Peterborough Chamber wins national award

Stuart Harrison, President & CEO, Peterborough Chamber; Sandra Dueck, Policy Analyst/Communications Specialist, Peterborough Chamber; Dawn Hennessey, BDC and Incoming Board Chair, Peterborough Chamber

Peterborough Chamber Wins National Award!
The Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce has won the annual Canadian Chamber of Commerce Competition at their Annual General Meeting in Saint John, New Brunswick this past weekend (Saturday, September 21).

Each year the competition is focused on a different aspect of the Chamber operation, this year the competition was titled “Influence in Action - Advocacy through Events”, with an emphasis on events that create profile for the fundamental advocacy work of the Chamber Network. The Peterborough Chamber’s annual Power Hour event was chosen as the 1st Place Winner by some 300 delegates from across Canada.
The Power Hour is an annual event bringing together the business community and our elected officials.  Attendees hear from our elected officials at all four levels of government - the MP for Peterborough-Kawartha, the MPP for Peterborough-Kawartha, the Warden for the County of Peterborough, and the Mayor for the City of Peterborough.  Also invited as guests are the elected councils for the City and County of Peterborough, First Nations Chiefs and the City and County CAOs.  

The event features a Q&A session, moderated by Peterborough Chamber of Commerce Policy Analyst, Sandra Dueck, with questions provided by the audience. The questions and the discussion further inform the advocacy direction for the Chamber moving forward.

On Saturday, Sandra Dueck presented the Power Hour concept to the delegates, including a video featuring all of our elected leaders, as well as business leaders who have attended. The delegates then chose their favourite from three presentations; the others were from Surrey, BC for a series of Advocacy Lunches, and a consortium of four New Brunswick Chambers for an election platform they co-developed.

The Peterborough Chamber has been named as one of three finalists on four occasions in this competition, for membership initiatives, our use of video, the creation of the Kawartha Choice brand, and the Power Hour. Kawartha Choice received the National Award as the best Community Initiative in 2005.
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“I couldn’t be prouder of the staff and volunteers of the Chamber”, said President and CEO, Stuart Harrison, “to have the opportunity to not only showcase our Chamber at the national level, but to be judged the best, is truly an honour.”
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