Manitoba Chamber holds AGM, economic summit for first time in Steinbach

For the first time in its 95-year history, the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce held its AGM and economic summit in Steinbach on May 1.

“Well, a lot of the reasons (why we chose a location) is making sure that communities have the right kind of facility, and obviously the Southeast Event Center is the perfect facility for something like this,” said Manitoba Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Chuck Davidson.

“Also, I think as well, the Steinbach Chamber of Commerce has been a lot more engaged with the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce and has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing chambers in Canada over the course of this past year. So, it was really a no-brainer that it was time to come to Steinbach, and we were thrilled that we were able to do that.”

About 200 registrants came to the event representing businesses across Manitoba.

Steinbach Chamber of Commerce executive director Tessa Masi said the decision of the Manitoba Chamber to hold the summit in Steinbach speaks to the growth of the community and the fact that now the city has a facility that can host high level events.

“I’ll just add that we do feel really, really honoured to be able to host this event and Chuck said that he’s looking forward to having us host again in the future, which I think is great.”

Steinbach Chamber president Eugene Warwaruk said the impacts of the event will continue to be realized well into the future. He said it took a lot of investment from the business community and the public to build the SEC and now is the time to support and promote the centre and hold more events there.

“It’s a fantastic gem that we have in our region. I think the intent is to start using it.”

Steinbach business owner Tim Schmitt, of promotional material manufacturer Oak Leaf Promotions, was enthusiastic about the summit and said it wouldn’t have happened if there wasn’t an event centre and if the city didn’t have a strong chamber. He also said it was a great networking event for local businesses.

“We connected with a lot of other companies from all over, and so it was a chance to showcase what we can do, so, that’s a good thing. But having all those people come to Steinbach and see what Steinbach’s about, some have never been here before, but certainly some are surprised at how much growth and innovation has happened here. It’s a great way to showcase our city.”

One of the business leaders who came from outside of the Southeast was East St Paul business owner Kyle Romaniuk, who is president of Frakxion, a headhunting company that provides fractional employment for C-suite executives for small to medium sized organizations.

Romaniuk was the past chair of the Manitoba Chamber, a board he sat on for about 10 years. He also sat on the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce boards.

He said he was in awe of the event centre and didn’t know it existed. He said the summit will definitely bring awareness of Steinbach to other business leaders in the province.

“A lot of times perception could be a problem when you don’t know what you don’t know. But when you come to this kind of an event in Steinbach, you learn more about what’s actually happened, what’s actually happening now, and what’s the vision for what’s coming,” he said.

“And it just, I think, helps set the bar even higher and realize how wonderful things can be when you have the right people leading and the community that supports it.”