The Estevan Chamber of Commerce looked back fondly on a successful year and is looking forward to further progress in the coming year, at a luncheon it hosted on Dec. 7, at the Estevan branch of the Royal Canadian Legion.
“We covered the signature projects we had in 2016, and some of the upcoming events in 2017,” said executive director Jackie Wall in an interview with the Mercury after the event. “We announced that the Farm Family of the Year award is going to be on March 9; that decision was made today. We talked about what a real success it was in 2016, and how we sold all our sponsorship packages.
“We also did a year’s wrap-up, but it wasn’t so much a wrap-up as it was talking about new big projects coming up.”
Events that the chamber is looking forward to in the coming year include the Estevan Business Excellence (EBEX) Awards, an event that is held every second year, which will take place this June.
A significant portion of the dinner event was devoted to a discussion of Golden Opportunity, a benefit plan that the chamber is offering its members through the Golden Opportunities Investment Plan. Ron Areshenkoff with Spectra Financial, who administrates insurance for the chamber, and Virgil Cairns with Golden Opportunity, discussed the details of benefits which will be available to chamber members.
Wall said guests were inquisitive about the insurance plan and what it would entail for those who enrol. Wall said the features of the plan that appealed to guests was the ability for even one-person and sole proprietor businesses, and the fact that the plan would be available to industries that traditionally have a difficult time getting insurance coverage, such as hairdressers.
“We had tremendous support from our membership and sponsorship over the 2016, at all of our events. Spectra Financial is a great partner,” said Wall.
The discussion at the luncheon also focused on the upcoming carbon capture summit—a major event for Estevan, which the chamber plans to host in 2017. Wall said the summit is anticipated to take place in the spring, in April or May, and that it will be an educational event meant to inform the general public about carbon capture technology and its potential to be used as a green technology.
The chamber hopes to get representatives from across the province, and perhaps from Alberta, to attend and talk to guests about the opportunities carbon capture entails. Ideas for the summit include separate information sessions, and a tour of the Unit 3 facility at Boundary Dam, Wall noted. She added that the chamber is looking to make the summit a full day event.
“Coal has been a huge energy source for a long time, and an efficient energy source. The sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow, but coal always burns,” said Wall. “The more that we can develop (carbon capture technology) and educate people on exactly how it works, the more we’ll be able to bring it to the forefront.”
Wall said that she was somewhat surprised by the good turnout at the luncheon, adding, “Because of the weather, we were actually wondering how many would come out, but we had 27 registered guests. That’s not bad considering the weather conditions.”
