Voice of Business Newsletter

To help local businesses and event coordinators make the most of the up-coming tourism season, the Penticton & Wine Country Chamber of Commerce is offering two SuperHost® workshops that teach service professionalism and encourage volunteers to be enthusiastic ambassadors for their community.

Fundamentals - a one-day workshop - teaches front-line employees the basic skills and techniques of service professionalism. An effective training tool for teaching exceptional customer service, the objectives of the Fundamentals workshop are to:

Ø Provide an understanding of the importance of excellent customer service;

Ø Help participants communicate effectively and efficiently with customers;

Ø Help participants demonstrate their attentiveness to customer needs;

Ø Provide an understanding of the social and economic contribution a healthy tourism industry makes to their community and the province;

Ø Teach the commitments - such as respect, teamwork and empathy - that help BC's tourism workforce "go the extra mile."

The WorldHost Ambassador Training is a half-day program that helps prepare a volunteer team to be enthusiastic ambassadors for their community, inviting visitors to return. WorldHost will help participants to:

Ø Gain information about a special event in their community;

Ø Realize how powerful their connection can be with visitors to the community;

Ø Become more familiar with the community they represent.

For more information on SuperHost workshops, contact the Chamber of Commerce at 492-4103.

Ambassador of the Month Lois Kaplan

Lois Kaplan of Expert Hearing Solutions has been a Chamber Ambassador for the past two years. She is an active member of the Ambassador team, and helps out at the door for the Chamber Business after Business events. She greets everyone in a friendly, professional manner and is always on hand to answer questions.

Lois is the Office Assistant for Expert Hearing Solutions, located at 101-1301 Main Street in the Penticton Plaza. At this one-person office, Lois is responsible for all areas from reception, maintenance of charts to coordinating seminars/luncheons, billing and reconciliation of the accounts receivable.

Expert Hearing Solutions opened in Kelowna in 1993 and since that time has grown to include numerous locations in the Okanagan Valley, as well as offices in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Professional, friendly staff are dedicated to improving your quality of life with hearing solutions that are tailored specifically to each individual's hearing loss, lifestyle and budget.

In her spare time Lois enjoys spending time with family and friends and she is looking forward to one day taking a trip to the Grand Canyon Skywalk with her best friend.

Lois has volunteered her time to organizations such as the Ironman Club, Director on the Board for South Okanagan Similkameen Crime Stoppers, and she ran 10K to raise money for the MS Society.

Lois is definitely an asset to our team of volunteers!

BC Chamber of Commerce

Chamber Concerned Over Several Significant Bills

As we have highlighted in recent editions of the BC Chamber Legislative Watch newsletter our MLA's have been busy debating several significant pieces of legislation, of particular importance are:

Bill 18 - Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Cap and Trade) Act
This piece of legislation provides the structure for emission reporting, compliance and offences that will form the basis for the 'cap and trade' system that will be introduced later this year.
Bill 30 - Resource Road Act
If passed and implemented this bill would transfer back country roads from being under provincial jurisdiction and require users to obtain a permit and pay a fee for their use.
Bill 37 - Carbon Tax Act
While the Carbon Tax is revenue neutral this refers simply to its impact on provincial government revenue and does not address the impact the carbon tax will have on BC industry.

To read the entire newsletter, click here.

Valley Wide Business After Hours

On May 15th, the Valley Chambers gathered to celebrate "A New Beginning" to mark the birth of the newest city in the Okanagan Valley - the District of Westside.

More than 500 Chamber members from Vernon to Osoyoos enjoyed the warm weather and blue skies at the stunning Cove Lakeside Resort in Westside. Members visited with the many vendors on hand while sampling the delicious cuisine and local wineries. Congratulations to all the door prize winners who are now looking forward to using the destination packages they received.

See you next year in the South Okanagan!

View more pictures here.

JobWave

OVER 50 AND FABULOUS!

Canada's mature workers are ready to take on the workforce!

A large percentage of individuals looking for work in today's market are over 50 years of age and say they are having difficulty winning over employers. The question is - can you afford to miss out on the opportunity to grow your team with skilled, motivated employees?

"Older workers are determined to overcome the myths that exist about them today," says Myrt Turner, Director of Experience Counts - WCG's employment program for 55-64 year olds in Prince George. "They have so much to offer and can bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the job," says Turner.

Myth: Older workers are biding their time until retirement.

Reality: Many older workers want to continue to work.

Myth: Older workers are less productive.

Reality: Older workers can be as productive as younger workers. There is no significant difference in job performance between older and younger workers.

Myth: Olderworkers are unwilling/unable to adapt to new technologies.

Reality: Older workers have the ability to learn new knowledge and keep pace with younger workers. If anything, older workers generally recognize the need for continuous learning.

WCG International HR Solutions delivers programs like JobWave and Triumph Vocational Services in over 250 communities across British Columbia in collaboration with close to 70 community agency partners, the business sector and the provincial government. WCG was just named the 43^rd Best Workplace in Canada by Canadian Business magazine.

For more information contact Don Strang in Penticton at 276-1002 or 1-888-JOBWAVE.

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How to Make Business Good
When Times are Bad

Archetypal Patterns, Part 3

Here's the Pattern: When times are tough and customers are scarce, business owners buckle down and try to become even better at the things they do well. They do this because they trust the Guide pattern, "This has always worked in the past."

Perhaps you're doing the same.

But following the Guide pattern in a declining market won't take you where you want to go, since staying who you are won't expand your customer base.