Ladysmith Chamber of Commerce elected five directors to the board at its March 19 annual general meeting held at Cottonwood Golf Course.
Aaron Stone, Mike Hooper, Sean Dunlop, Don Banasky and Rick Morencie were all nominated and voted in to serve two-year terms on the board of directors.
These five will work alongside outgoing president Rob Waters, treasurer Michael Furlot and secretary Cyndi Beaulieu.
Alana Newton will serve as vice president whilst John de Leeuw also remains a director.
At a subsequent recent meeting, Stone was also declared as the new president of the chamber.
"I'm delighted that we have five strong members to introduce tonight," said Waters at the meeting. "Mike in particular will add very strong flavour to the chamber and Rick is a gentleman who always speaks his mind and we appreciate that. We look forward to and welcoming these directors into their two-year terms."
Hooper is the president and CEO of Nanaimo Airport and this is his first time on the board as well as Dunlop who is the owner of Ladysmith Home Hardware and Building Centre, and Banasky who owns D. Banasky Logging Consultants Ltd.
Stone, president of Uforik Computers in town, was an interim board member in 2013.
Morencie was also on the board last year and owns Red's Emporium carrying second hand household items.
Retiring from the board are vice president Rhonda Shirley, director Kathy Holmes and director Nita Grant.
"Rhonda has said she's stepping but will be available for volunteer projects," said Waters.
An emotional Shirley had a few words to say on the night.
"It's been my pleasure to serve on the board of directors. It's been very rewarding, I've met some awesome people and I really believe in the chamber," she said. "Kudos to those stepping up to the board, it's an exciting time and change is always good."
Treasurer Michael Furlot presented his treasurer's report with the chamber running a surplus of $994 revenue versus expenses, 2012's total of $485.
"It's been a challenging year for businesses and the chamber is no different," said Furlot. "We've had to walk a tight rope with out finances but we've looked after them in a responsible way.
"Our golf tournament and home garden and business show were both profitable situations quite acceptable in comparison to the previous year. The team play across the board and staff was awesome through the year and although our net income was only $994, it's a great achievement. We closed office during the last week of the year and it was a sacrifice we were willing to make. Staff made a big contribution and too often they don't get enough recognition."