After a few rocky years, Merritt’s Chamber is hoping to come back stronger and better than ever.
With an all new, all-volunteer board at the helm, the Chamber is reaching out to the community hoping to see previous members renewing their membership and to bring new members on board.
The Chamber has played an important, if often behind the scenes, role in many events around town, such as the Summer Nights Markets, Nicola Valley Food Bank fundraisers, and the Logger Sports show. The Chamber of Commerce will often help these events operate by providing a kind of ‘blanket’ business license and insurance for vendors, eliminating the need for each individual to approach the City and secure these necessities for events that may only occur for one day or one weekend per year.
Chamber members and those on the board also act as a volunteer base, chipping in support and manpower for local events and fundraisers.
Ryan Wuthe, owner/operator of Boyd Autobody and Glass and a Chamber director, says there are many benefits to becoming a Chamber member.
“We currently offer a variety of benefits and continue to grow these opportunities. In addition to member discounts and medical/dental benefits packages, we hope to be able to bring support and education to local business,” said Wuthe.
“These will come in the form of ‘Lunch and Learn’ and ‘Business after Business.’ We hope to encourage educators and keynotes to come and help us simply work better, smarter and together. We want to improve the focus on Commerce in Merritt.”
The City of Merritt generally issues over 600 business licences annually, with the Chamber having just over 100 members each year, on average. Wuthe hopes to meet or exceed that number in the upcoming year, believing that new initiatives and a host of fresh ideas from the new board will entice more people to the Chamber, which is also affiliated with both the BC and Canadian Chambers of Commerce.
Merritt has one of the longest standing Chambers in both BC and Canadian history, with the Canadian Board of Trade officially recognizing the ‘Merritt Board of Trade’, as it was known then, on March 17, 1914.
It may be just as relevant, or even more so, in 2020. In a community that has been hit hard by the downturn of the forestry sector, the Chamber’s mandate to enhance business opportunities, promote the advantages and assets of Merritt, create economic growth and attract new businesses, could help in the area’s economic recovery.
Although the Chamber has been quiet in recent years, struggling to keep membership up and accumulating a deficit, Wuthe is confident it can be rebuilt from the ground up with nothing lost in the process.
“We know it takes a team of motivated, like-minded, driven leaders to move any business forward. We are working diligently to put this team together and are excited to see what we know can be accomplished,” Wuthe said.