North Okanagan Shuswap MP Mel Arnold swears in the 2023-2024 Armstrong Spallumcheen Chamber of Commerce board of directors. (submitted photo)

By Kevin Rothwell

business group

New president for Armstrong-Spallumcheen Chamber of Commerce

Nov 20, 2023 | 9:20 AM

Spicy to mild, the Armstrong Chamber of Commerce annual AGM was the spectrum thanks to a chili cook-off competition. Donna Steeves turkey chili was the favourite of the eight entries.

Lori Shepherd, Donna Steeves and Madison Reynolds (submitted image)

After the food, it was down to business, as the chamber elected a new president and a number of new board members. Madison Reynolds from Armstrong Pride Society takes over the helm from Lori Shepherd of BDO. Reynolds has been on the board for six years.

“We were able to put over $400,000 back into the community through events and promotions. We try to source everything we can locally to continue to keep our business community healthy,” Executive Director Patti Noonan said.

The chamber finished the year with a slight deficit of $791 on revenues of over $408,000, but has a healthy overall financial picture.

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Noonan highlighted numerous community events in her report from the Grilled Cheese competition to the Pumpkin Festival, noting that many of the events wouldn’t be possible without a robust grant program.

The organization boasts the best business participation in the province, with 93 per cent of businesses and organizations in the catchment area involved.

The rest of the board consists of:

1^st Vice President             Marc Szarek  Bloom Flower Festival

2^nd Vice President            Kim Magarvey The Hamlets

Directors

Patti Wood                         Wood Naturals

Amanda Illidge                  Valley First Financial

Trish Van Tienhoven       Primerica

Crystal Workman              VantageOne Credit Union

Goret Fortoura                  Hub International

Michelle Hill                      Hill Environmental

Kevin Rothwell                  North Okanagan Hospice Society

Christa Schneider             Okanagan Regional Library – Armstrong Branch

Yolanda Liman                  Drawing It Out

For more information on the chamber click here.