So, what to do to help celebrate Port Alberni’s centennial? Our brain trust recently met in an out-of-the-way phone booth and we are ecstatic to announce the “Alberni Valley Chamber of Commerce Centennial Beard and Bonnet Contest”!
You can start growing your beards and constructing your bonnets any time now. The judgment day will be Aug. 4 at Bob Dailey Stadium during Port Alberni’s Homecoming event.
Men’s beards will be judged under the following categories: best overall beard, best moustache, best freestyle facial hair and best fake beard.
Women and children’s homemade bonnets will be judged under the categories of: six years old and under, six to 12 years and over 12 years. In the over 12 category, there will be prizes for the best bonnet and the most historically significant bonnet.
The chamber is open to hearing from Alberni Valley sponsors willing to provide a prize for the winners in each category. From ZZ Top long to finely-waxed handlebar moustaches, it will be fantastic to see them all parading about the stage while we celebrate our 100th birthday at the Port Alberni Centennial Homecoming.
In an effort to provide our members with sensible choices when it comes to membership benefits, the chamber has partnered with the Federated Payments team to offer excellent rates on Visa, Mastercard and Interac transactions. Company representative, Neil Gautama, will be knocking on your door soon to introduce you to the program, which stacks up favourably against other such payment programs.
Chambers of Commerce throughout BC are partnering with this company as the savings to members can be substantial. For more information on Federated Payments, you can call the Alberni Valley chamber office at 250-724-6535. Speaking of partnerships, watch for the chamber partnering with national and local travel agencies in the near future – because we’re going to take a little boat ride!
The next networking luncheon is slated for the Alberni Golf Club, Wednesday, March 14. The guest speaker will be the acting Mayor of Parksville to fill us in on what that city's issues are and what some of their plans are.
Moving into April, Vic Goodman, CEO of Campbell River’s economic development corporation, Rivercorp, will be the featured speaker at the Barclay. We will learn about life without Catalyst and the major projects going on in their community that are filling the void. Our May networking luncheon will be the chamber's annual general meeting and election of the new board of directors. It will take place at Chances Rimrock Gaming Centre, May 9. We are looking to host the owner of WestJet for June.
Thought for the Week:
“The secret to being a good manager is keeping the people who hate me away from those who are still undecided.” — Casey Stengel