Yorkton Chamber of Commerce History 2009
In 2009, under the continued presidency of Lori Walsh, the Chamber was presented with the opportunity to partner with a number of agencies to sponsor the Livestock Industry Appreciation Night. This event was designed to provide livestock producers with an evening of information as well as an opportunity to network. Representatives from LDM Foods and Richardson Oilseeds gathered to discuss the canola meal their respective canola plants will have available for feed. Following supper Brad Wildeman, President of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, talked about the future of the Canadian beef industry. The Chamber was also afforded the opportunity to partner with the Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment, and Labour to present the War and Peace in the Workplace Seminar. The focus of this seminar was on how to attract, retain, and engage the ideal workforce. It explored diversity in the workplace as well as how to recognize and manage conflict and misunderstandings that occur because of diversity.
Positive Ticketing is a community program where kids are “caught” doing good things and are rewarded with vouchers or coupons for some fun, free activity. Positive Tickets are issued to youth by caring adults for good behaviour, such as staying out of trouble or performing good deeds. This program is making a difference to communities across Canada by helping to build positive relationships between adults and youth. The Yorkton Chamber supports the Positive Ticketing program initiated by the Yorkton Alliance of Asset Champions. In January YRHS grade 11 student Mary Prybylski began spending some time at the Chamber office, participating in a number of Chamber activities to gain experience in the business work world. This is the main element of the Career Work Exploration class offered at the Regional. One of the tasks given to Mary was to survey high school students and employers of students to learn about their expectations of each other. The results of this survey were then published in the April edition of the Courier. In May Dolores Harris was presented with the 2008 Director of the Year Award. This award is presented annually in honour of Ruth Shaw, the former manager of the Chamber. The award recognizes the director who best exhibits enthusiasm, dedication, and a positive attitude towards the Chamber.
At the annual Dine-A-Nite which was held on May 20th, Marie Pawliw of Yorkton Dairy Queen was named 2009 Yorkton Chamber of Commerce Employee of the Year. Also during the month of May the Yorkton Chamber welcomed Jennifer Geddes as the Marketing & Administration Summer Assistant. Jennifer updated the members section on the website in addition to being the Chamber technology guru for the duration of her term.
Yorkton Chamber Business Dinner was held on September 10th; in attendance was the Honourable Ken Krawetz, Deputy Premier who addressed the audience regarding his government’s vision for the province for the upcoming year. Both mayoral candidates and all the candidates for City Council participated in the All Candidates’ Forum in October hosted by the Chamber of Commerce. About 200 citizens attended the Forum to hear the candidates’ views on a variety of topics. In his opening remarks, Randy Atkinson of CJGX Radio encouraged everyone to vote in the upcoming election and paid tribute to our military personnel who have and are continuing to fight for democracy in other parts o the world.
Business After Hours, a mini-tradeshow style exhibition, was held on October 22nd. This event was well attended and the various businesses who participated enjoyed the opportunity to share their business with the public.