Reeve Martin started February as the Red Deer Chamber of Commerce’s second vice-president; he ended the month as president.
But the owner of The Property Shop Inc. did not hesitate when accepting the business organization’s top post when it was offered to him on Feb. 18.
He’d never regretted volunteering time to the Chamber previously.
“It’s been a great opportunity to give back to the community and network, and promote business in Central Alberta. I’ve really enjoyed being part of the Chamber.”
The former chair of the Chamber’s Ambassadors group joined the Chamber board 1 1/2 years ago, and then moved into the second vice-president’s position just five months ago.
He rose quickly from there when 2013-14 president Tyler Bowman resigned for personal reasons and the first vice-president was unable to take over.
That means Martin is now slated to serve as president for 18 months, which he considers an opportunity.
The Chamber is currently redoing its brand, celebrating 120 years of operations, looking at new strategies for growth and recently bid to host the Alberta Chambers of Commerce’s 2016 annual general meeting and conference — an event that could bring some 400 chamber delegates to Red Deer.
The Red Deer Chamber also continues to be a major player when it comes to advocacy work provincially and nationally, said Martin. And it’s working with partners like the city, Red Deer County, Red Deer College and Central Alberta Economic Partnership to promote business attraction, retention and growth.
“The fact that everybody is working together in partnership to attract new businesses to the region, I think is first and foremost,” he said.
One of Martin’s objectives as president is to impress upon members the important role that the Chamber plays.
“What we’re going to focus on in the next year and a half is increasing the awareness in our membership in terms of the value of the Chamber.”
Although membership is currently hovering around 1,000, Martin would like to see more businesses get engaged through the Chamber.
“For small business, I think getting behind the Chamber of Commerce is the right thing to do.”
Originally from Edmonton, Reeve worked in a variety of places before settling in Central Alberta with his wife Judy and their young family. Judy was from Sylvan Lake, and they felt it was a good place to raise a family.
hrichards@www.reddeeradvocate.com