HELLO 2022

We're working smarter and harder. 2021 was full of chaotic challenges, yet we remain confident that our work will continue to support our members when they need it the most. We assign our resources carefully to areas that we can control where we can make a difference....
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CALL OUT FOR NOMINATIONS & APPLICATIONS FOR 2022 CHAMBER BOARD DIRECTORS.
Apply to be on our Board or nominate somebody who has talents to share. Whether you have an hour to give or a few hours per month, this is an opportunity to work with a great group of professionals. Expand your network and contribute to your community.

Thank you to our current Board Directors- the diverse representation and different perspectives are invaluable at the table.
To apply, click here. To nominate, click here.

The deadline for nominations and applications is February 16- all documents will be reviewed at the February Board meeting. Elections will be held at our 2022 Annual General Meeting.
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MARK YOUR CALENDARS | 2022 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING.

March 16, 2022 | 12:00 - 1:00 PM

Details coming soon!
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MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS.
We're growing! We've seen an uptick in new memberships and have moved from 360 to 373 members. We need every one of you! Your dues help to fund the work that we do to support you. In exchange, we strive to make sure that every member is receiving good value through advocacy, education & supports, membership engagement and/or membership benefits.

We are once again freezing membership rates, as was the case for 2020 and 2021. We are stronger together, and we hope to freeze our rates until we are through the pandemic. This will be possible with a stable and growing membership. So tell a fellow business owner to get onboard and become a member of our Chamber!

Your membership is a guarantee that you do not have to face these times alone. Thank you for your continued support and for the opportunity to work with and for you.
WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST MEMBER.
Hive & Co. Cleaning | hiveandco.ca
Hive & Co. Cleaning strives to provide the best possible cleaning service that is tailored specifically to your property. They work with the property owners to create a plan that works for everyone. Click here to learn more.
ADVOCACY.
We finished 2021 working on some important issues that affect our community's economy. The fundamental job of the Chamber is to mind the wellness of our members and our economy. We know about the challenges that can affect doing business in Revelstoke, and we have a system in place to address issues that are brought forth for advocacy.

Through an established process, our Chamber was able to offer suggestions regarding old growth deferral implementation. We offered a letter of support to the BC Interior Forestry Museum for a grant application to build a new structure for outdoor events. We also issued a letter of support for a new commercial passenger transportation service to connect rural BC to the rest of the province, to fill a gap that was left when the Greyhound Bus ceased operations.

Our Executive Director also attends numerous meetings to voice the needs of the community on key issues- Click here to see a letter from the Honourable Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation to thank our Chamber for participating in discussions about economic recovery for Revelstoke.

On a local level, we work with the City of Revelstoke to ensure that when information comes available about local issues, the Chamber can support communication to our members. There is currently no update of note regarding any street closures related to future work on Grizzly Plaza. This topic remains active at our monthly Board Meetings and we will inform our members when there is any news to share.
If you'd like to bring forth an issue for our Advocacy Committee, or have a request for a letter of support, please reach out.
EDUCATION & RESOURCES.

RAPID TESTS FOR YOUR BUSINESS OR NON-PROFIT.
It's been a tough three weeks for Revelstoke as our confirmed cases of COVID-19 continue to be at
levels much higher than we've seen before - the demand for rapid tests is higher than ever. Rapid tests can be very helpful in deploying your workforce with confidence, but the inventory remains tough to secure.
For those BUSINESSES who are interested in pursuing rapid test inventory for employee use, visit Safe Screen BC. Learn the steps required of businesses for administering the tests, training staff, reporting and the cost associated with the program.
Registered NON-PROFITS can apply to the Red Cross for a similar program. Learn more here.
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INTRODUCING REVY. BUCKS.
We’re embarking on a new program to help keep dollars local. REVY. Bucks is a tool that will allow customers to purchase cards that can be spent at any participating business in Revelstoke. Once your business has registered, REVY. Bucks can be redeemed at your business after customers purchase them via the Support Local BC website. This program is active in 100 communities across BC and has been very successful. All non-franchise licensed Revelstoke businesses are invited and encouraged to register!

The fun stuff: To celebrate the launch of this program, we're using grant funds to provide incentive dollars for a limited time. When a customer purchases an e-gift card from Support Local BC for REVELSTOKE, they will receive a promo bonus card of equal value for a limited time. The promo codes can be redeemed and applied only at other participating REVELSTOKE businesses. These top-up dollars are funded by grant funding from Shop Local BC.

This introductory offer ends at 11:59 PM on February 15th, 2022 or once our budget for incentives has been expended- whichever comes first.

REVY. Bucks is brought to you with grant funding from Columbia Basin Trust and Shop Local BC, with support from BC Chamber, Tourism Revelstoke, Community Futures Revelstoke and Community Economic Development for City of Revelstoke and CSRD Area B.
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DIGITAL ADOPTION.
We've posted a series of great success stories featuring three of our members who utilized support programs to up their digital game. Click here to see examples of businesses that took the plunge to further digitize their operations and to hear the benefits of adopting this approach.

Revelstoke’s business development organizations are committed to helping your business thrive and digitize through the City of Revelstoke’s Tech Strategy. Contact the Chamber, or any of these working partners to find out how: Community Futures Revelstoke, Basin Business Advisors Program, City of Revelstoke, BC and Startup Revelstoke.
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RECOVERY TASK FORCE.
The Recovery Task had their first meeting of 2022. There is a steady stream of work that goes on behind the scenes. Read about what the Recovery Task Force has been up to here. Stay up to date here.

TO HELP YOU STAY INFORMED.

MANDATORY COVID-19 SAFETY PLANS REIMPOSED FOR B.C. BUSINESSES.
COVID-19 Workplace Safety Plans were in effect from June 2020 through June 2021. As a response to the situation caused by the Omicron variant, Dr. Bonnie Henry has issued a public health order making the reimposition of the plans mandatory.
 
A fillable template for businesses is found on WorkSafeBC’s website here, as well as a guide for employers. Businesses must display a copy of their COVID-19 Safety Plan both on-line and in a place in the business where it is visible to employees, contractors and customers.

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PAID SICK LEAVE.
Effective January 1, 2022, B.C.'s first-ever permanent paid sick leave comes into effect with 5 paid sick days each year. Both full- and part-time employees are eligible for this benefit. Click here to learn more.
A REMINDER TO OUR MEMBERS that the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) is still in effect. If employees are having to isolate due to COVID related symptoms, this is an option for employees until May 2022.
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SUPPORT PROGRAMS.
Stay up to date with the latest Federal and Provincial information. If you need support with navigating current updates, please contact our Outreach Support worker, Carolyn Gibson, free of charge at startup@revelstokecf.com or call her directly at 250-814-3952.
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ECONOMIC SUPPORTS FOR BUSINESSES, NON-PROFITS & COMMUNITY GROUPS.
Access economic recovery and financial benefits for your business, industry, non-profit organization or community group from the federal and provincial governments. Click here to learn more about all of these grants, loans and support, including the latest COVID Closure Relief Grant in regards to the the latest Provincial Health Officer (PHO) orders.
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COVID-19 RENT AND PROPERTY EXPENSE SUPPORT FOR BUSINESSES.
The government announced new proposed regulatory changes in December to temporarily expand eligibility for wage and commercial rent support for businesses and other organizations under the Local Lockdown Program. Click here to learn more.
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CANADA SUMMER JOBS (CSJ) 2022 – CALL FOR APPLICATIONS.
Looking to hire a youth this summer? The annual call for applications for the Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) program is open. Employment and Social Development Canada will be accepting applications until January 25, 2022. Click here to learn more.
MEMBER ENGAGEMENT & EVENTS.

JANUARY ENGAGEMENT - AMBASSADOR PROGRAM.
UPDATE: We had to postpone our session due to staff illness. Stay tuned for an update for a new time and date for a session about the Revelstoke Ambassador Program. Our Visitor Experience Manager Rowan Hargreaves will take us on a (virtual) tour to learn why you should get your employees on board for this quick, free and valuable program.

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BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL 2022 - POSTPONED.
We've been working closely with our friends at the Roxy Theatre and we have made the tough decision to postpone this event. We are exploring our options with BMFF for a later calendar date when the time is right. As we launch programs and events, our hearts need to be all in - and until things settle down for our community through the COVID lens, we will take a pause on this event. Thanks to Greg at the Roxy Theatre for sharing our views and our values.
MEMBER BENEFITS.

Learn how to take full advantage of your Chamber membership by exploring your options here.
VISITOR EXPERIENCE & TOURISM.
2021 NPS SURVEY.
We are really excited to share this H U G E win with everyone!

The results are in for the 2021 Visitor Experience survey. This survey allowed us to calculate a Net Promoter Score (NPS) for Revelstoke as a destination. If you’re not familiar with NPS, the metric measures how likely customers are to recommend a business, place or experience (in our case, Revelstoke) to others. It takes into account people that had a really positive experience and those who had a not so great experience to calculate a score for the destination. NPS scores are used as benchmarks for success for tourism businesses & experiences around the globe.

Thanks to the hard work of the Visitor Centre team in getting visitors to complete the survey, in tandem with Tourism Revelstoke sharing the survey online, we had a total of 629 responses this year.

Last year, our NPS score was 68, putting us in the ‘Excellent’ category.

This year, our NPS score is a whopping 80, putting Revelstoke as a destination into the ‘World Class’ category, a huge win for the whole community.

This is a concrete statistic that supports what we all know to be true - that Revelstoke is amazing and that there are a lot of hard working people who make and keep it that way.

Thank you for everything you do to make Revelstoke a world-class destination.
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CHAMBER TOURISM STAKEHOLDER MARKETING.
Thank you to those who participated in our Visitor Experience Guide this year. Our team delivered the remainder of the 2021 VE Guides to businesses to stock them up for the busy holiday season. The 2022 Guides will be available by the end of January. We have some exciting updates to the guide and are looking forward to sharing this with the community.

We have limited spaces available on our ferry brochure racking and summer roaming van programs for 2022. If you would like to get your brochures in front of visitors in these key locations, please contact Rowan Hargreaves, Visitor Experience Manager, at visitor.exp@revelstokechamber.com.  
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WHAT'S UP THIS WEEK.
The Visitor Centre team has restarted the weekly 'What's Up This Week' email and poster printout!

This serves as a great resource for keeping staff and customers up to date on what's happening around town.

Submit your business' applicable email addresses below to receive the weekly poster sharing updated events, arts and culture, sports, wellness, and more.
The Revelstoke Chamber of Commerce gratefully acknowledges that we live, work and play on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Sinixt, Ktunaxa, Secwepemc and the Syilx peoples.