Chamber Summer Plans

Now that warm weather is upon us, I am often asked about the Chamber's work plans for the summer. Contrary to what you might think, the activity level in the Chamber office doesn't really slow down in the summer; however the focus of our work certainly changes. While we don't have committee meetings during the summer there are plenty of issues we are working on for our members.

From an events standpoint we continue to hold Business After 5 and Business Before 9 networking events in July and August. This was not always the case. Holding these events during the summer is in response to members' demands. While some people are on vacation, members tell us there is still a need to meet, exchange information and develop business relationships during the summer months. In response to this need, the Chamber schedules BA5s and BB9s in the July and August. Also on the event front, check out our event calendar for September and October. Our Fall calendar is chock full of education and networking opportunities for you and your employees and we are working on finalizing the details of all these Fall events through the summer months. In particular, we're really excited to be hosting our Small Business Week Breakfast event at the new McMaster DeGroote Burlington Campus on October 19.

From an advocacy standpoint we're currently working on a list of questions that will be sent to all council and mayoral candidates in preparation for the October 25 municipal election. And we're making arrangements for a special event with all candidates on October 22 to give you an opportunity to talk with them directly. Plus, the Burlington Chamber is one of a select group of Ontario Chambers that will be reviewing all national policy resolutions that will be up for debate at the Canadian Chamber conference in the September.

At a planning level we're working on updating the Burlington Chamber's strategic plan, we're updating our website, and looking at updating the Chamber brand; all of these are major undertakings. All of this work involves not just Chamber staff but also the work of our volunteers (who normally get a break during the summer). So, yes the Chamber will be busy working for our members this summer and somewhere during all this activity, I'll see you at a Chamber event this summer.