Chamber of Commerce excited about opportunity to host 2009 Annual General Meeting

After a fair amout of hard work and handshaking the Prince Rupert Chamber of Commerce won the right to host the provincial chamber's annual General Meeting for 2009.

An even that could attract up to 400 participants ranging from business leaders to politicians.

Brigning the event to Prince Rupert, will help the city to showcase a number of economic positives that should be in place by that time and re-empahsize that the city and region are open for business.

The Daily News reviewed the details of the bid and what may be ahead for the city, as part of the Friday paper.

Chamber lands chance to host B.C.-wide event
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Friday, June 22, 2007

Page Three

This week, a long-standing effort of the Prince Rupert and District Chamber of Commerce came to fruition.

The local chamber of commerce announced it has successfully won the bid to host the 2009 BC Chamber of Commerce Annual General Meeting in Prince Rupert.

"We are very excited by the opportunity to showcase our community as well as the entire Northwest region. This represents a significant business and marketing opportunity for local businesses," said Wendy Prystay, chamber president.

The annual general meeting regularly attracts more than 400 business leaders from all parts of the province, provincial ministers, and representatives from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

The announcement was made at the recent B.C .Chamber AGM which took place May 23-27, 2007 in Victoria.

District Director Mike O'Neill was pleased to advise local manager Roberta Bowman that her dedication and creativity in preparing the bid had been successful.

"It was no small feat," said Bowman. "Our chamber was in competition with many other communities. This is a real feather in our cap."

During the next two years, the Prince Rupert chamber, alongside the B.C. Chamber of Commerce will be busy putting together a world-class event, beginning by hosting a Prince Rupert Night at the 2008 AGM to be held in Whistler, B.C.

"This is a major opportunity for us," said Bowman. "I am so happy that we won, being able to bring the B.C. Chamber and its delegates to Prince Rupert at a time when our city is the focal point of the world with the opening of the container port in the fall. Certainly, all the press and media play about Prince Rupert will attract outstanding attendance."

The B.C. Chamber of Commerce represents the views of more than 130 chambers of commerce and boards of trade and more than 31,000 businesses of every size and from every region of the province. It considers itself and is recognized as the Voice of B.C. Business'.

This year's annual general meeting is being held at the Fairmont Express Hotel and Victoria Convention Centre. Gloria Macarenko of CBC will be the master of ceremonies at the event, and guest speakers will include Gail Stephens, CEO of the British Columbia Pension Corporation and Dr. Paul Cappon, president and CEO of the Canadian Council of Learning.

The speakers will help participants learn about the topic of education, an issue the B.C. Chamber has taken to heart, given the predicted labour shortages in B.C. and Alberta.