Chamber president to build on current plans

The president of the Emo Chamber of Commerce for 2001 said she will continue to build on promoting the town to the rest of Northwestern Ontario.
“What I’d like to see is the Chamber of Commerce become more active in the community as a group, and promote Emo and the surrounding area more than we have,” added Colleen Vennechenko.
Vennechenko was born and raised in Emo and is co-owner of the Corner Closet there.
With no one offering to take the helm for the new year, Vennechenko was approached by other Chamber members to lead the way.
“Nobody else wants it,” she admitted. “But it’s kind of like a challenge. I think some new blood in there is good.”
Vennechenko said she doesn’t want to bring about big changes within the Chamber, just build on its current projects.
“There’s Holly Daze [each December] and our Spring Fever Days on the 19th, 20th, and 21st of April and that’s always a big promotion for Emo,” she noted.
Vennechenko added she will work closely with the new council to promote business in Emo, including Reeve Russ Fortier who sits on the Chamber of Commerce board.
Vennechenko also hopes more businesses will jump on board and become members this year.
“We’re going to see if they want to belong to the North Western Ontario Tourism Association [NWOTA]. There is a few perks to that, you get a Visa discount,” she said.
“When, at Christmas time, we worked as a group and advertised everywhere, it worked well,” she added.
Vennechenko will be joined by new Chamber of Commerce vice-president Dave Goodman, owner of Borderland Esso in Emo.
The pair replace last year’s co-presidents, Kent Ogden and Dan Loney.