Location Guelph, Ontario CEO Kithio Mwanzia | Founded 1827 Chair Michael Henley | |
Website | ||
The Guelph Chamber of Commerce is an organization that involves members from a wide variety of businesses and organizations from the town of Guelph, Ontario Canada. Their goal is to address public affairs on behalf of the businesses of Guelph in order to create a better community. Its purpose is to help businesses and organizations develop a network with other local businesses.
Contents
- History
- Membership
- Initiatives and Events
- Partnerships
- City of Guelph
- Guelph Women in Networking
- Rogers TV
- Award of Excellence Partnerships
- Business After 5 Business Expo
- References
The Guelph Chamber of Commerce is located at 111 Farquahr Street, 2nd Floor, in Guelph, Ontario. The president and CEO of the Guelph Chamber of Commerce is Kithio Mwanzia. The board of directors consists of 15 people and the Chair of the Board is Michael Henley. They have over 8 different committees aimed towards different plans to help further improve the goals of the Chamber. These committees are made up of people from different businesses and organizations.
History
The Guelph Chamber of Commerce has been around for over 180 years since the founding of Guelph in 1827. In 1866 it was renamed to the Board of Trade, and the present Guelph Chamber of Commerce was named in 1919. This organization was created to help boost economic growth and businesses in the town of Guelph. The Chamber was able to help even with the terrible economy which occurred from 1866 to 1871.
In 1924 the Guelph Chamber of Commerce and other fellow members helped to found the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. In 1911, Guelph was one of 45 members to form the Associated Boards of Trade of Ontario, renamed on June 1, 1953 the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber of Commerce Week was pronounced by Mayor Ralph W. Smith in 1970 and recognized as a beneficial part of the community. The Chamber still strives after 180 years to make Guelph a community for businesses, organizations and people to work and live in.
Membership
The Guelph Chamber of Commerce members include many different organizations and various industries including those from apparel to specific members of the Agricultural & Biotech Research to manufacturing. There are more than 900 members who represent over 50,000 employees from the Guelph area.
There is a fee for joining the Chamber however it is dependent on the type of business joining and the number of employees on the Board. Applications for memberships are done through the Chamber's website. When becoming a member, the Chamber offers many benefits including networking events, event invitations, marketing & promotional opportunities, member discounts, special events, affinity programs, advocacy, the list goes on, all of which are provided through connections and partnerships with other businesses and organizations.
Initiatives and Events
The Chamber holds many events in an effort to promote and strengthen the Chamber's values and interactions within the community, some of which events are listed below:
Partnerships
The Chamber has many partnerships locally and with many organizations around the province.
City of Guelph
The Chamber works closely with the City of Guelph in promoting and funding local events. The Chamber is also involved in the city's budgeting decisions that may affect businesses around the local area.
Guelph Women in Networking
The Chamber made an alliance Guelph Women in Networking (GWIN) in 2004 so that women within GWIN have the opportunity to expand their business arena by taking advantage of the Chamber's resources and connections while the Chamber was able to grow their network by learning about the businesses held by woman within the GWIN organization.
Rogers TV
During municipal political campaigns, the Guelph Chamber of Commerce partners with Rogers TV to broadcast debates with the candidates that were running in the election. These debates are presented to local viewers to help citizens make informed decisions on election day.
Award of Excellence Partnerships
The Chamber also hosts a local annual Awards of Excellence gala which showcases exceptional businesses and individuals in Guelph. Though this event is hosted by the Chamber, the awards given out are by the Chamber and their partnership with several other local prominent organizations. For example, the Chamber partners with the City of Guelph to present their "Mayor's Award". The Chamber collaborates with Innovation Guelph to present their "Innovation Guelph Award", with the United Way of Guelph & Wellington to present their "Campaign Awards", with the Downtown Guelph to present the "Volunteer of the Year Awards", and with the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario to present the "Heritage Conservation Award"
Business After 5 & Business Expo
In collaboration with the other city Chambers like the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce and the Kitchener Chamber of Commerce, Guelph's Chamber hosts a Business Expo which is open to the public for the opportunity to learn more about regional businesses and to allow businesses to market their products and services to a wider population. They also host the Business After 5 series of events which allows chamber members the opportunity to visit, learn & tour local businesses in the community.