most businesses, we’ve had to make difficult decisions to remain relevant and financially sound,” a chamber newsletter said.
“We appreciate everyone’s patience during these times. The chamber office will remain open for a few days a week. Board members will volunteer their time and we’ll keep you posted on the hours of operation.
“We’d like to thank former executive director Caroline Bodmer for her dedication and service to the Olds and District Chamber of Commerce and the members it serves.”
Kirsch said the decision to let Bodmer go was a very hard one.
“Her time here has been greatly appreciated and will not be forgotten,” Kirsch said. "Caroline has been a key part of the chamber and the community for many years It was, as I said, a difficult decision and we really had to spend time thinking through.
“But it all came down to at the end of the day right now, we need to make sure that the chamber remains relevant and financially sound so we are moving to a volunteer base.
“We want to make sure everyone’s kept safe and so we’re following what we can and yeah, it’s limited our ability to add value to our community, so we need to take a step back, focus on revamping on how we can be a value-added support to the community and then going from there.”
Bodmer told The Albertan the decision was really tough for her too.
"It is hard to let go of something you feel passionate about," she said in a text. "Teamwork makes the dream work. I was blessed with great boards to work with."
Kirsch was asked if there’s a possibility Bodmer might be re-hired when the pandemic is over.
“We are still discussing what’s going to happen in the future and whether or not we will have an executive director position or figuring out what works best for the chamber at this time, given the current environment and everything," she said.
“So right now our goal is to put some volunteer hours in, revamp what we have on the go and then move forward from there."
The chamber is actively looking for a more volunteers to lighten the load on existing ones, she said.
“So if anyone enjoys event planning, office work or any other areas that they enjoy, please reach out to us and we’d be happy to work with you,” she said.
The chamber has a plan to make sure that when it comes to volunteers the left hand knows what the right hand is doing so that there’s no duplication of efforts, she said.
"That’s something that we’re actively coordinating on and making sure that we manage correctly. It’s timesheets. And in today’s world, being able to share documents and notes is definitely a life-saver, so communication is key when there’s multiple people involved in something like this.”
Chamber officials say if anyone has any questions or suggestions for the organization the best way to contact them is via their email address: ([email protected]).
