There will be some new faces and plenty of returning faces in 2023 for the Swift Current and District Chamber of Commerce. 

The Living Sky Casino events centre hosted the Swift Current and District Chamber of Commerce yesterday and its Annual General Meeting for 2023. During the meeting, a variety of topics was covered, including its 2023 Board of Directors.

Karla Wiens, CEO and Board Secretary for the Swift Current and District Chamber of Commerce, is excited to work with everyone this year on doing what the Chamber does best. 

"There's a whole list that I could rattle off," said Wiens. "But in a nutshell, we provide opportunities for people to connect with referral sources with new employees and with colleagues starting a business. It's very important to have those connections in our community for various resources, advice, and just to get the word out there."

Also presenting at the AGM, was Mark Clements. He will be undertaking his third term as Chairperson for the Swift Current and District Chamber of Commerce. He thinks that the trajectory they have been on for the last year, coming out of the pandemic, has been a good one.

Mark Clements, Chairperson SCDCCMark Clements, Chairperson for the Swift CUrrent and District Chamber of Commerce, 2023.

"We've been on a consistent positive path for the last number of years," said Clements. "That's in great part to the strong directors that we have on the board and the great leadership that we get from Karla Wiens in our CEO role, and Heidi Deg in our executive assistant role."

This year's appointments are as follows:

 

  • Mark Clements, Chairperson Innovation, Credit Union 
  • Warren Hope, 1st Vice Chairperson, Value Partners Investment Counsel 
  • Chelsey Stock, Treasurer, Stark & Marsh CPA LLP 
  • Vim Parmar, Past Chairperson, Wheatland Machine Shop/Beachcomber 
  • Bryce Martin, Director, Great Plains College 
  • Ashley Peterson, Director, Living Sky Casino 
  • Nathan MacDonald, Director, SC Bronco’s 
  • Lindsay Gerbrandt, Director, The Pinery Tree Farm 
  • Garry Koebel, Director, The Sputtergotch Toy Co. 
  • Doug Evjen, Director, SaskTel 
  • Alicia Laird, Director, MNP 
  • Logan Spearing, Director, Kanuka Thuringer 
  • Patrick Shields, Director, Footworks Advanced Foot Care 
  • Pat Friesen, City of SC Liaison Rep 
  • Butch Gering, RM of SC Liaison Rep 

 

Of course, not to be forgotten are the leading ladies at the Chamber, who promote and encourage attendance at their various functions and organize and direct most of them.

 

  • Karla Wiens, CEO & Board Secretary 
  • Heidi Deg, Executive Assistant 

 

"I'm often asked by people who hear about the Chamber of Commerce a lot because we have various social media platforms," said Wiens. "We're doing the best we can. There's two of us to utilize those platforms to the best of our ability."

Members of the Chamber can expect another year of encouraging business in Swift Current and area. Fundraisers, mixers, and informative presentations are all key staples they are happy to be putting on in person again in 2023. 

"The challenge that we have is providing that value, recognizing that we have many diverse industries that are represented in our membership base," said Wiens. "We really value the feedback from our members because we might think we know what's important, but we want to hear it from our membership and try to provide opportunities, whether that's educational resources or direction for different advice, and in various fields. So we definitely want to hear from our membership, and we will do our best to provide them with that value."