Photo: Contributed
Jeff Robinson sure picked an interesting week to take over as Kelowna Chamber of Commerce president.
The partner at Rush Ihas Hardwick LLP was supposed to take the ceremonial handoff from outgoing president Nikki Csek on Wednesday during the chamber’s annual general meeting, but COVID-19 has put that—and seemingly everything else—on the back burner.
“It was always going to be a lot of work,” Robinson said earlier this week. “I’m following Nikki Csek, whose work ethic is as much as anybody’s I’ve ever met. She’s just thrown herself into the chamber and really set a great example, but also a daunting example.
“I was expecting a lot of work, and it’s going to be a challenge, but that’s what I signed up for.”
Robinson’s job as chamber president is to help fight for the business community, and there will be plenty of that required as the COVID-19 pandemic essentially shuts down many businesses for the foreseeable future.
Robinson wants all local businesses, whether they are chamber members or not, to visit bcmindreader.com to provide feedback about their current situations. He said chamber.ca is another excellent website for information, as the Canadian Chamber of Commerce has the federal government’s ear.
“We’re looking for any information about how it’s affecting business, just because we need to take that forward to government as far as recommendations for what we want to see,” Robinson said. “Government is keen to help. Nothing’s crystallized yet how they’re going to do it, but certainly we’ll be looking for stimulus that will help businesses, particularly small businesses that don’t have the cushion of the larger ones.”
Robinson’s mandate during his term will be to convince more Kelowna businesses that being a chamber member has its benefits.
“I want to see more engagement from local business,” he said. “We’re always looking to grow and get more involved. It’s a crowded field when it comes to advocacy. We’ve got one of the strongest voices, and it’s a voice that has historical authority.
“It’s more important than ever in a crowded field that we strengthen that voice and we show our members what we can do with government that other organizations don’t have that same pull or connection.”
All People in Business Stories
