Downtown revitalization and a planned trip to China were among the highlights of the meeting of the Battlefords Chamber of Commerce board of directors Feb. 25.
One of the delegations making a presentation on the evening was the Downtown North Battleford Business Improvement District.
The BID's executive director Lisa McEachern presented its work plan for 2014, the same plan presented to North Battleford city council in January.
The presentation from McEachern Tuesday night was along the same lines, as she outlined the key areas the BID planned to focus on for 2014.
Among the organizations' general plans for 2014 include efforts to change the perception of the downtown area and to continue efforts to improve the aesthetics there.
Among the efforts from last year has been the use of the Clean Team to clean the downtown streets, which was well received last year. McEachern indicated to directors that the Clean Team will be back again starting in May.
McEachern also said the BID plans to work with the city planner on developing the master plan for the overall landscape of the downtown. That is something that will be worked on this year, but McEachern says that will be developed over the coming five to 10 years. Other priorities include addressing the empty buildings downtown, improving the relationship with the City, and to increase social interaction downtown through a number of scheduled events.
The plans for 2014 include an International Street Performers Festival in July as well as several more Live @ Lunch events. She said the first Live @ Lunch event last fall in Central Park was well received and the plan is for Live @ Lunch to take place twice a month during the summer.
She looks to build a relationship with the Chamber of Commerce and sees them as being a potential partner in several areas, pointing to such initiatives as the "shop local" campaigns as an example.
"We focus on the downtown area but I can't see why we can't expand that into community wide," she said.
The other presentation at the meeting was of plans for a motion picture to be shot in and around the Battlefords area. Floyd Favel, one of those spearheading a Cree language drama entitled Sweet Cherry Wine, filled directors in on the project.
In other news from Tuesday's meeting:
A new Chamber director has been appointed to fill a vacant position on the board following the resignation of one of the directors.
It was announced by Chamber executive director Linda Machniak that director Norman Hochbaum had resigned from the board. Hochbaum was in the middle of a two-year term.
In his place the board has appointed Ruebecca Fiddler, branch manager of Loraas Environmental Services, to a one-year term. Fiddler was next in line to join the Board based on Chamber election results from December 2013.
In addition, the Chamber has appointed Jay Bottomley of Oil Can Charlie's as its representative to sit on the Business Opportunities Marketing Committee of Battlefords Tourism and Convention Association.
Its executive director Ryan Bater was at the meeting and he expressed the importance of including a Chamber representative.
"We want to do business attraction, we'd like to include the voice of business, which is what the Chamber is," said Bater.
The role is also seen as one that will provide Bottomley, the Chamber's second-vice-president, with useful experience as he moves up into leadership roles with the Chamber in the coming years.
The Chamber is preparing for a number of events coming up in the next month. One of those will be an open house March 11 at the Chamber, to promote a fall China trip that is being offered through the Chamber.
The open house will include representatives from Citslinc International who are co-ordinating the trip, as well as a representative from the Estevan chamber who had been on a previous trip.
The trip is to take place from Sept. 20 to Oct.1, with flights originating from Toronto to China. It will include visits to Beijing and Shanghai and there are opportunities to see the Great Wall of China and other sites.
Those going are required to obtain a Chinese visa and must arrange travel to and from Toronto. A $400 deposit is also required.
The Battlefords Chamber had been given the option of Vancouver or Seattle, but opted for Toronto because it meant three extra days at the same price, according to Machniak. "We felt the value for the extra days would be worthwhile," she said. As well, the flight from Toronto would be only a half hour longer.
Chamber director Jeff Graham has travelled to China on a month-long trip, and he highly encouraged his fellow directors to consider the opportunity of visiting the country.
"It's an amazing experience," said Graham.
"It blows your mind. You may have a different experience, but it's one for the books. So if you have a bucket and a list, put it on there for sure."
Also from Tuesday's meeting, March 25 has been circled as the date for the Chamber's annual post budget breakfast with the provincial finance minister Ken Krawetz. The actual location for the event, however, is yet to be finalized, with Machniak indicating a Chamber member has offered to host the event.
