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On behalf of the Board of Directors, staff and myself, welcome to the Abbotsford Chamber website.  We hope you will enjoy your tour and visit us often.  We welcome your feedback and look forward to hearing from you. What is the Chamber to you? It depends on your level of involvement. To me the Chamber is a fairly large networking group.  A group of hardworking individuals who want to meet other business people and at the same time promote their business.  It is a friendly group of people that always has room to expand and welcomes new members. It is Business in Abbotsford.

As of March 2010, our membership includes over seven hundred businesses in the city but in reality we represent even larger numbers than that. Our advocacy role over the past several years has met with much success, most recently with both the soon- to- be new Clearbrook and McCallum interchanges as well as the Abbotsford Airport taxiway improvements which will ultimately benefit all businesses and residents in Abbotsford.

Does your business offer Member to Member discounts to attract new business? Do you take advantage of ‘M2M’ discounts to save money?  If you are not aware of these and the other benefits we offer please contact us.

How can you get involved? Everyone has their own comfort levels.  If you like, start out small. Try coming out to a luncheon or Chamber Connections for example and hand out a few business cards.  Go outside your comfort zone a bit and talk to someone you don’t know.  It doesn’t have to take much but you can make some great new connections before you know it.  Ultimately the more involved you get, the more your business benefits.  Try joining a committee that interests you, such as Member Services, Transportation, Hospitality & Retail, Agriculture or Government Affairs.  There are also the Business Excellence and Golf task forces if those interest you.

The 2010 Olympics and Paralympics have just come to a close. Locally we were privileged to host the Japanese speed skaters, the Russian figure skaters and the US wheelchair curling team.  We have had many tourism benefits from the Games.  Who knows what the long range benefits may be, but I strongly believe there will be benefits just as there are benefits to your Chamber membership.

I am pleased and honoured to be your President for 2010/11. Thank you for your support and please keep in touch.  You the members are the heart of the Abbotsford Chamber.

Warmest regards,
Pat