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on what can be done to bring business and investment to Medicine Hat and there has been an increase in collaborative efforts. In the last few years people are also starting to recognize that Medicine Hat is great to do business — lower overhead, great employees and more balance. Technology has also made it possible to be able to have a central office in Medicine Hat and do business outside of our region as well. There is more of a focus on quality of life and people are coming to Medicine Hat and staying in Medicine Hat.”
Kowalchuk is proud of the continued vitality of the Chamber as it enters its 115th year in Medicine Hat. With 750 members, many of whom have been recognized as leaders in their field in the
province, Kowalchuk says the future is looking bright.
“The Chamber’s greatest achievements have been both in its policy activities and events. In the last five years alone we have passed 68 policies on a local level. This includes 22 municipal policies, 27 provincial policies and eight federal policies. We have been successful in the last four years in completing eight municipal policies and five provincial policies, with another 11 taken off our policy books. We have experienced much success locally on issues such as red tape reduction, the land use bylaw, offsite levies and development and infrastructure fees. Our events have seen exponential growth with our business awards tripling
in the last four years to a sold out crowd of 600 in 2014. We are pleased to have well over 100 nominees each year in the last couple of years and have grown our business awards from the two awards it started with in 2000 to the 15 awards that we awarded in 2014. From this event, our Chamber has also been able to nominate our businesses onto the Alberta Business Awards of Distinction — having had 12 finalists in 10 award categories in 2014 and 13 finalists in 2015, representing a third of the finalists in each of the past two years.”
The Medicine Hat News was one of the founding members of the Medicine Hat Chamber of Commerce when it came into being in its current form in 1920, but the paper also has a 110 year history with the Chamber going back to the Board of Trade era in the city. Publisher Mike Hertz says the News has never wavered in its commitment to Chamber of Commerce ideals throughout the past 12 decades. “I think the Chamber is one of the most important organizations to a community to keep the community tied together and be progressive in a positive sort of way,” says Hertz. “We’ve always been a big booster of local and local industry so we fit well with the Chamber of
Commerce, and that’s why we have been a member for this many years. We believe in what the Chamber of Commerce does in the community. We’re also in the business of running a newspaper which means we have access to a large part of the community and the Chamber of Commerce has access to a lot of business community members so it’s a good, solid partnership for us to have.”
Founded in 1898, Wright’s Jewelry Ltd. is now in its fifth generation of Wright family ownership in Medicine Hat. It also joined the Chamber of Commerce 110 years ago. Current owner Todd Wright says what he respects about the Chamber of Commerce is what everyone in the community respects: Its longevity and its ability to make adjustments to respond to the needs of its times.
“In our case and the Chamber’s case it’s about weathering the storms,” says Wright. “This business is cyclical and it takes a lot of work and a bit of luck. It’s about adapting to the market which has changed rapidly over the past decades. There is definitely a successful track record (at the Chamber) and they do well.”
1998 President’s Luncheon
Congratulations on your
115th Anniversary
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our communities ❚ our region ❚ our people 77
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