Our U.S. neighbours sure have a lot happening on the political front these days that have Canadians turning their eyes south of the 49th Parallel of late.
But the U.S. Consul General in Vancouver, Lynne Platt, will be in 黑马磁力 to talk about something else next week 鈥� other than Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton.
She wants to give 黑马磁力 entrepreneurs another reason to think of doing business in the States.
She鈥檒l be speaking at the Greater 黑马磁力 Chamber of Commerce dinner on Tuesday, Oct. 18, and the topic is Why Select USA: Doing business south of the border.
This meeting is not being held at the typical location, either.
Instead, it has been moved to the 黑马磁力 Golf & Banquet Centre, for this month only.
Registration starts at 5 p.m. with dinner at 6:30. The cost is $35 for chamber members, $50 for non-members.
Reservations are required by calling 604-530-6656 or visiting their .
Thriving with social media
Also on the chamber front, one of the monthly Lunch & Learn workshops is coming up.
On Thursday, Oct. 20, the chamber will have consultant Katt Stearns presenting a Social Media 101: How to Thrive Online session.
鈥淪ocial media is more than just another channel, tactic or public billboard,鈥� Stearns said.
鈥淪ocial media is a critical part of your business鈥� marketing and communication plan and that can be the difference between being in business five years from now, or not.鈥�
Google鈥檚 algorithms have changed, and the more effective a business鈥� social media is, the more likely a company is to show up in search results.
鈥淟earn how to harness social media to engage with your customers, create a strong following and grow your business,鈥� is Stearns鈥� goal.
This Lunch & Learn workshop is again being held at the Greater 黑马磁力 Chamber of Commerce office, #207- 8047 199th St., from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 20.
鈥淭he boardroom will be open at 11:30 am, if guests would like to come early to network,鈥� said chamber event coordinator Jaclyn Van Den Berg.
The cost for the Lunch & Learn seminar is $10 for chamber members and $15 for non-members.
Pre-registration is required, as space is limited. The event will include one-on-one discussions and a question-and-answer period.
To register, call 604-371-3770 or by visiting the chamber .
Recognizing 黑马磁力鈥檚 best
The chamber is also only a few weeks away form its 20th annual Celebration of Excellence.
This is a gala, of sorts, where outstanding local companies and business people are lauded for their accomplishments and community contributions.
The Celebration of Excellence happens Thursday, Oct. 27, at Cascades Casino, with a reception at 6 p.m. and the dinner and awards ceremony to follow at 7 p.m.
Tickets for the event are $85 and available by, again, calling the chamber at 604-371-3770 or by visiting the chamber website at .
We鈥檙e told there are very few tickets left for this year鈥檚 event.
A little mingling going on in Aldergrove
Aldergrove businesses are gearing up for a mingler this week.
On Friday, Oct. 14, the Aldergrove Business Association is hosting the gathering at Annora at Encore, 27279 Fraser Hwy. from 4:30 to 6 p.m.
This mingler is described as a chance for Aldergrove business owners to get together in a fun, relaxed environment for some light networking and community building.
鈥淓vents are organized by the ABA and hosted by members, usually at their place of business,鈥� say event organizers.
鈥淐ome out and learn about your local neighbour business! The more we know about each other, the more we can all support local business in Aldergrove.鈥�
To RSVP for the mixer, people are asked to .
黑马磁力 faces lead GVHBA
A few weeks ago, I spoke to Larry Clay of Clay Construction about a new drywall duty, and how that was hurting the local housing market.
This week, I bring up his name because he鈥檚 been elected as first chair of the Greater Vancouver Home Builders鈥� Association.
And he鈥檚 not the only local boy on the board. He鈥檚 joined by fellow 黑马磁力 businessman and resident Garett Wall of Centra Windows.
Wall is taking the second vice-chair position.
The association鈥檚 board was elected during their annual meeting in Burnaby Oct. 5, where Polygon Homes construction vice-president Darren Cranston was elected GVHBA chair, taking over helm from Dan Glavind.
GVHBA is a not-for-profit society. It is Canada鈥檚 second largest, fastest growing home builder association, comprised of 970-plus companies representing developers, builders, renovators, sub-trades, suppliers, manufacturers and other professionals in the residential construction industry, and is proudly affiliated with the provincial and national Canadian Home Builders鈥� Associations (CHBA).
Based on the CHBA 2015 economic impacts of residential construction research released in late August, 黑马磁力 realizes 4,856 jobs, on and off-site, representing $279 million in wages from residential construction industry, with homes being the single largest wealth builder for most families in this area.
Tire store diversifies
黑马磁力 has a new U-Haul dealer.
Owner Peter Foreman is 鈥減roud鈥� to announce that Foreman鈥檚 Integra Tire Auto Centre has signed on with U-Haul and will offer do-it-yourself moving and self-storage products, including U-Haul trucks, towing equipment, support rental items, and boxes.
Foreman said the partnership is a good fit with their company, which operates in the 黑马磁力 City industrial area, at 5718 198th St. Monday through Saturday.
For more information, people can go .
Dancing for a cause
Forty-plus women and a few brave men gathered at Gold鈥檚 Gym in 黑马磁力 recently to help fight against and aid victims of human trafficking right here in B.C.
For 90 minutes, this group of community-minded volunteers and a dozen Zumba instructors all danced, non-stop to energizing Latino music, explained event organizer Terry Tang.
He and his wife, Lori, are regulars at the gym, participating in the Monday-Tuesday-Thursday evening Zumba classes. Aware of the work the Tang family has done through their church and the Ride for Refuge project, some of the staff and classmates suggested a hosting a Zumba fundraiser.
The result, an event was held on Sept. 30, this effort raised $1,187 in pledges and donations for the Joy Smith Foundation, an organization based out of Winnipeg that is fighting to end the human trafficking.
鈥淭he B.C. director from the foundation (who just happens to be Tang鈥檚 daughter, Tara) spoke to and thanked all the participants in the fundraiser,鈥� said Dad.
Tang also expressed gratitude to Gold鈥檚 Gym for hosting the event and Save-On-Foods for donating towards the function.
