All posts by Andrea Lamond

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Seventeen nominated for Citizen of Year

Clearwater Chamber receives multiple nominations for this year’s Of the Year awards

By Times Staff (Clearwater Times Article)

Clearwater and District Chamber of Commerce has received multiple nominations for this year’s Of the Year awards, organizers report.

In the Citizen/Volunteer of the Year category, the nominations include Anne (Goldie) Krawec, Bonnie Carter, Bonnie Ruttan, Cathy Sauer, Chance Breckenridge, Cheryl Thomas, Clearwater Ski Hill, Erik Belle, Heidi Funk, John and Laura Soles, Lloyd and Jean Strickland, Merlin Blackwell, Nissa McGill, Noble Family – Dani and Jennette, Shelley Sim, Vickie Morden, and Wells Gray Outdoor Club.

READ MORE: Awards gala honors service (Nov. 28, 2011)

Nominated for Employee of the Year are Angie Giesbrecht, Bev Leinweber, Glenn Hyokki, Jack Watson, Kevin Fenwick, Kristyna Faltynkova, Lynne Frizzle, Sandy Nyberg, Stacee Sollows, the staff at Pharmasave, and Suzanne Tonge.

Nominations for Retail Business of the Year include Buy-Low Foods, Holly Louwerse Photography, Kathy’s Market, Knit Blips (Rebecca Louwerse), Mystic Dreams, Pharmasave, Rona, and Wells Gray Home Hardware.

For Rookie Business of the Year, the nominations include Ask Dee (Deanna), Kathy’s Market Place, and Wells Gray Air.

Nominations for Service Business of the Year include Aspen Service Centre, Borrow Enterprises Ltd., Candle Creek Vet Services (Darren Ludbrook), J C Esthetics and Lashes, Kal Tire, North Thompson Plumbing and Drain, Rooted by the River Landscaping, and Traub Holdings Ltd. (snow removal).

For Tourism Accommodation the nominations include Clearwater Springs Ranch, and Wells Gray Inn.

Nominations for Tourism Restaurant include Bears Den Cookhouse, Double R Pizza and Subs, Gateway Grill, Hop ‘n’ Hog, O’Bryan’s Café and Catering, and Wells Gray Inn.

Nominated for Tourism Service are all the local whitewater rafting companies, Blackwell Park Operations, Interior Whitewater Expeditions, North Thompson Aboriginal Cultural Centre, and Tourism Wells Gray (Stephanie Molina).

The winners will be announced during the Of the Year banquet at Clearwater Legion on Friday evening, March 23.

News & Events

Nominate a Person or Business for a 2017 Recognition Award

2017 Awards Category Listings:

Citizen ‘Of the Year’- Non Profit/Volunteer:
Awarded to an individual or non-profit organization (adult or youth) for their remarkable and significant community contribution, in a non paid position. By way of action, this group or individual has had a positive impact in our valley, makes our community a better place to live in the year 2017.

Employee of the Year:
Presented to an employee within a business who demonstrate a consistent commitment to providing Customer Service Excellence that truly “Wows” the customer by encouraging and inspiring the community to shop locally. *Extra points are automatically awarded to employees of a business which is a Chamber Member during the Year. (The Chamber will contact the employer)

Rookie Business of the Year:
Awarded to a business (large, small or home-based) for outstanding effort and commitment in their first 18 months of business. This award is intended to highlight and encourage awareness of new businesses establishing in our community.

Business of the Year:
Recognizing overall business excellence and achievement. Business owner (and staff) consistently demonstrate a commitment to excellence and have demonstrated strong business growth and development practices that are a role model for other businesses.

One business from each of these categories will be selected to receive the Business of the Year Award for that category. To qualify for nomination, a business must show excellence in at least one of the following areas:

  1. Tourism Business Excellence: Accommodation includes Motels, Hotels, Bed and Breakfasts
  2. Tourism Business Excellence: Restaurants and food service providers
  3. Tourism Business Excellence: Service Providers –Guides, Outfitters, Adventure Tourism
  4. Business Excellence: Retail: All retail stores
  5. Business Excellence: Service: to include repair shops, hair dressers and service providers in any other service related business including forestry related businesses.

Entry submission is now closed. The winners will be announced during the Of the Year banquet at the Clearwater Legion on Friday evening, March 23, 2018.

News & Events

Clearwater Chamber elects new board

2017 Clearwtaer BC Chamber of Commerce Directors
Members of Clearwater and District Chamber of Commerce’s new board pose for a photograph. Pictured are (back, l-r) directors Bonnie Ruttan, Lorne Selbee, Flo Amundson and Trudy Anderson, (front, l-r) secretary Goldie Krawec, vice-president Sandie Robinson, president Jeff Lamond, and treasurer Judy Annis. — image credit: Keith McNeill
  • by  Keith McNeill – Clearwater Times
  • Clearwater BC posted Mar 31, 2017 at 12:00 PM

Just over a dozen members of Clearwater and District Chamber of Commerce met to choose a new board of directors during the organization’s annual general meeting on Thursday evening.

The meeting was held at Wells Gray Inn.

Members of the new executive are president Jeff Lamond, vice-president Sandie Robinson, secretary Goldie Krawec, and treasurer Judy Annis. Trudy Anderson was elected as a two-year director, while Cheryl Thomas, Lorne Selbee, Flo Anderson and Bonnie Ruttan are one-year directors.

The new board decided to continue meeting on the third Tuesday evening of the month. Rather than being held at Dutch Lake Community Center, however, the meetings will be held at Wells Gray Inn.

Some of the meetings will have guest speakers and will be for all Chamber members as well as the general public.

Major highlight of the past year was the Chamber hosting the 53rd Of the Year awards banquet, said vice-president Sandie Robinson in her report. The last time it was held was in 2012.

She noted that she had become a director in 2015, became vice-president when that position became vacant, and then took over the responsibilities of president when that position became vacant as well.

Many members and potential members are not fully aware of the benefits of belonging to the Chamber, Robinson said.

These include discounts on fuel from some service stations as well as insurance coverage.

Outgoing treasurer Jeff Lamond reported that the Of the Year banquet was a joint operation with Clearwater Ski Club. The event raised about $4,000 for the club and was attended by about 160 people.

The Chamber had 92 members during 2016, he said, which was consistent with previous years.

The map project was a success, with 55 advertisers on the back and 12 corporate sponsors on the front.

The Chamber printed 12,000 maps for the map project, reported secretary Goldie Krawec. Nearly 5,000 of these were given to Wells Gray Infocentre to distribute, while each advertiser got a bundle of 50.

Director Cheryl Thomas reported that the Chamber also was involved in National Forest Week and in hosting an all candidates forum. She represented the Chamber at Tourism Wells Gray, District of Clearwater and other meetings.

Link to Newspaper article (.pdf): 2017 Mar 30 NEWS Chamber elects new board

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Chamber president gives progress report during annual general meeting

2016 Clearwater & District Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors
Members of the new Clearwater and District Chamber of Commerce board pose for a photograph. Pictured are (back, l-r) director Cheryl Thomas, vice-president Sandy Robinson, directors Sandy McKenzie and Robert Beaudry, (front, l-r) secretary Goldie Krawec and president Jon Kreke.
— image credit: Keith McNeill

Although there is still work to be done, Clearwater and District Chamber of Commerce has made progress over the past year, President Jon Kreke reported during the organization’s annual general meeting on April 4.

Possibly the most important change was coordinating with Information Wells Gray so that all the staff at Wells Gray Info Centre are from the latter organization. Having some of the staff from the Chamber and some from IWG did not meaningfully improve the service to the public and created extra work for Chamber members, Kreke felt.

Much the same board of directors was voted back in, with the addition of Robert Beaudry as a new director.

Special guest speakers at the AGM were District of Clearwater chief administrative officer Leslie Groulx and director of finance Wes Renaud.

The two gave a presentation on the municipality’s budget, including the 5.5 per cent tax increase planned for this year.

“We’re quite busy with prospective investors right now,” Groulx said, speaking in her role as the District of Clearwater’s economic development officer. Unfortunately, she could not disclose any details.

Road maintenance is the biggest single item in the budget.

During the spring, most roads in the municipality are restricted to 70 per cent of axel load.

The cost of operating the Sportsplex is shared 60/40 with the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, with Clearwater picking up the bigger share.

News & Events

New map highlights small businesses

Small Businesses Map
Local government and Chamber of Commerce representatives check out a new business information map set up near Brookfield Mall on Oct. 21 during Small Business Week. Pictured are (l-r) TNRD services coordinator Sherri Madden, Clearwater councillor Gord Heisterman, Clearwater CAO Leslie Groulx, Clearwater councillor Shelley Sim, Chamber director Goldie Krawec, Owen Lamond, Chamber president Jeff Lamond, and Chamber director Joanne Ovenden.

Keith McNeill

By Keith McNeill – Clearwater Times Published: November 03, 2013 3:00 AM Visitors will have a new aid to help them find their way around Clearwater and area with a business map recently erected on the meridian by Brookfield Mall. “It also has information about Vavenby and Blue River,” said Jeff Lamond, president of Clearwater and District Chamber of Commerce. “We have members in both those places and we want to get more.” The location is good because tourists and locals come there to get groceries, he said. There is space left on the map for pictures and advertisements. The reverse side is to be a community bulletin board to promote local events such a the Stargazing Festival held each summer. “What’s really exciting is there are 98 businesses and services listed,” said District of Clearwater councillor and acting-mayor Shelley Sim. “This map makes visible what a vibrant community this is.”

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Things to Do in Clearwater and Wells Gray Country

List of hints and things to do in Clearwater and Wells Gray Country area.

Need to Know – Clearwater is 134 kilometres north of Kamloops on the Yellowhead Highway (#5).

Accommodations range from modest hotels and motels to cozy B&Bs. Clearwater has one grocery store, a pharmacy, two financial institutions, hardware outlets, camping and outdoor stores plus a health food store in town. Local gas stations also sell assorted convenience foods. Several places to eat all year round. Many one of a kind stores of interest.

Most of the following activities, events and businesses may be listed under our Business Directory. Events can be found under the District of Clearwater Calendar of Events, Tourism Wells Gray, or Information Wells Gray. Most events are listed by month or season.

Click here to open our list of Things to do in Clearwater (.pdf)