Kenneth Brown
of The Clarion

The Kindersley and District Chamber of Commerce has held its annual general meeting (AGM) to close the books on another year of events and member services.

Chamber officials and members gathered at the Kindersley Inn on Feb. 9 for the annual meeting. The AGM covered the usual business of delivering reports and the event also featured two presentations by guest speakers. A soup and sandwich lunch was served.

The guest speakers included two representatives from Murlin Electronics, whose presentation focused on ransomware, and a representative of Wiegers Financial & Benefits, who spoke about the Chambers Group Insurance plan.

Chamber president Eric Friesen

Eric Friesen, the chamber’s president, called the AGM to order after people had settled in with their lunch. Friesen, who will continue to serve as chamber president in 2018, gave his president’s message regarding the 2017 operating year. His message included news of the chamber’s events, and it was another good year.

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“We had a very exciting year,” the president said, recognizing that the year started by electing a new board of directors and it included the addition of a new executive director with Heather Wall leaving to pursue another career opportunity.

He introduced Denise Sarada, the chamber’s new executive director, to the crowd and he recognized Wall for her contributions to the organization. Friesen moved on to talk about events during 2017 starting with the chamber’s positive ticketing program.

In the positive ticketing program, youth receive positive tickets from the police and they get to redeem the tickets at one of about 14 locations in town to receive a reward. Children who receive positive tickets are also entered in a grand prize draw for a new bicycle. The draw is made during Goose Festival.

Friesen said the Kindersley Trade Show, an event organized by the chamber, is the chamber’s largest event of the year and it was a remarkable success in 2017.

He said the entertainment and other aspects of the event were excellent and the chamber has started planning for the 2018 trade show.

The president also spoke about the Goose Festival where the chamber once again held the annual goose plucking and potato peeling contest. He said there was a nice crowd on hand for the competition despite the cool, rainy weather.

He noted that the Goose Festival parade was a big hit again at the 2017 event with a long list of entries and a large crowd of people along the parade route. Friesen said the contests included a karaoke contest at the Kindersley Mall and, with the festival, “we are looking forward to the future of this long-running community event.”

The chamber’s final event of the year was the Kindersley Business Excellence (KBEX) Awards. He said the KBEX event is a wonderful way to celebrate the contributions of individuals and businesses in the community.

Friesen said the chamber is planning a new event for 2018, but no details were provided. He said the organization is also going to bring back past events including a welcome night and the small business Christmas party. He encouraged people to contact the chamber if they could volunteer to help with any events.

Jon Banlaoi had the task of presenting the chamber’s financial statements at the AGM.

Banlaoi served as treasurer in 2017, but he is stepping down from the role in 2018 even though he will remain on the chamber’s board of directors.

The now former treasurer presented the financial statements including the balance sheet and income statement. He noted that the organization posted an operating loss of $5,282 from the 2017 fiscal year. The chamber also posted a loss of $6,018 from the 2016 fiscal year.

Banlaoi said the shortfall signifies to the chamber that the organization needs to be more diligent in encouraging new members going forward in 2018. Members had no questions regarding the finances, and a motion was passed to accept the statements.

After the AGM, board members on hand held another meeting to elect directors and the chamber’s new executive for 2018.

The 2018 directors are Friesen, Brenda Meyer, Jeff Soveran, John Songcayauon, Banlaoi, Taylor Szeto, Cassandra Steinke, Clint Webster, Heather Wall, Marcia Gunn, Rick Miller and Colby Reschny.

Friesen will continue to serve as president while Meyer is vice-president, Soveran is second vice-president and Songcayauon will serve as treasurer for 2018. The president recognized the chamber’s members for their support.

“I’d like to thank each and every business from Kindersley that makes the Kindersley Chamber of Commerce a priority,” he added, recognizing that the chamber cannot operate without the support of its members and the organization appreciates the entire business community.

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