The Estevan Chamber of Commerce held their Annual General Meeting on March 19 and it offered a chance to look back on 2018 as well as look forward to this year. 

There's no doubt about it, the economic downturn in Saskatchewan provided a tough challenge for the business community in the Energy City. With all the noise surrounding the economy with pipelines and the Carbon Tax, the Estevan Chamber came out of 2018 with optimism after a solid year. 

"2018 was very promising. We started off the year looking at our budget and saying, 'we're projecting a loss'. But we had a couple of keys issues come up and one of them was cannabis. We put together a cannabis workshop and that really got some of our questions answered," Jackie Wall, Executive Director for the Chamber of Commerce said. "We had some great partnership on that. Being able to bring all those people together and really get good information on what was going to happen with the legislation was key, and it also helped with our bottom line as well. That was one of the events that helped us exceed our budget."

After the projected loss, the Chamber was able to turn a net profit of $1,029. Thanks to big turnouts for the Cannabis Workshop and the Business Summit in Estevan, the bottom line turned around for the Chamber and they finished 2019 in the black. 

Events like those are helping the future of business in southeast Saskatchewan and it's something the Chamber is hoping to continue doing this year. 

"It seems like when you have very insightful events and you're giving the members what they need, everything just works out in the end," Wall explained. "We have a very engaged board. We have 12 members on our board and that's the largest board I've worked with. Our member events are well attended and we're pulling in a very diverse group of people which is always encouraging."

More workshops and events like 'Coffee Talk' are helping bring the business community together and rally in the tougher times. 

While the past year was challenging, Wall and the rest of the Chamber are remaining positive and working hard to make sure businesses remain strong in Estevan and area. 

"We are up to the challenge. I think it ultimately comes down to getting together, talking about what our concerns are, looking for solutions — that is key. You can come forward with as many complaints as you want, but where are your solutions? That's what we're really focusing on," she said. "There are solutions and opportunities here and we really need to have the dialogue to get those going and have leaders come forward that are going to take on the tough issues and look for solutions."

This year is also likely to be challenging with the incoming implementation of the Carbon Tax and oil prices continuing to struggle. Although, Wall believes they will be able to work past it and continue to thrive.

One thing they are looking forward to this year is handing out some hardware to deserving businesses in town. 

"The big thing this year is EBEX [Estevan Business Excellence]. It is a biennial event and this is our EBEX year. We have tremendous support from our sponsors and we're really looking forward to getting some unique nominees," Wall noted. "We've got 11 awards this year, so that's a couple more than two years ago. It's just a great way to celebrate the business success, give some well-deserved recognition and also provide inspiration and mentorship for business people or professionals looking to expand into their own business."

EBEX award nominations are now open, with the banquet happening later in the fall. 

Other happenings at the AGM were 12 board members for this year were sworn in. Also, CEO of the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce, Steve McLellan, gave a keynote address to those in attendance. He covered the Carbon Tax, pipeline issues and the need to transition to renewable energy and reduce greenhouse emissions. 

READ MORE: CEO of Saskatchewan Chamber Speaks in Estevan