A MESSAGE FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.
To our Dear Members,
As we wrap up another calendar year, it is a time to reflect on 2021.
In times of prolonged crises, we often find ourselves moving between issues between the waves of the pandemic and the associated challenges. I would invite you to take pause to celebrate your achievements. It is easy to short change ourselves and not assign the credit that is due for the everyday victories that can be easily overlooked.
The Chamber is immersed in the business climate in Revelstoke. You have been faced with worker shortage, supply chain disruption, shifting policy and restrictions - we see you and we congratulate you for the work that you have done this year for your business, for your employees, and for your community.
We are the sum of our parts. Our Chamber IS our members. Our success can be built only on yours.
As we look ahead to 2022, we are eager to shift out of recovery mode to a tactical model more focused on new and exciting projects. However, when we look back on 2021, we realize that there is nothing more exciting than supporting our members and delivering programs to get them through some inexplicably difficult times.
We will continue to follow your lead and respond to your needs as identified by the membership.
If we have delivered programming that has benefited your business in 2021, please consider renewing your membership for 2022 to help us continue this work. We'd like to thank those of you who continue to refer businesses to us for support, and for memberships! It is very heartening when we hear from our members that we are doing good work for you.
I wish you the very best for this holiday season,
Sincerely,
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Stacey Brensrud | Executive Director |
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BC continues to be presented with challenges that demand resilience. Our neighbours including those in Merritt and Abbotsford are facing devastating conditions due to the recent floods.
We have a a little bit of time left to maximize flood donations - today is the last day your donation to the Canadian Red Cross will be matched by both the Provincial and Federal governments.
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Businesses affected by the floods can receive information here.
Emergency Preparedness is essential and we will have more updates to come in this area in the coming months.
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REVYSELL TAKEOVER.
We invite all of Revelstoke’s businesses to join us for the 2nd Annual RevySell Takeover Sale, brought you by the Revelstoke Chamber of Commerce and Community Futures Revelstoke.
Last year’s sale was a huge success, so we’re taking over our local Buy and Sell again. RevySell will be available exclusively for businesses to post their items for sale on Saturday December 4 and Sunday December 5. Take advantage of this group’s incredible reach- 16,800 members!
Special thanks to the RevySell Admins for letting the Chamber and Community Futures take over.
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MOONLIGHT MADNESS DEBRIEF SURVEY.
Please take 5 minutes to help us document the successes, and opportunities to improve this event by taking this short survey. Preliminary feedback has sounded very positive from some businesses- we would like to leave a good solid record of feedback for the coming years so that Moonlight Madness can be a successful event for the NEXT 40 years!
The Chamber was able to offer staff support this year, due to grant funding from ETSI-BC. The marketing budget was provided by the Downtown Retail Committee, and the Chamber helped with overall administration. Thank you to those on the Retail Committee who give their valuable time to manage funds and rally the troops!
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REVY. BUCKS CAMPAIGN.
Stay tuned for a new project we've been working on- soon you'll be able to register your business to accept pre-paid Visa Debit Cards for local purchases. We've been chasing down grant funding to bring this great program to Revelstoke in partnership with Tourism Revelstoke and our other partner organizations Community Futures Revelstoke and Community Economic Development for City of Revelstoke and CSRD Area B. Great things are happening at the Business Information Centre to support the success of your business.
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OUTREACH.
Revelstoke's Business Outreach program has directly supported over 115 businesses throughout the pandemic. Please get in touch with Carolyn Gibson at startup@revelstokecf.com or 250-814-3952 to access this service, free of charge.
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The team at the Visitor Centre has distributed over 3000 of the new version of REVY. masks, to support your business and customers. These masks are courtesy of Community Economic Development for City of Revelstoke and CSRD Area B, and Tourism Revelstoke.
Open daily 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM closed for the lunch hour Saturday & Sunday.
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UPDATED REVY. RULES POSTERS. |
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Click here to download the updated copy of the REVY. Rules or pop by our office for a printed copy of the poster, free of charge.
We continue to prioritize health and safety for our employees, our residents and our visitors.
As we head into a new season, let's get those snowflakes back into your storefronts to show that we are staying current with the directives.
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OLD GROWTH DEFERRAL ANNOUNCEMENT.
On November 2, the BC Government announced changes that will affect a key pillar of Revelstoke's economy. We've reached out to some key stakeholders to make sure that we are accurately representing the views of our members in this sector. If you consider your business to be part of the forestry sector, please review this letter and offer your insight accordingly.
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ILLUMINATE REVELSTOKE SOCIETY. |
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Illuminate Revelstoke Society has reached a milestone in achieving their vision- This volunteer group has worked with the City of Revelstoke to light up 8 trees in Grizzly Plaza and the results are spectacular.
We share their vision: to bring joy to the community and elevate the sense of arrival in Revelstoke. We’re always looking for opportunities to support our members and our businesses by supporting initiatives like this.
Congratulations to Illuminate Revelstoke Society for securing grant funding and working with the City of Revelstoke to bring this project to life.
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REVELSTOKE 2021 CHRISTMAS EVENTS. |
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While many were planning their summer holidays, the Chamber was working with the Revelstoke Community Spirit Committee to stoke the Holiday Spirits for 2021.
Knowing that events might largely be off the table for the holiday season, the group's efforts were dedicated to co-ordinating and centralizing communication for existing events, and to find new ways to deliver some as well.
Click the links below to see what's going on this December.
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RED BULL ILLUME PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST.
Amazing places attract amazing people. Revelstoke has a world-class pool of talent for local photography, and we are very excited to give a shout out to a member of our Chamber, Steve Shannon Photography!
This is a global-wide competition for action and adventure photography, receiving 50,000+ entries. Out of the top 256 images, 11 of them have been submitted by photographers living in Revelstoke.
Click the links below to see some of Steve's work:
Congratulations to other 4 local photographers that are also doing very well in the Red Bull Illume Photography contest: Daniel Stewart, Lindsay Donovan, Ryan Creary and Bruno Long.
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BUSINESS EXCELLENCE AWARDS.
The 28th Annual Business Excellence Awards were a huge success- we took the show on the road in the REVY. shuttle and delivered the good news to our winners live on Facebook.
This was a huge undertaking and we really want to thank the volunteers, the selection committee, the sponsors & venues, the businesses that donated silent auction items, and our team for making the event a success.
This fundraiser yielded similar results to previous years, and we are celebrating this achievement for our organization.
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DECEMBER ENGAGEMENT.
We know that engagement is important to our members, but we are also hearing that December is jam-packed with challenges for business owners at this time. We will therefore be holding off on events for December to ease up on the calendar and take a pause.
We will ring in 2022 in January with a Chamber luncheon and an apres event in adherence with Provincial Health Orders.
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BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL 2022.
It's true! We're working with the Roxy Theatre to bring the BMFF back to Revelstoke. Tickets will be available soon. Don't worry- we have a plan in case restrictions are implemented. After all, we're working with the winner of the 2021 Business Resilience Award.
BMFF tickets are great stocking stuffers.
This event is a fundraiser for our Chamber.
This is a great way to support one of our members, the iconic Roxy Theatre.
Stay tuned- we will announce when tickets go on sale!
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5 DAYS OF EMPLOYER-PAID SICK LEAVE COMING JANUARY 1ST.
We invite you to take this short survey (less than 5 minutes) to tell us how this impacts you. Survey results are anonymous unless you choose to provide your details.
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WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST MEMBERS. |
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Nat Segal is a professional skier, film producer and writer with over 10 years experience working in the ski and outdoor recreation industries.
Her experience includes creative project and event management, branding, sponsorship and grant writing.
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Paradigm Building Solutions Ltd. is at the forefront of modern home development. They manufacture and produce top quality building components. They own/operate a factory in Louis Creek where they currently manufacture these sustainable and energy efficient products.
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Revelstoke Cleaning Company provides cleaning service for Vacation Rentals, Hotels, Commercial Businesses and Residential Homes.
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Jeff Honig is a full service investment broker that can help with investments, insurance and financial planning and is IIROC Licensed.
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VISITOR EXPERIENCE & TOURISM.
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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 mid 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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AMBASSADOR PROGRAM - COMING SOON.
This free 2 hour training session on Revelstoke knowledge and customer service excellence is available to frontline employees at Chamber member tourism stakeholder businesses.
The Ambassador Program for winter 2021/22 is coming very soon! If you're interested in signing up your tourism frontline team, pre-register by emailing ambassador@revelstokechamber.com.
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Offering employee benefits is one tool to help recruit and retain workers in this climate of worker shortage. Your membership to our Chamber gives you access to the Chambers Plan.
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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.
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