A random polling by the Gazette of local business owners about their dealings with the Cowichan Lake District Chamber of Commerce has revealed that most people have had a positive experience with the organization.
The following are the answers to the four questions the Gazette asked:
“We wanted to be more involved in the community,” A&W Restaurant owner Jennifer McCoy answered, alongside almost all other business owners polled.
“Mostly because of Katherine (Worsley – Visitor Centre coordinator),” Aroma Gourmet Pasta and Pizza owner Laurie LaLonde answered.
“Katherine has done a phenomenal job. She’s a very good up-beat person, and she’s always out there.”
“Just our ongoing effort in staying close to the business people, and liaisoning with the local politicians,” BRI Security and Consultant Services Ltd. owner Bruce Ingram said. Ingram is also the chamber’s vice-president.
“It’s the ability to use their web page to advertise,” Honeymoon Bay’s Coffee Mill Cafe owner Susan Restall said.
“Exposure through the Visitor Centre, and we help each other out by talking to each other,” Hans’ Butcher Shop and Deli owner Hans van del Heuvel said.
“I think by promoting shopping locally more than they do,” van del Heuvel said.
“Wouldn’t it be nice if we could help people improve their storefronts?” Honeymoon Bay Lodge and Retreat owner Tim Erickson said. “This is one of the more active chamber’s I’ve seen.
“I’d like to see something along the lines of what they did in Chemainus,” Cafe Mochica owner David Work said, citing Chemainus’s mural project. It doesn’t have to be murals, but some kind of attraction that brings people in.
“To invite people into the valley,” Restall said. “Tourism will bring this town back.”
“All of the boarded-up windows? They should not allow that,” Restall said.
“A lot of it is working together. If we try to be an island in our own world it’s going to be tough,” Erickson said.
“In practical ways, we can help one another.”
“We try to keep our money local, and we’d like to see other people in the community do the same,” Work said.