Delegates to this year's AGM in Victoria can expect this year's meeting to be greener than that of years past.

In an effort to be kinder to the environment, the Canadian Chamber's AGM will reflect such things as:
• Requests to exhibitors to limit their giveaways
• No bottled water during meetings/breaks
• The Canadian Chamber's delegate giveaways will be reusable
• On-site, delegates will receive considerably less "paper".

In addition, the Chamber will not be printing hard copies of the proposed resolution books for delegates and chambers.

Proposed resolutions are already on the Chamber's Website; the complete, all-in-one, downloadable version will be there in days.

Chambers and delegates will be expected to access and download these documents based on their chamber's needs - whether in paper or electronic format - prior to arriving in Victoria.

Please note: no hard copies of the proposed resolution book will be available on site in Victoria.

Hurry - it's not too late to tell your Non-Dues Revenue Success Story to your Chamber Peers
This year's Canadian Chambers Competition is the 6th edition of this popular AGM event and the theme is nondues revenue.

We have already received several entries for the competition - but we may missing out on the best idea... yours! If you've got a great idea to share with your colleagues across the country - do it - put in an entry!

Remember - the deadline is August 14th!
An outline of the competition and appropriate forms can be found on the Chamber's Web site link to the documents.

Policy & Advocacy Update
Employment Insurance
In June, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Leader of the Official Opposition Michael Ignatieff agreed to form a working group to develop proposals for EI reform that would allow self-employed Canadians to participate voluntarily in the EI program and improve eligibility requirements in order to ensure regional fairness.

Chambers were recently sent information on EI which The Canadian Chamber of Commerce provided for advocacy efforts over the summer on this important file. Downloadable template letters for chambers and for chamber members are available under the Chamber Network Members section of the Web site, www.chamber.ca, visit Advocacy at Work.

Updated Border Report
In July, The Canadian Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with 47 business associations from both sides of the Canada-U.S. border issued an update to last year's border paper. Entitled Finding the Balance: Shared Border of the Future, this paper offers specific recommendations to reduce border costs in the short-term while increasing security at the border and competitiveness of all industries. It can be found on the Chamber's Web site.

Economic Series: Executive Summaries
Over the last few months The Canadian Chamber of Commerce, supported generously by ADP, has been able to produce a series of papers on key public policy issues facing Canada today. These reports include: immigration; Canadian energy; inflation and deflation; and a carbon tax versus cap and trade.

The entire series is available on the Chamber's Web site. The economic series was crafted not to recommend specific policy solutions, but to stimulate public discussion and debate about the nation's challenges.

For chambers' use, an all-in-one document with executive summaries of all of the papers has been put together. Please share with your members. The Chamber hopes that these analyses are useful to you and your stakeholders in raising public understanding and helping decision-makers make informed choices.

The summaries document is on the Chamber's web site.

New Chamber Members
This month the Canadian Chamber network has expanded a little farther and we'd like to welcome a new chamber to the chamber network:

Fort Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce (AB). Janine Brisebois, Executive Director, execdirector@fortsaskchamber.com. (Janine is new to the Chamber network too - having just started with the chamber in the last month!)

Chamber Changes
The following is a list of chamber staff who have recently assumed their positions at chambers across the country.
Welcome to the network!

Rose Ficco joins the Ontario Chamber of Commerce as Membership Services Coordinator, roseficco@occ.on.ca; (416) 482-5222, x242.

Irven Snider joins the Alberta Chambers of Commerce as Manager, Chamber Services. Irv had prior experience as the manager of the Ponoka Chamber of Commerce. Irv can be reached at isnider@abchamber.ca; (780) 425-4180, x 3.

North Vancouver Chamber of Commerce is looking for a President; the job posting is available at http://www.chamber.ca/index.php/en/chamber-network/C169/.

If you are a new manager or have changes that you would like the network to know about - let Stacey Roy know, sroy@chamber.ca.

Chamber Program Focus
Chamber of commerce member businesses can now access home and auto (where applicable) insurance through Johnson Inc.

In addition to providing a member benefit that will help improve members' bottom lines, The Canadian Chamber will pay 1.0% of the Home-Auto Administrative Support Agreement (ASA) and 1.5% of the MEDOC ASA to each member chamber based on the earned premium written for your member companies and their employees.

All you have to do to receive this payment is make the programs available to your members and their employees. Johnson Inc. provides you with printed and electronic marketing material to assist you in this. The marketing material is provided to you at no cost to your chamber.

There's also a great Web site that your members can access www.johnson.ca/chamber or, even better, insert a postcard for the program in to one of your electronic mailings; you can find the postcard at http://johnsoninc.powweb.com/ccc/index.html?show=true.
There is a link to the chamber program's Web site embedded in the message.

Dates to Keep in Mind
August 14th, 2009 - Deadline for submissions to the Canadian Chambers Competition.

October 1- 3, 2009 Chamber of Commerce Executives of Canada (CCEC): Annual conference Taking Care of Business: Chamber Success in Challenging Times, Victoria, BC. Information on joining CCEC or on the annual conference is available on the Canadian Chamber Web site under the Chamber Network tab

October 3-5, 2009 Canadian Chamber of Commerce annual general meeting, Victoria, BC National chamber meeting where 2010's policy agenda is set through debate and vote by delegates. Don't miss it! Information on-line now at www.chamber.ca.

Ideas Corner
Chamber executives and their staff are always busy coming up with the next best idea. And they're also a group that is willing to share those great ideas with their peers. Here's one for you...

Offer a Money-Back Guarantee!
Facing a tough sell for membership? If you are confident that your chamber is doing well and meeting and exceeding members expectations, then this is the idea for you!

What better way to show potential members that they have no reason not to join! You offer the potential member/hardsell a 100% money back guarantee.

Here's how it works: upon signing their membership form, they are asked to write down what their expectations are the first year of their membership. Once reviewed and approved by your chamber, staff works towards meeting and exceeding this member's expectations as indicated on their form.

Expectations are monitored closely, but the idea may just help a hesitant customer become a confident one. And who knows, this original tough-sell may become your next best testimonial!

Got an idea that you'd like to share with your colleagues from across the country? You know they say imitation is the highest form of flattery!

Have an idea you'd like to share? Contact Jennifer Hagen, jhagen@chamber.ca - you could see your idea in print here - fame and fortune await!(Well... at least fame...)

Click here to see the PDF format.