Closing the books on the past year, the Humboldt and District Chamber of Commerce welcomed members to hear about their past year on Thursday.

It was the 112th annual general meeting of the Chamber, which was held at the Canalta Hotel.

Dan Torwalt was re-elected as Vice President and says that they were a bit short-handed in their voice.

"It was a tough year because we didn't have an Executive Director for probably six months. We had a couple board members that had to resign because of work conflicts or moving away," he explained. "That was probably our biggest struggle, is, that there was only six or seven of us and we didn't have an Executive Director for half the year."

Torwalt added that they are excited for the next year, after adding five new members to the fold.

Mike Parobec from Conexus Credit Union, Morgan Jaster of Behiel, Will & Biemans, Olivia Coffyne from Diamonds of Detroit, Megan Moore of Bolt Cleaners and Floyd Lueke from Midland Glass are joining the executive.

Returning board members include:

  • Kim Mitchell, Fabmar Communications (re-elected as President)
  • Dan Torwalt, Century 21 Diamond Realty (re-elected as Vice President)
  • Dawn Bergermann, Discovery Ford
  • Brian Loos, MNP
  • Adam Tremblay, Tremblay Electric
  • Jeff Saufert, Farm World

Coming off the board is Ann Paton and Andre Kruger. Kruger joined the board in 2011 and served two years as Vice President and two years as President.

Shopping local is continually a big point to get across for local businesses, and Torwalt says that is what they have heard from members.

"Attracting people into the community to do business in their stores. We have an idea - Holly Jolly Humboldt - which you are going to hear more of soon," he said. "We want people to stop in Humboldt and shop. We don't want them driving through the city to go to Saskatoon."

Torwalt added that ensuring the downtown is strong for business is a priority as well.

"Your downtown core is the strength of your community. It doesn't matter what you have on the outside, the downtown is the energy," he said. "When new people come into town, and I can talk about that on the real estate side, when new people come in, they drive downtown."

Among the highlights of the year was that the campground generated nearly $12,000 in revenue over the prior year, which was a jump of 33%.

Torwalt shared some thoughts on why more people may have been using the grounds.

"Weather has a big part to do with attracting people coming through. I think it was an excellent year for that last year," he noted. "Combining with the city hosting functions like weddings, or the Summer Sizzler."

The mini golf course on the grounds was used less frequently in the past year. President Kim Mitchell said in her address that they are looking at grants to revamp the mini golf, as it is in need of major repair.

The Chamber currently has over 250 members.

You can hear more from Torwalt below.