The Sundre and District Chamber of Commerce has agreed to work with local doctors in an effort to bring new physicians and other health-care workers to town.
During last week's regularly scheduled chamber meeting at the Sundre Community Centre, chamber president Sherri Tytkanych said local physicians recently approached the chamber about sitting on the new committee.
It is important for the community at large and for Sundre's business community to have enough physicians and other health-care workers at the local hospital and care centre, she said.
Chamber member Dennis Overguard volunteered to be on the committee.
Dr. Hal Irvine says work on putting the committee together is in the very early stages.
“We have just started to make some preliminary inquiries in terms of who might be interested,” he said. “Next week we will put together a coffee meeting or a lunch meeting with a few interested people and see how we go from there.
“By the end of August we would hope to have things in place. At this point we've only had a couple of phone calls to see if people are interested.”
Once the committee is formed it could focus on the retention of doctors and others.
“We are looking at putting together a recruitment committee for the moment, focusing on physicians but ultimately with a mandate to help recruit and retain health-care workers,” he said.
The provincial Rural Physician Action Plan may have some funding available to help support the committee.
Similar committees are already in place in Rocky Mountain House and Olds.
“We are probably short one (physician) now, but looking to the future we are going to need more doctors,” he said. “This is pre-emptive planning ahead.”
VIC keeping busy
In other chamber news, the visitor information centre is seeing a lot of traffic these days, manager Gord Moore told members.
An average of between 10 and 15 people a day are visiting the centre, including 31 who signed the guest book last Saturday.
“It's a very busy place,” said Moore.
Many of the people coming to the centre have been asking questions about local real estate and the opportunities to move to the community, he said.
He said there has been lots of demand for local maps and brochures, as well as questions about local camping opportunities.
“There's all sorts of questions people are asking,” he said.
Although many of the visitors are from the Calgary area, there have also been visitors from other cities, other provinces and the U.S., he said.
Trade Fair preparations continue
Member Evelyn Mill gave an update on preparations for the 2011 Trade Fair to be held in conjunction with SPOG's Neighbour's Day in September.
She said more than 40 per cent of the booths have now been rented and paid for.
“We are right where we were last year at this time,” she said.
Rodeo kickoff was hit
The chamber's unofficial rodeo kickoff event held at the Sundre Community Centre was well attended and well received, said president Tytkanych.
The event raised about $1,000 for the chamber.
“I think it was a good event with a good turnout,” she said.
The chamber parade was also a hit again this year, with 65 entries being very well received.
The chamber may go with its own parade theme in 2012 instead of having the same theme at the rodeo, she said.
Shop local survey underway
The chamber's shop local survey of local business owners is now underway, with organizers hoping to use the results to make recommendations to town council.
The survey asks a number of questions about local business operations and opportunities for improvements. Those questions include the following:
• During the past three years has your company noticed a significant change in the following areas: sales and revenues, employment levels, facility size, equipment, product line and location.
• During the past three years, what actions has your business undertaken to increase revenue and/or repeat customers: implement marketing plan, implement/revised business plan, used loyalty programs, changed products/services, changed hours, changed locations.
• What factors are adversely restricting the retention or expansion of your business: access and availability of parking spaces, suitable employees, market size, out-of-town competition, bylaws, support of the local government, more commercial lots, and transportation.
• What are your greatest challenges to operating your business, how can the Town of Sundre improve its relations with, and services, to its business, what type of new business would complement or assist the growth of your business.
Once the survey results are in, the numbers and data will be compiled and then reviewed by the survey committee, which in turn will make recommendations to town council, members heard.
Skatepark construction will take place in spring
The Sundre Skatepark project has raised more than $100,000 to date, members heard.
However, because two of the matching grants from the provincial government will not be available until the spring, construction will be held off until that time.
During the chamber meeting, it was suggested that the skatepark could be the site of a region- wide tournament in the future.
The skatepark bottle drive raised $5,400, with organizers needing 16 hours to sort through the massive donation of bottles and cans, said president Tytkanych.
