Timmins Mayor Tom Laughren offered some advice to the new Chamber of Commerce president and board members, as well as to a number of city council and mayoral candidates who attended the Chamber's 65th annual general meeting last night.
“There have been many in this group, including many on council, who sometimes think the best method for the Camber and the city to get along would be that we would always be a little bit at odds,” Laughren said. “I’m going to tell you that having spent eight years in the mayor’s chair, the best way to move this community forward is the great working relationship that we have with the Chamber and all the other community members. That’s how you move a community forward.”
“I think it’s important what we’ve done in the past,” Laughren continued, “but when you look forward, there’s so much opportunity for Timmins, that if we all work together, we’ll take Timmins to the next level.”
Sixty-five years ago, the Timmins Chamber of Commerce started out with an overall goal of securing the future of Northern Ontario and pushing the area in terms of growth and prosperity.
Since then, the Chamber has expanded to include advocating for business interests, lobbying for the growth and economic stability of the region and hosting various networking events for its members.
Last night, the Days Inn was host to the 65th Annual General Meeting and Presidents’ Dinner of the Timmins Chamber of Commerce.
Members from throughout the region filled the ballroom to join Chamber guests MPP Gilles Bisson, Laughren and Robert Gignac, author of “Rich is a State of Mind” for the event that would see the swearing in of a new Chamber President and Board of Directors.
Chamber President for 2013-2104 and now Timmins Chamber of Commerce Past President, Phil Barton reflected upon some of the accomplishments of the past year.
“One of our bigger achievements was the accommodation of the business plan for the Climate Improvement Report on Purchasing which was presented to Timmins City Council this September,” said Barton. “This was a follow up from last year when we did our first business plan report on development which was very well received, where the municipality followed up on twelve of twelve of our recommendations.”
“Another big achievement was with the Ring of Fire and ensuring that our members’ voice was being heard at the provincial level through the Ontario Chamber presenting our members’ ideas for participating in the Ring of Fire,” he continued.
“We participated with Timmins 20/20 at many levels and one of our objectives that was fulfilled was the creation of the Community Events Calendar which can be found online at the Timmins Chamber website (http://www.timminschamber.on.ca/events) so members can see what’s happening and can make sure that their events don’t clash with other events.”
Barton was pleased to announce that “We had a number of policies adopted by the Ontario Chamber including improvements to the Endangered Species Act, requiring that Government does their due diligence before divesting themselves of Crown Corporations and pushing for infrastructure projects that might be of national importance,” during his term as Chamber President.
With the passing of the gavel, incoming Chamber President, Alan Thorne, who has been on the Board of Directors for five years, reflected upon his experience with the Timmins Chamber of Commerce as he laid out his thoughts on the future.
“What I’ve found since joining the board,” he said, “Is the level of energy and commitment. It’s a great bunch of people with a very positive approach that is both constructive and solutions oriented. That’s one of the things I intend to continue with, to keep bringing that constructive and solutions oriented approach as we advocate for the approximately 750 members of the Timmins Chamber of Commerce.”
“We’re here to help,” continued Thorne. “We represent a lot of great businesses who do a lot of great things in town. We support charities, efforts and initiatives and we want to keep building on that.”
(PHOTO: Mayor Tom Laughren addresses last night's Timmins Chamber of Commerce AGM. Dave Kramer for TimminsToday)
