Attendees
Board Members in Attendance: Eric, Brendan, Laurence, Martie, Reghan, Kristy
Chamber Manager: Melinda
Guests: Tami
Agenda
Approval of Agenda Motion approved.
Chamber Manager/Financial Report
Profit & Loss Statement:
Profit & Loss Jan 1 to Dec 31 2025;
Profit & Loss Jan 1-15 2026
Christmas Party 2025 Report: Christmas Party 2025 Financial Report
Approval of payment of Watersedge Business Services Invoice: Watersedge January 2026 Invoice
Motion to approve the report and related invoice brought by Kristy, 2nd by Laurence, approved.
Approval of meeting minutes Erickson & District Chamber of Commerce Board Meeting Minutes:
- Erickson & District Chamber of Commerce January 6 2026 Board Meeting Minutes
Motion to approve January 2026 Minutes brought by Laurence, 2nd by Kristy, approved.
- Approval of new members: Reflection Counselling
Motion to approve new member, Reflection Counselling, brought Reghan, 2nd Laurence, approved.
Board Calendar Erickson & District Chamber of Commerce Calendar
Ongoing action item log: Action Log
Chamber Website: Martie provided an update on the Chamber website, which is ready to be handed over for payment method integration and calendar addition. A key discussion centered on whether to give individual communities direct access to post events on the site. Without this access, the Chamber would need to monitor and update the Events calendar, which represents a significant ongoing project. While completeness is valuable, maintaining the calendar requires considerable volunteer time or financial resources, and the Chamber prefers not to bear the entire burden alone.
The group explored whether the Municipality would be willing to contribute time or money to keep the calendar current, and discussed the possibility of a cost-sharing model involving multiple contributors including the municipalities, Legion, and other stakeholders. Estimated maintenance time is approximately 4 hours per month for weekly event monitoring. The Chamber should potentially contact the Municipality of Erickson and Harrison Park once the site is running to see if they see value and would offer a financial contribution to support its growth and continued success.
Martie will attempt to find a volunteer IT person whose services could be offset with free Chamber membership. If no such individual can be found, the Nordic Inn is willing to complete the necessary website work on an hourly basis, with higher hours required on the front end but negligible maintenance hours thereafter. Laurence will notify the Legion at this week's meeting about potential involvement and will discuss the municipality calendar project progress with Tami. Tami will continue discussions with the Municipality to see if they are going to continue work on their community calendar and will provide an update.
Wix subscription option: Motion brought to approve Wix at $16.50 by Laurence, 2nd approved.
See Nordic Inn Example (eat, shop, explore)
Erickson & District Santa Claus Parade & Day: Report from Laurence. The event was a success.
Airport Area Development: Eric will follow up soon and provide an update.
2026 AGM
Date: April 15th at 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Location: Sandy Lake Drop-in Centre
Cost: $50.00 rental and $30.00 for Coffee. 2 trays will be order from the Heritage Co-op. Easel with painting to sell on site at event
Directors term expiration?
Advertising:
Facebook post;
Email both members and non members announcing the date and location of the AGM and letting them now that they do not have to be a member to attend.
South Mountain Press: place advertisement; Motion to advertise if the cost was around $40 was brought by Laurence, 2nd by Martie, approved. Melinda will look into the cost.
Planning of the event will be added to the March Agenda and the Action Log.
Clear Lake Country : The Board discussed a potential partnership with Clear Lake Country to enhance tourism promotion in the region. Membership in the Wasagaming Chamber of Commerce at $350 per year automatically includes membership in Clear Lake Country, with automatic listing on their website and access to Tourism Manitoba collaborations. Clear Lake Country leverages local member funds with grants and other funding sources to maximize tourism marketing impact.
The Board explored options whether or not they wanted to reach out to Clear Lake Country, asking if they would consider adding membership options to the Erickson & District Chamber of Commerce members. The proposal would allow EDCC members to maintain their standard $50 Chamber membership while having the option to add Clear Lake Country membership for an additional $300, thereby gaining access to the enhanced tourism promotion and Tourism Manitoba collaboration opportunities.
Eric will reach out to Clear Lake Country to determine if this partnership structure is of interest to them**. A motion brought by Laurence, 2nd by Martie to propose this partnership to Clear Lake Country, forming an arrangement where Erickson & District Chamber of Commerce members can opt in to Clear Lake Country membership, motion passed.** This item will be added to future agendas and action items for follow-up.
- Heritage Building Signage Project: Laurence is working on a project to develop signage that will provide the history of buildings, to be posted beside each building.. The Heritage Society will be approaching membership and business owners to request participation in the program, with signs available at a cost of approximately $100 to the business owner. Each sign will include details and history of the building, with a goal of completion prior to June 15th.
Discussion included whether the Chamber would like to support this project, which is not required but would add credibility to the project. The initiative would complement the TransCanada Trail and Scandinavian Site, promoting visitors to pick up a driving map and tour the area to see what is here.
The item was tabled to the next meeting. Laurence will provide a demonstration sign for discussion at that time.
- In Camera