Progression comes a long way in a community when there is teamwork.
The Bonnyville and District Chamber of Commerce, in partnership will Alberta Labour, is hosting a series of Business Support Network meetings to provide local businesses with a platform to connect and share information.
“The reason we have this regular network meeting is for businesses to have the opportunity to share what’s going on with themselves, to hear updates from the Town and MD of Bonnyville, and from other community partners, so that they can better plan what they’re going to do with their businesses based on the bigger players in town,” said Tanya Oliver, executive director at the Bonnyville and District Chamber of Commerce.
On April 19, they held the fourth bi-monthly meeting since starting in October 2017. Around the table were industry representatives from Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL) and Imperial Oil, local business owners, business managers, and officials from the Town and MD of Bonnyville.
The session began with a summary detailing business support initiatives that are happening across the province. They also talked about the importance of businesses helping and supporting the region, and open communication amongst business owners.
“Getting to know the actual owners is really nice. It’s good to be able to interact with them and see what their concerns are about our industries, people coming in, how we’re going to bring more people in the area to up our sales and to maintain Bonnyville as a strong community,” said Andrew Nikkel, store manager at The Brick.
Richelle Willis, relationship manager at ATB Financial noted, “It was another great event put on by the chamber, and it’s always great to see members of the community getting together to listen and support one another.”
At the request of participants, leaders in the local oil and gas industry were invited to the meetings to provide updates about ongoing plans and strategies.
A representative from CNRL said they need to maintain their competitiveness and ability to compete for investments, resulting in jobs. They also emphasized on working together with politicians, writing letters, and keeping communication open.
The Town and MD of Bonnyville shed some light on recent updates from their respective council meetings.
Local business members had a chance to voice their issues and challenges, hoping to find a solution during the next meeting.
“My biggest concern right now, is the lack of numbers coming through the town. We shouldn’t rely too much on the oil industry and try to find a different industry, to bring more people into the Bonnyville area,” expressed Nikkel.
These bi-monthly meetings are generally done in a compact group, allows attendees to have one-on-one conversations.
“We get about 20 people, so it’s about average and it’s relatively new. We’re still getting the information and invitations out there,” explained Oliver. “It’s nice to have a smaller setting, because everybody gets the chance to talk and to have that conversation.”
Oliver said for the next meeting, they would try to bring in another industry representative to the table.
