The Oakville Chamber of Commerce received first place honours in the Canadian Chamber of Commerce's annual best practices competition. This tenth year of the competition was focused on creating community partnerships to expand the opportunities for community success. Submissions were received from chambers across Canada. The Oakville Chamber was among the top three entries and was asked to present at the Canadian Chamber Annual General Meeting, held on October 17 & 18, in Ottawa.
During his presentation, Oakville Chamber President, John Sawyer, explained the importance of developing a strategy to build partnerships that will increase the organization's influence and raise its profile in the community. Such a strategy has helped enhance the Oakville Chamber's image as the "go to" organization that connects business with government. Valuable partnerships that the Chamber has developed over the years include many well-respected, high profile businesses, not-for-profits, charities, and community-based organizations.
"It was an honour to share the Oakville Chamber's partnership strategy with chambers across the country," said Chamber Chair, Kerry Colborne. "This simple approach to building relationships can be used by any chamber to become the go-to organization to partner with in the community. We are thrilled to be recognized by our peers."
As part of the winning presentation to the Canadian Chamber, a video was developed and played for the audience that included testimonials by representatives of the Town of Oakville Economic Development department, Professional Engineers of Ontario - Oakville Chapter, Downtown Oakville BIA, and Oakville, Milton District Real Estate Board (OMDREB.) The video can be viewed on the chamber's website at www.oakvillechamber.com.