Fernie Chamber of Commerce

The Fernie Chamber of Commerce is excited to announce the appointment of the new Executive Director, Wendy McDougall.

Wendy and her family moved to Fernie in August 2019. After visiting the town on weekends and holidays for over a decade, they decided to make the move to Fernie permanent and have never looked back. Over the last 3 years they have become fully entrenched in the community, taking in all this mountain town has to offer.

I am writing my column from Prince George where Chambers of Commerce from across British Columbia are gathered in-person for the first time in three years for the BC Chamber AGM and Conference. It has been an awesome week – packed with amazing presentations from government officials, business analysts, and industry leaders. And of course, being in the mix and networking with people who do my role around the province is worth the price of admission alone. There has been a lot of valuable information that I can’t wait to bring back to Fernie and put in action in our local Chamber. 

As we all ring in the new year, it’s the natural time to reflect on the year that was and the year ahead. For small business owners and managers, it’s usually a time of taking stock and planning for the new year with strategy, budgets, and all that fun stuff. It’s also a time we tend to set resolutions or goals for the year – both for our businesses, and ourselves.

Back in September, the Fernie Chamber of Commerce launched a campaign to support Fernie’s businesses and their frontline workers. The campaign encourages residents and visitors to be “respectful, patient and kind” with staff as our local businesses navigate unprecedented worker shortages, lack of attainable housing for staff, and evolving public health guidelines in response to the pandemic.