With a trade show, hosting the Northwestern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce annual meeting, and much more in the works for the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce, president Alan Tibbetts said 2003 will be a busy year.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” he said this morning.
“The centennial is great. I’m even growing a beard. Well, it’s really stubble right now. I’m guess I’m going for the ‘worst beard,’” he chuckled.
Two major events being planned by the Chamber this year is a trade show, slated for May 9-10 at the Memorial Sports Centre, and the NOACC meeting this fall.
“The trade show is going to have a centennial theme,” noted Tibbetts. “We didn’t have the trade show [in 2002], so we wanted to do it bigger and better than ever this year.
“And at the end of September, we’ll have the NOACC meeting, which will be around the same time at the ‘Northern Networks’ [trade] conference,” he added.
“They’ll bring a lot of people interested in business development to the area, so it will be a great opportunity.”
Tibbetts also said the Chamber likely will have a slightly more political focus this year, with more emphasis on lobbying for issues that concern business owners.
While he noted it’s hard to say what issues might pop during the course of the year, one certainty is the Northwestern Health Unit’s order to businesses to prohibit smoking in all enclosed public areas.
“Our opinion, at the moment, is that the provincial government, and not the local health unit, should be responsible for this,” Tibbetts remarked. “[Dr. Pete Sarsfield] is acting, and we’ll have to do something about it.”
Looking back at 2002, Tibbetts pointed to a couple of highlights.
“One big thing that happened was we got rid of our deficit,” he noted. “We started the year with a $20,000 deficit. Now, we’re practically breaking even.
“That’s thanks to the $3 coin program. It’s what mainly got us out of deficit,” he said. “It’s been very successful and we hope to continue on with that success in the centennial year.”
Tibbetts also said “Quest for the Best,” the annual singing contest that once again was held in conjunction with the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship back in July, was a “great success,” adding it likely would be held again this year with the bass tournament.
“And the partnership with the bass committee went pretty well, and that’s important. Partnership is my theme for the year, really,” he added.
“We want to work on more partnerships. With the town, the Rainy River Future Development Corp. More contact with the International Falls Chamber of Commerce because both communities are very similar. I think we could benefit from more co-operation.
“Just as we’d like to work more with the Emo and Rainy River Chambers to promote the area. If you promote the area, it can only be good for the town.
“I want to get everybody on the same song sheet,” he stressed.
Fort Frances Times
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