Years ago, the Redvers Chamber of Commerce was running along smoothly, but it stumbled into some roadblocks over the years. In 2019 the Town of Redvers put a call out to business operators to ignite the Chamber of Commerce once again.
“The town Council and CAO suggested the business community come together to work towards the same goals,” shared Natasha Poirier, the Chambers president. “A group of us agreed; we noticed that community events, such as ladies’ night shopping events, or back-to-school sales, were on different nights, and the feedback we received from shoppers was that they were confused about when to come.
So, we called out to businesses to join the Chamber, intending to encourage shopping locally and form a cohesive marketing strategy for all to use. And here we sit today. We’ve seen an increase in memberships over the last four months.”
In June of every year, residents of Redvers participate in a town-wide garage sale, “The business community can piggyback off of all those people coming into town,” shared Poirier. “Right now, we’re working on an event that coincides with the garage sale to get shoppers to come to our businesses as well. While you’re here….”
The Redvers Chamber of Commerce has a new optimistic group of members looking forward to rejuvenating the Chamber by bringing new ideas and technology to the toolkit. They recently started a Facebook and Instagram page to share information about their members and happenings. They also brought back monthly networking meetings, which take place on the last Thursday of every month, and they recently reintroduced Chamber bucks.
Chamber Bucks is an initiative that is not new to many chambers, but its members value it. Businesses or community members can buy them for giveaways, teacher gifts or staff bonuses; they’re just like cash and can be used at any chamber member’s business. These bucks are highly effective at keeping dollars in the community and offering a great gift option with lots of choices.
“We are not only getting local commitment, but neighbouring communities are talking about our organization- they are noticing us, which is a great feeling. We are slowly building back that network we once had, and I know our members are going to see the value we add by being a member.”
The Redvers Chamber of Commerce is in talks with the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce to become part of their overarching umbrella. With that, they hope to gain enough members that will allow them to offer group benefits.
“Group benefits are a good value-added benefit of being a chamber member,” added Poirier. “It gives consultants and smaller businesses who otherwise might not be able to offer to their staff or themselves, but through the chamber, they can.”
The Redvers community has the infrastructure to grow; they have both the public school system and a fully immersed francophone-speaking Pre-K – 12 school just 10 minutes away. The town has a hospital and health clinic, and they also have a fully serviced spa that offers things like facial treatments and massage.
“Community Futures Sunrise has helped our town immensely,” concluded Poirier. “They were instrumental in guiding how to start this organization and helped us stay focused with goals. It also helps that through my business, I get to talk with Christina Birch regularly. She is so passionate about her work, and that passion has rubbed off on me.”
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