Stacey Brensrud
Revelstoke Chamber of Commerce
On March 11, 2020, members of our Revelstoke Chamber of Commerce were gathered at the Regent Hotel to attend our annual general meeting.
We shook hands and enjoyed a beautiful buffet luncheon, then began to tackle an issue that was causing quite a bit of fear of the unknown.
A provincial minister joined us to discuss the unsettling notion of a large-scale change, one that could affect how we do business here in Revelstoke.
What could possibly be more catastrophic to our local economy than potentially closing the back country for Caribou Herd Planning?
On this same day, on the other side of the world, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 to be a global pandemic.
No more handshaking. No gathering, no more buffets, no more lunches. Restrictions led to a dwindling and then non-existent customer base for many. To say that “2020 has been a struggle for many businesses” does not do justice to the uphill battles fought, just to keep the lights on, the employees working and the economy running.
In the early days of the pandemic, the chamber’s goal was to leave no business behind.
Our strategy was to think one step ahead of what businesses might need, build a tool and deliver it as fast as we could with the limited resources available to our non-profit.
As we began to collaborate with other working partners, our organization contributed to many of the larger recovery initiatives for Revelstoke.
The work has been strategic, targeted and rewarding. Revelstoke fared better because of the work that we did, and we continue to connect businesses to the support that they need.
The chamber is focused on building a strong foundation for both governance and operations- in 2021, we’ve already invested great efforts into board and staff development.
Our board of directors is comprised of diverse community leadership. We know we have important work to do, so we’re fueling the fires of education to bring our organization to the next level for even better outcomes and support to our members. We’re making moves to further stabilize the chamber long-term, to ensure that our long-standing organization continues to be positioned for success.
We are a non-profit. Did your business benefit from the Business Openings List, Revy Info, or #spendinrevy? Did any of our social media content help you find the information that you needed to fight your way through 2020? Please consider joining our membership so that we can continue this work.
We support our members. We support our business community. We support our city.
We are supported by our members, our business community, and our city.
We are the Revelstoke Chamber of Commerce.