BY DUCK PATERSON
The Ladysmith Chamber of Commerce has its executive in place to continue its work as the go-to resource and support partner for Ladysmith’s business sector.
The chamber installed its 2024-25 executive at its annual general meeting April 17 at In the Beantime Café.
The chamber was founded in 1930 and over the years, the group has added to its duties, a real busy one being the visitor information centre. Another one, not quite as busy as tourism but one that is hugely important, is that the chamber issues marriage licences. To stay on top of those two additional aspects of the chamber, the staff are continually upgrading their knowledge and skills to assist visitors and locals alike.
At the AGM, chamber president Cheri Mactier thanked members, and presented a summary of the past year and expectations for the coming year.
Leading the chamber in 2024-25 will be president Cheri Mactier of EXP Realty, vice-president Martin Sanderson of Robson O’Connor Law Offices, secretary Bailey Dill of Juniper and Sage Decor, treasurer Tammy Leslie of Palmer Leslie Chartered Accountants, and directors-at-large Millie Stirling of LCU Insurance, Marina Sacht of Take 5, Kara Olson of the Ladysmith Chronicle, Dave Devana of Nanaimo Airport and John Manuel of John Manuel Financial Services.
Nanaimo-Ladysmith MP Lisa-Marie Barron joined the meeting via Zoom from Ottawa, thanking all the members for their contributions to Ladysmith and the local economy and updating them on initiatives to try to help small businesses.
The guest speaker for the program was Andrea Rosato-Taylor, presenting on behalf of the new Fair Care Alliance advocating for better health-care services north of the Malahat. Rosato-Taylor compared available hospital services on the south Island to those on the central and north Island, noting that Nanaimo Regional General Hospital has the busiest emergency room on the Island but is more than 60 years old and in need of infrastructure upgrades such as a new patient tower and tertiary hospital services such as a cardiac catheterization lab.
The chamber’s next ‘business after business’ gathering will be held at the Ladysmith Yacht Club May 1 at 5 p.m. The 15th annual chamber golf tournament is going to happen June 14 at Cottonwood Golf Course.
Last week’s annual general meeting was sponsored by Kubera Payments Inc., the Ladysmith and District Credit Union and the Nanaimo Airport.
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