At a Jan. 17 meeting, the new Chamber of Commerce executive was elected. Back row, from left: Gloria Brown, Barbara Dodge, Debbie Roch, Greg Andrews, Jim Scott, and Ryan Broughton. Middle row, from left: Jillian Stockburger, Morgan Ross, Lori Carifelle and Michelle Daniels. Front row, from left: Tracy Bond, Julia Dillabough and Wendy Heppner. Missing from photo: Sheri Coles and Coral Beck. TRACEY ROBERTS PHOTO

At a Jan. 17 meeting, the new Chamber of Commerce executive was elected. Back row, from left: Gloria Brown, Barbara Dodge, Debbie Roch, Greg Andrews, Jim Scott, and Ryan Broughton. Middle row, from left: Jillian Stockburger, Morgan Ross, Lori Carifelle and Michelle Daniels. Front row, from left: Tracy Bond, Julia Dillabough and Wendy Heppner. Missing from photo: Sheri Coles and Coral Beck. TRACEY ROBERTS PHOTO

Quesnel Chamber of Commerce unveils new executive

Chamber president Julia Dillabough provides a preview of the coming year.

The Quesnel & District Chamber of Commerce is looking forward to 2018. They will be going into their annual strategic planning event Feb. 14.

“This is where we will put our heads to together to create our goals for this year and the future,” Chamber president Julia Dillabough says.

She went on to say: “We are looking forward to hosting our annual trade show that was put on hold last year due to the arena construction, and are excited to be setting it up in the new West Fraser Centre at the end of April.

“We moved the date for the trade show for a few reasons, one being 2017’s wildfire devastation. We wanted people to be able to showcase their businesses and encourage people to get their spring, summer and fall activities planned earlier to get a jump start on 2018.”

Areas that the Chamber had great success in last year were policy and advocacy, and networking.

“We were able to bring forward several policy resolutions to the B.C. and Canadian Chamber levels on behalf of the business community and we aim to do the same again this year,” Dillabough adds.

“Our networking events started to pick up and we hope to elaborate on them again this year.”

She also says: “We hope to create more of a spin for the Young Entrepreneurs. We are looking to engage youth and encourage them to see what potential there is in Quesnel to own or manage a successful business.

“We also hope to help those looking to retire create a succession plan for the future of their well-run business.”

Quesnel Cariboo Observer