Small Business Week Begins

By 250 News

Prince George, B.C. -  It is Small Business Week in B.C. and the local Chamber of Commerce has a jam-packed schedule of events, many centred around the province-wide theme of 'Power Up Your Business. Invest. Innovate. Grow.'

Prince George Chamber CEO, Jennifer Brandle-McCall, says "The main point of having an entire week dedicated to small business is to offer an opportunity for businesses to take time out to look critically at their business and their training and educational needs and to spend some time looking for ways to improve their businesses."

In a bid to support that process, the chamber is offering a number of workshops and information sessions throughout the week, starting with two tomorrow delivered by the Women's Enterprise Centre, based out of Kelowna and Victoria.  On Tuesday evening, there is a free seminar being offered by the B.C. Securities Commission at the Coast Inn of the North starting at 6pm.  Brandle-McCall says, "It's going to be basically offering information to Prince George business owners on how to protect themselves from investment fraud and, 'if a sales pitch sounds too good to be true, it just may be' -- the red flags of what to look for when you're hearing about investment opportunities.

Wednesday is the busiest day for the Chamber, itself, with a full day of workshops going on in the office.  And the week caps off with the CoC's biggest event of the year, the 2010 Business Excellence Awards Gala on Saturday, October 23rd.  Brandle-McCall says the event has moved to the Prince George Civic Centre this year because it's always been a sell-out and an even larger crowd is expected due to a planned tribute during the evening to honour former Executive Director, Sherry Sethen, who recently retired after 17 years in the position.  So far, 400 of the 500 tickets available have been snapped up.

As for the awards, themselves, there are 15 honours up for grabs, with the nominations now narrowed to the top three in each category.  The Chamber's 870 members who have cast their ballots have voted on the most deserving and the winners will be announced Saturday evening.  The Chamber's CEO says the gala, "really is a time for our community to rally and support and celebrate all the great work that small businesses and small business owners do in a big way and that's what keeps our community ticking."

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