Welcome
to the Burlington Chamber of Commerce. We have been the voice of
business in Burlington since 1947. With 1,100 companies as members we advocate
on behalf of local business and provide valuable networking opportunities to help
your business grow and prosper.
MUNICIPAL ELECTION SURVEY RESULTS RELEASED
& ALL CANDIDATES MEETING SCHEDULED
Over the last two weeks, the Chamber
conducted a survey of members to find out what issues should be
priorities for the new council after the October 25 municipal election.
The survey was completed by 187 people. The top issues were capital
spending, taxes, and city operations spending. On the specific issue of
the pier, an overwhelming 58% said the city should "just finish it".
Almost half said the size of council should remain the same.
Click here for full survey results.
Visit our
election webpage for more details about the election. Mark October
22 on your calendar for our
All Candidates Meeting.
GENERAL RICK HILLIER IN BURLINGTON
The Burlington Chamber has made special
arrangements to have
General Rick Hillier speak to a Burlington business
audience. General Hillier was Canada's Chief of the Defence Staff - the
highest ranking position in the Canadian Forces - from February 2005 to
July 2008. Throughout his career he has had the privilege and pleasure
of commanding troops from the platoon level to the multi-national
formation level within Canada, Europe, Asia and the United States.
General's Hillier's presentation will be educational, entertaining and
inspiring.
Click
here for details.
NOMINATIONS FOR BUSINESS AWARDS
BEING ACCEPTED
Nominations for the
Chamber's Business Excellence Awards and the
Mayor's Community Service Awards are now being accepted. If you
know of a Burlington company that is worthy of acknowledgement, help
them get recognized.
Visit our
Business Awards Gala web page for the nomination forms.
The deadline for nominations is Friday October
29, 2010.
SMALL BUSINESS WEEK BREAKFAST
Join us on October 19 as the
Burlington Chamber commemorates
Small Business Week with a celebration breakfast.
Join keynote speaker Dean Paul Pates of McMaster's DeGroote School
of Business. Dean Bates will talk about small business in
Burlington and how the new Burlington Campus of the DeGroote Centre
for Advanced Management Studies will be an important part of our
community. This is your
opportunity to see
McMaster's new Burlington campus - the Ron
Joyce Centre.
Click here for details.
SPECIAL HEALTH EVENTS
The Chamber is hosting three special health-related events to help you
make sure you and your business are in top condition.
CPR &
First Aid Training on September 15 will ensure you have staff that
are properly trained in CPR and first aid.
Stress Reduction 101 on October 14 will feel less stress at work,
develop skills, and create a stronger team helping you to build a
successful business. And, our Health
Showcase on October 28 will give you the chance to network (like our
popular Business After 5) and visit healthcare providers in a tradeshow
atmosphere.
FREE NETWORKING SEMINARS
Many companies just like yours join the
Chamber so they can capitalize on all the networking opportunities. Are
you making the most of of all of our
BA5s and
BB9s? Our
two special networking workshops will give you all the hints, tips and
practice you need to hone your networking skills.
Networking Basics is on September 9 and
Advanced Networking Techniques is on October 4. Both are free to
Chamber members.
JOINING THE CHAMBER IS "WELCOMING"
After
moving their family business to Burlington, H. Moore Printing
Services recently hosted a Business Before 9 networking event.
During his speech at the event Alex Moore talked about his company's
very positive experience of joining the Burlington Chamber of Commerce.
Watch the video.
OCC AGM
YIELDS AWARD AND RESOLUTION
The
Burlington Chamber of Commerce won a 2010 Ontario Chamber of
Commerce Chair's Award at the Ontario Chamber's Annual General
Meeting held in Windsor from April 29 to May 2. Burlington won the
award in recognition of the Chamber's Economic Uncertainty Seminar
Series held throughout 2009. The Economic Uncertainty Seminars were
set up to help Burlington companies prosper through the economic
downturn of 2009. Topics included: How to Find Financing, Marketing
During a Downturn, Managing Employee Stress, and Receivables
Collection, among others. All the seminars were offered at no
charge. During the policy session at the conference, Chair Jamie
Cunningham presented the
Burlington Chamber's legislative process
resolution. It was adopted by a unanimous vote.
PAST CHAIR'S GOLF TOURNAMENT
The 2010 Past Chair's Golf Tournament wasplayed on June 24 at the
very popular (and golfer friendly) Hidden
Lake Golf Club. The Chamber tournament was a great day of
networking that includes golf, cart, lunch, dinner and prizes.
Click here for all the details
AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED AT GALA
The 2010 Burlington Chamber Business
Awards Gala was a tremendous success and a great night for business
in Burlington. Awards were presented by BEDC, Mayor Cam Jackson,
Tourism Burlington and the Chamber.
Click
here for details, photos and winners. Videos of all the
award finalists are now available on our
finalist videos page.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The Burlington Chamber of Commerce 63rd Annual General Meeting was
held on Tuesday April 13 at the Holiday Inn Burlington. The AGM
featured the introduction of the 2010-2011 Board of Directors, approval
of the 2009 AGM Minutes, approval of the Chamber's 2009 financial
statements and the appointment of the Chamber auditor for 2010. Click
here for more photos, videos and details.
ZERO PERCENT MEMBERSHIP FEE INCREASE
After approving the Chamber budget for 2010, the Board of Directors is
very pleased to announce a zero percent Chamber membership fee increase
in 2010. Normally, to balance the
Chamber's budget, membership fees increase at approximately the rate of
inflation. The Chamber Board felt
that after many years of strong support and a year of difficult economic
circumstances, it was important to give something back
to our members. It was felt that
budgeting a zero percent membership fee increase was a great way to do
this.
ECONOMY IN 2010 SURVEY RESULTS ARE
IN
Our "Economy in 2010" survey shows that
Burlington business people are optimistic about their company and the
economy in 2010 compared with 2009. 62% of respondents said the economy
will be better in the new year (a huge increase from the 9% in last
year's survey) and 63% said their business will perform better in 2010
(up from 25% in last year's survey). In all, there is a strong feeling
that 2010 will be much better than 2009.
Click here for the full survey
results. The results are being given to our
Economic Forecast panelists to
give them a sense of the Burlington business community's views on the
economy
