Chamber office anticipated this month

For the first time in about 21 years the Olds & District Chamber of Commerce expects to have a storefront-type office where people can come in off the street and do business or ask questions.

Chamber president Stephen Dodwell is hopeful that facility will be in place later this month.

"One of the lowlights to me has always been that the chamber hasn't ever had - not an identity, but if you like, a place to exist from," he said during an interview with the Albertan.

"So if you come into Olds and you say, ëI need to see somebody at the chamber.' Where do you go?"

Plans call for the chamber, the Olds Institute (OI), a visitor information centre and Uptowne Olds (UO) to share a facility, likely located in Uptowne Olds.

It's hoped the facility can not only be a place to provide visitor information, and a home for OI, UO and the chamber, but also serve as a business incubator, to help launch businesses.

"We're hoping to have a little office space where the chamber can meet, the OI can meet, and again, offer it for not-for-profits. They can come in and meet and use it as a centre so it becomes a little bit of a business hub, if you like, in town," Dodwell says.

"I think that's heading down the right road," he adds. "The chamber will have not only a stronger identity, but actually a place to work out of and then contribute (to the community)."

Dodwell is pleased to see all those groups working together.

"There's just a new push for everybody to work together," he says. "I think that'll be a big part of the future."

Robbin Corsiatto, the chamber's new executive director, will be working at this new space. She was hired in November, replacing Barb Babiak, who retired after serving as the only executive director this edition of the chamber had ever had during its 21 years of existence.

Aside from getting settled in the new office space and getting to know various aspects of the organization, Corsiatto's other big task is to increase chamber membership.

"According to the town, there are about 400-ish shop-front-type businesses - businesses that are not considered to be working out of your home," Dodwell says.

"We've got just over half of those as members, which is a great representation, but that means there are half that we don't represent.

"That's what we've set Robbin as one of her big pushes for this coming year, to increase the amount of members. And that means that the chamber has to be better at delivering the message as to what it is we do and why we're in place and why it's important that you join," he adds.

Late last year, the chamber put out a call for businesses to donate any excess furniture, business equipment, etc., for its new office space.

Corsiatto says as of last week, they were still in need of shelving units.