It’s been a long-standing Manitoba Chambers of Commerce (MCC) tradition to take advantage of our travel-friendly summer months and get out past the Perimeter Highway to visit local chambers of commerce around the province.
These summer daytrips provide MCC President & CEO Chuck Davidson and other team members the opportunity to connect face to face with local chamber leaders to discuss successes, opportunities, and challenges in their communities. In addition to meeting chamber staff and board members, the team often meets with local chamber member businesses, touring organizations, operations, and facilities – an excellent way to learn about all the wonderful business activity happening across the province!
Seeing Stonewall
Chuck and Brent Hutton, MCC’s Director of Business Development and Member Relations, had the pleasure of visiting the Stonewall and District Chamber of Commerce (SCC) for an afternoon of meetings, greetings, and sightseeing on Thursday, August 8.
Chuck and Brent began the day by joining SCC members for their monthly meeting at Something Beautiful Café and Gift Shop. A highlight of the meeting was the presentation of SCC’s soon-to-be-launched revitalized website.
SCC President Robert Price-Lewis and Director Genni Hibbert then took Chuck and Brent on a tour of Stonewall that included visits to several local member businesses, offering an opportunity to learn more about the area’s economic landscape and discuss strategies for future growth in the region.
After a stop at the Association of Community Living day room they visited the Town Hall, where they met with Stonewall CAO and Chamber Treasurer Wally Melnyk.The tour continued with a visit to Quarry Park, where they explored the Heritage Arts Centre – a venue SCC uses often for community events and forums. The walk down Main Street then led them to the South Interlake Region Library, where Director Clint Curle provided insights into this vital community hub. The Main Street tour concluded at the Veterans Memorial Sports Complex, then the Rockwood Motor Inn for refreshments.
Learning at the Lake
The Manitoba Chambers of Commerce had an insightful visit to the Falcon and West Hawk Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, August 15, learning about sustainable tourism development opportunities in the region. Chuck Davidson, President & CEO, and Nick Gamble, MCC’s Policy Analyst, enjoyed a tour expertly led by Shaun Harbottle, owner of the Crescent Beach Cottages. They had the pleasure of visiting Corley Sweeting of The Laughing Loon gift shop and Kevin Haiko of The Nest Café at Falcon Lake to hear about the challenges facing their businesses.
The conversation touched on the lack of local municipal representation due to the communities’ location within a provincial park, park decision-making not being done locally, and local tax revenues flowing into general government funds that aren’t tied to reinvestment in the area. They also heard about how refurbishment delays for the West Hawk Lake seawall have affected visitation this summer. Still, everyone saw the amazing potential of this beautiful area of the Whiteshell Provincial Park, along with the opportunity to make Manitoba parks more accessible, grow tourism revenue for the province, and share the incredible value our province’s parks offer with a wider audience. The MCC believes that with the right investment, the region has the potential to be a leading Canadian tourism attraction.
The Manitoba Chambers of Commerce is grateful to the Stonewall & District Chamber of Commerce and the Falcon and West Hawk Chamber of Commerce for the warm welcome to their communities, and for taking time out of their busy schedules to show us around!
