Thank you for supporting the  Grande Prairie & District Chamber of Commerce!  This WEEKLY email highlights our member businesses! To make a submission for Member Marketplace, please email tom@gpchamber.com. If you missed our Tuesday CHAMBER NEWS, you can see it here.

Calling all Businesses This March, ATB alongside multiple other organizations across the province will be hosting our first ever virtual Power-Up Event. Part of this event includes a $30 credit for participants to spend in the ATB Marketplace Rural Shops.   This specifically curating Rural Shop is to highlight all the amazing small businesses across the province which are owned and operated outside of Edmonton and Calgary. For the months of March and April all platform fees will be waived for small businesses (processing fees still apply). We would love for you to consider giving it a try, knowing that there's a funnel of customers coming in.  Interested in becoming a vendor? Getting set up is quick and easy.        Follow these steps to get started: Click here to access the back end of the ATB Marketplace Click “Join Now” (on left-hand side) Register your name and email address Once you’ve received back end approval you are ready to start setting things up Watch this instructional video to familiarize yourself with how to’s for your store set up Already have your own Shopify store? Click here to learn how to link it (you still have to follow the steps above before completing this) Get selling! Upcoming Webinars    Work together. Work better. A community collaboration series part three Wednesday, March 17, 2021 | 2 PM | WEB PANEL   For most entrepreneurs, their brand identity is very aligned with their own sense of self. But if the recent global crisis has taught us anything, it’s that what might be true of us, and for us yesterday, may look very different today. The same can be said for many businesses as they’ve been called to transform and evolve in ways never before explored. And so, what does that shift mean for the identity of brand?   Join us for a discussion with Alex Putici, Erynn Lyster and Zach Lyster around the nuances of bringing The Commons and Work Nicer together to grow their resources, opportunities and community—and the importance of allowing your brand to evolve, in order to thrive in a new environment.   This is the third event in our Work Together. Work Better series, designed to bring Alberta’s greatest collaborative minds together. Let’s reimagine our approach to business across the province—deepening our ability to collaborate, innovate and elevate the communities in which we live, work and play —one challenge at a time. Register When is the right time to hire a salesperson? Thursday, March 25, 2021 | 2 PM | WEBINAR   Hiring someone to do sales seems like the perfect solution for the self-described “not a salesperson”. But do you truly know what you need to have in place to make that hire a success? In this 60 minute webinar, you’ll learn: How to set your new hire up for success How much you should invest in both time and money for the hire to pay off (yes, even if they are 100% commission) When does (and does not) a 100% commission structure work What to do if the hire doesn’t work out How your role as a company founder will evolve after your hire Speaker: Kim Orlesky, KO Advantage Group Register We're here to help. Chat with our small business experts and get some valuable advice along the way. Contact us

FINDING SOLUTIONS, SUPPORTING LOCAL, BUILDING NETWORKS   Yvonne Barker is the local STOR-X franchisee owner in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Most of her business comes through social media and, over the past twelve months, COVID added another layer of challenges for her.   “I don’t get many calls or texts as a general rule,” she says. “Plus here in Alberta, we’re still in lockdown. So most of my business comes via Facebook Messenger.”   One of those messages turned out to be an incredibly rewarding – and personally satisfying – experience for her.   Lori Keddie, owner of Fashionista Ladies Wear in Grande Prairie, needed a wardrobe and some custom work done in her store. She’d seen examples of STOR-X work and reached out to Yvonne to set up a time to meet and discuss the project. For Lori, it was also important that the work be done by someone local.   “It’s crucial for us to support local businesses,” she says. “A lot of our customers are small business owners so we appreciate being able to support them as much as we can.”  “From the very beginning, Yvonne saw my vision,” says Lori. “She was able to work around what we wanted to create which was something really special for the store and ultimately our customers.”  “I really appreciated her organization and efficiency. She was always available to answer our questions. And we were attracted to the fact that all the materials are manufactured in Canada. That was a big plus for us.”  For Yvonne, it was a great feeling to not only see the finished product but also to see it being used and knowing the response Lori and her staff were getting from their customers. An unexpected but very nice plus is that it’s also brought in new business for her.   The whole experience was such a resounding success for both Yvonne and Lori that they’re already planning a giveaway. Contest details will be announced soon and local customers in the Grande Prairie community are encouraged to follow both Fashionista (Instagram / Facebook) and STOR-X Grande Prairie to find out more.  COMPLETE STORY AND DETAILS HERE

Every year the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group’s Beauty of the Peace Art Competition is held in partnership with the Grant Berg Gallery. The contest challenges artists in the region to capture the unique and vast beauty of the Peace Region of Alberta and British Columbia. This annual event is also an opportunity for amateur and experienced artists alike to have their work showcased in our gallery. Winners are selected by public opinion ballots collected over the duration of the exhibition and contest. Public voting for the contest winner is only available in person at the Gallery from March 12 at 10:30 a.m. until April 8 at 5 p.m. One vote per person. Starting March 12 until April 10, 2021, the Beauty of the Peace exhibition will be open to the public, free of charge, at the Grant Berg Gallery (located on the ground-level floor of 214 Place, #102, 9909 102nd Street) in Grande Prairie’s City Centre. The exhibition will also be available to view virtually on www.grantberggallery.com but digital voting will not be accepted. 1st Place: One-year representation at the Grant Berg Gallery & limited edition *prints of their artwork 2nd Place: $150 certificate for custom framing at Grant Berg Gallery 3rd Place: $100 certificate for custom framing at Grant Berg Gallery Winners will be announced on April 9, 2021. *Prints sponsored by Image Design. Entry forms are now available to download under the Beauty of the Peace section of our website or by clicking here. Admissions of artwork can be delivered to the Grant Berg Gallery starting Tuesday, March 2 at 10:30 a.m. The deadline for artists to enter and deliver artwork is Wednesday, March 10 at 5:30 pm.

GPRC Continuing Education has received funds to offer select safety courses for free and this is available for a limited time only. The safety courses will stress how formal and thorough training helps to prevent workplace incidents from happening.   Free Course Offerings Face-to-face Forklift Operator Training Course – Beginner  Wheeled Loader Operator  Aerial Lift (Genie Lift) Operator Skid Steer Operator  Fall Protection Videoconference via Zoom (Remote)   Cargo Securement  Online (Self-paced) Behaviour-Based Safety Building a Lasting Culture of Safety  Canada Labour Code – Part II  Caught-in-or-Between Construction Hazards Registration  To register, please contacting GPRC Continuing Education by email: ce@gprc.ab.ca or phone: 780-539-2975, Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Registration cannot be completed online. Conditions This offer is available to residents of the City of Grande Prairie and the County of Grande Prairie. Proof of residence will be required upon registration.  Please note, due to this being available limited time only, funding for these courses will be available on a first-come-first-serve basis. Rescheduling of the course can be made two days prior to the start date, with a one-time chance to move into an alternative course date. Failure to appear for the course will forfeit your opportunity to attend this training for free and you will be required to pay for the course upon re-registration.

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