Change and momentum at the Chamber
With membership on the rise our network has steadily expanded. At the end of 2017 we were happy to welcome more than 300 new members to the Halifax Chamber of Commerce. Growing your business is not easy and I must thank our members for their referrals, as well as our membership team of Barbi Holland and Amber Thomas- Johnson for their dedication and support. But how did 2017 go by so quickly?
You’ll notice on the sidebar some of our quantitative measures of success. Those measures start to paint the picture of 2017 at the Chamber for you, but it doesn’t give you all of the details on how we got here.
We’ve welcomed new faces to the Chamber team — offering insight and a fresh perspective. Hopefully you have met Ashley Stobo, Emma Menchefski, Kathleen MacEachern, as well as Kayla Whalen and Amber Thomas-Johnson (maternity leave covers). They’ve been great additions and have quickly caught up to our fast-paced environment.
We’ve put in time, energy and dedication to ensure your membership experience continues to improve. With members in mind we’ve enhanced the events we offer, our policy and advocacy work, the cost-saving benefits and our publications.
In 2018, you can expect to see:
• New events coming your way. We’ve listened to the types of networking and learning opportunities you’ve been looking for and we’re excited to offer them to you.
• Our new strategic plan. We’ve been pounding the drum of our 2013 - 2018 strategic plan for the past five years and we are looking forward to focusing on similar, yet updated, goals and focus areas on behalf of Chamber members.
• Continued money saving opportunities. Cutting costs help you invest more in your business, your employees and your future.
• Great communication from the team. We will present issues that matter to you and engage in conversations about Halifax’s future. You’ll see this more prominently in Business Voice, the Chamber Bulletin and on our social media channels over the coming months.
• Members-only training programs offered for free or for a nominal fee. Business management, human resources and social media marketing training — we are offering a wide variety of training to help you and your team’s training level up. Halifaxchamber.com/events is the most current place for a full list of training opportunities.
• A cultural tour of China. A new offering from the Halifax Chamber, a group tour of China including hotel, meals and airfare from $2,299. This offer is open to members and non-members and an information session will be held on Feb. 26, 2018.
With all that’s going on around us, time is really flying by. We all have put so much effort and dedication into building our businesses and our community that it seems like more time should have passed. But with your determination, commitment and support to your fellow Chamber members, I know that we have many good years ahead of us.
Here’s to another prosperous year for Halifax.
2017 BY THE NUMBERS:
• More than 300 new members welcomed
• 6,345 total attendance at events
• 200 members participated in the Needs Assessment Survey
• 538 members mentioned or featured in Business Voice magazine
• 312,000 visits to the Chamber website
• 12,000-plus followers on Twitter
• 300-plus meetings with members
• 3,500-plus subscribers read the Chamber Bulletin
• 2,232 Certificates of Origin heading to countries around the world
• 96.5 percent of members surveyed would recommend joining the Chamber
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