In June the AV Chamber board passed the following motion: “That if the Raven Coal Project goes ahead, the AV Chamber of Commerce would support shipping through Port Alberni given all environmental permits are in place and there are net benefits to the Alberni Valley”. Over the past two weeks we polled our members by email as to whether they supported that motion, or not. 62% of those responding supported the motion and 38% did not. 84.5% of respondents preferred transportation by rail and 15.5% preferred trucking. Of course, at this point in time this is all academic until there is a decision on whether there will be a mine or not. The chamber would like to thank those that responded (72 in total). There were two subjective questions in the survey, the results of which will be discussed in a later article.
The Chamber’s “Shop Alberni” campaign carries through until December 31st so keep using up those discount cards. Look for the Shop Alberni posters in shop windows and you can save considerable money by shopping locally. Early in the New Year, we will pick up all the cards and draw for a brand new Blu Ray Player compliments of Alberni Technical Solutions, on Argyle. Thanks to all the participating sponsors and our media partners for making the campaign a success.
The membership invoices for calendar year 2012 (our centennial) are in the mail. We hope that you will renew your membership and invite your colleagues who aren’t yet members to join. Our mandate to be ”the voice of business in the Alberni Valley” can only be successfully achieved with a strong membership backing us up.
Good health, a very merry Christmas and a prosperous 2012 to you all from the staff and directors of the Alberni Valley Chamber of Commerce!
Thought for the Week:
“At Christmas play and make good cheer, for Christmas comes but once a year.” Thomas Tussler
FROM THE MANAGER’S DESK
SUBMITTED BY MIKE CARTER
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ALBERNI VALLEY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE