Mike Beukeboom has new priorities for the Sundre & District Chamber of Commerce, after recently taking over the president position for the 2014-15 term.
“I see the chamber maybe taking on a new role in the community,” Beukeboom told the Round Up.
“In the past, the Town of Sundre and Mountain View County have always been able to get a lot of things done. But in today's world of politics and bureaucracy, a lot has changed,” he said.
“Sometimes it's difficult for them to tackle issues. And I see the chamber moving forward as possibly taking a leadership position to help the town and help the county maybe tackle some of the bigger issues that they're not necessarily able to handle themselves.”
He wants to focus on the chamber members and what the benefits are. There are roughly 135 members that are all within the district. Member benefits include group insurance and discounts on Visa and MasterCard use, he said.
He also wants to focus on bringing more business to Sundre.
“As far as bigger issues or even some smaller ones, probably the one that we've kind of deemed as a concern we're going to start taking a really good look at is Main Avenue and some of the safety concerns that are going on there,” he said.
“It's not probably the nicest place to walk up and down these days, with all the traffic flying by a person. And I personally have seen it – it's become quite quiet for walking traffic and pedestrian traffic just because it's simply not safe.”
He has been talking to business owners about how the change from two lanes to four lanes along Main Avenue has impacted them positively and negatively.
The two-lane road was changed to four lanes about five years ago, he said.
“We have a lot of industrial traffic in this area who need to get through town. So it's a big issue. We're going to work with the town and the corridor enhancement committee and start looking at how we can come up with a solution that hopefully works for everyone,” he said.
“We've had enough time I think as a community to see what the actual impact has been. I'd like to gather some hard numbers as far as what the impact has been on the business community and then we can really start to maybe get a handle on what changes possibly need to be made, if any.”
He was the sole contender for president during elections in April. Marty Mennear, the previous president, asked him in March if he would be willing to take on the position.
“I quickly thought it would be pretty exciting to get involved with the chamber,” said 48-year-old Beukeboom.
He was involved with the chamber when he first moved to Sundre 20 years ago, but never as president.
He will fulfil the one-year term until the next election in April 2015.
“The term has always been one year, but that's something we're looking at changing and having it set up so that it's a two-year term and it's an overlap,” he said. “So that half the executive is in the middle of their term, when the other half is maybe new. That way you have some continuity moving forward.”
The Visitor Information Centre is an ongoing project, he said, adding that the chamber will host its three annual events this year--the parade during rodeo weekend, the trade fair connected with Neighbours' Day, and Sundown in Sundre.
He doesn't believe the executive should be creating new events because of a risk of volunteer burnout, which the chamber has faced before.
“In some ways I'd rather us almost shrink some of our responsibilities, focus on what we're doing, and really start to look backwards in becoming more of a representative for the business community,” he said.
“You know, fighting their fight a little bit to make the town a better place to run a business and grow and thrive and continue to mature as a community…We just have to be careful of taking on too much.”
He encourages people to live in Sundre because of what the community has to offer.
“We have so much to offer. It's truly one of the most beautiful places in the world to live. A wonderful education system here, schools are fantastic, great place to raise your kids, the health care for a community our size is really incredible,” he said, adding that those reasons make living in Sundre a “no-brainer.”
