By Gagandeep Ghuman
Published: April. 14, 2012
It’s time for the Squamish Chamber of Commerce to put behind the negatives, and focus on the positives going ahead, says Patrick Stafford-Smith, the acting president of the Squamish Chamber of Commerce.
“We have a lot of activities going on besides these resignations, and a lot of it is overblown, and over politicised,” he said.
He spoke to the Reporter after the chamber board met for the first time following a string of resignations in the past few weeks.
Six board members, Jasmine Henczel, Denise Jimmo, Ron Anderson, Ana Santos, Michele Ellis, and Gina Ball resigned one after the other last month.
The acting president said the chamber hopes to move past recent events, diffuse internal difference, and realign its focus to provide benefits to its members.
“It doesn’t matter what happened yesterday. We need to stop worrying about internal things and start concentrating on the external things,” he said.
“The challenge is to show people that good stuff is happening and there is value in being a member of the chamber.”
Smith, who moved to Squamish two years ago, runs a management consulting firm that helps business with expansion and business development.
He said at the most recent meeting, the remaining board members looked back at the state of affairs and the legacy they had inherited.
The remaining board members, Gregory Fischer, Heidi VanLith, Elliot Moses, Sameer Kajani, and Mike Quesnel, and Roopy Toor, also decided to strike a task force to evaluate the financial situation.
“We want to make sure what we are inheriting,” he said.
He said despite its perception, the chamber is a good organisation for business people to join and to know each other.
The luncheon meeting, and after 5 have excellent participation, and with soon to be launched speak series, the chamber board will concentrate on helping businesses grow and support each other.
