In honour of Chamber of Commerce week, the Nakusp Chamber of Commerce welcomed the community and invited citizens to the information centre for an open house on Friday.
Offering coffee and tea, along with goodies like lemon squares and pineapple squares, residents were encouraged to check outthe event and gather information about a variety of things, such as local businesses, membership benefits, and regional andprovincial attractions.
“It’s a chance for chamber members, and potential members, and community members to come in and learn a little bit moreabout the chamber and what we do here and ask questions.” said Cedra Ei, visitor information councillor for the chamber ofcommerce.
While the chamber was prepared for an influx of people, it proved to be a quiet day.
The event took place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and in that time, about half a dozen people came to the open house,something which didn’t really surprise Ei.
“In the winter time, it is very quiet,” she said “We get a much higher proportion of visitors than locals through.”
While the number was small, some locals did stop by to check things out.
One of the few who were able to make it put to the open house was Dr. Laurie Page of the Nakusp Veterinary Clinic. She enjoyedthe event, and liked that she was able to gather information about some of the things offered by the chamber.
“It’s nice to get out and take some time to talk to people and find out what’s going on, and what the services are,” she said.“Normally, I just zoom around and don’t pay any attention to the things out there that I should know about.”
While the chamber is doing well, there are some challenges it faces.
“Funding is always a challenge for summer students and for the projects that we want to take on,” said Ei. “Space is always a bigchallenge, especially in the summer, when this place is a very, very busy visitor’s centre.”
Finding board members can sometimes be a hurdle as well.
“Some years we have lots of people interested in serving on the board, and some years we don’t. This year, we’re definitely insearch of board members.”
Anyone looking to become part of the chamber, or just gather information, can head to the information centre at 92 6th Avenue.