2009 Business Excellence Awards 

TICKETS ARE NOW ON SALE...

for the 2008 Business Excellence Awards Gala being held on Friday, November 7, 2008. If you order your tickets before October 20, 2008, Chamber members can reserve their tickets by email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and we will mail them to you with an invoice. Tickets are $50.00 each or Chamber Members can reserve a table for 8 people for $375.00 until October 15th, a savings of $25.00. This is the Chamber's biggest event of the year and we have planned an exciting and fun evening. For more information about voting, nominations, entertainment, food, etc., please visit www.merrittchamber.com. Pick up a copy of the Merritt News who has published the NOMINATION FORM for people to vote. You now have until October 17th to cast your vote.

Small Business Week

Speaking of the MERRITT NEWS, they have a great advertising opportunity open to small business. They are going to be publishing a special section for Small Business Week which begins on October 19th. Chambers Members receive an additional 20% off this special pricing offer to advertise in this magazine. For more information please visit the "advertising /sponsorship" area of the Merritt Chamber web site. The deadline is October 9th, so make sure you give them a call at 250-378-8876.

City Elections

The City elections are coming up fast and the Merritt Chamber is in the process of planning an All Candidates Meeting to give the citizens of Merritt an opportunity to question the new candidates and the incumbents about their plans for Merritt. In the meantime, you can pick up the MERRITT HERALD as they had an interesting article on page 5 about what it takes to be a city councilor. Information about the All Candidates Meeting will be available next week.

Mental Health Works Seminar

The deadline to register for the MENTAL HEALTH WORKS seminar is fast approaching. You need to register by Thursday, October 9th, which is next week. Employers should be concerned about this issue due to the rising costs associated with disability claims, and the fact that employers have legal responsibilities in regard to accommodating employees with mental health problems. Again, for more information about this seminar and how to register, please visit our web site (news & events) .

Integrated Growth Strategy

The City of Merritt is looking for input in regard to preparation of an Integrated Growth Strategy (IGS). They want to know how your vision of Merritt 20 years from now looks like. For all the concerns expressed about some recent decisions made at city hall, let's give credit where credit's due. I think it's great that City Hall wants input from all citizens of Merritt concerning future land use and capital planning. In addition to the on-line survey on their web site for you to complete, they are inviting everyone to attend the Visioning Workshops being held on October 8, 2009 at the Civic Centre. Visit http://www.merritt.ca/ for more information and to complete this important survey.

Business After Business

The next BUSINESS AFTER BUSINESS networking event will be hosted by Community Futures on Tuesday, October 21, 2008 at their office on the corner of Quilchena & Garcia at 5 pm. Nicola Valley Veterinary Clinic held an event last night with some wonderful food and refreshments, and really nice door prizes. In fact, they are continuing their business card draw for the rest of this week. There was lots of information about pet care and I took home a bottle of "joint care" for my old girl. Thank you to Dr. Ladyman and her staff for holding this really nice event.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH:

"Impossible only defines the degree of difficulty"