CORNWALL, Ontario – The Cornwall and Area Chamber of Commerce held their Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday, Sept. 22.
At the meeting Chamber members filled vacant seats on its board of directors, reviewed financial statements from the previous year, and passed new by-laws. The Chamber AGM was held later this year, and virtually, both due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the start of the meeting, Chamber President Shannon Lebrun gave an overview of the changes that the organization had undertaken over the past year including ending its relationship with ServiceOntario and selling their building on Second St. E.
“It became clear the Chamber was stretched between different priorities. While these priorities generated revenue, it distracted from our directive,” she said.
Lebrun went on to explain that without these distractions, the organization will be able to offer more value to its members going forward.
“We truly believe that Cornwall is an ideal place to grow and start a business and we are excited to be a part of that journey.”
Josée Payette, of Johnston and Beaudette Chartered Accountants gave an overview of the Chamber’s finances in 2019.
Payette said that the Chamber had a “status quo” year in 2019, ending with a small deficit of $766. She went on to say however, that because of the changes with ServiceOntario and selling their old building, future years will look very different.
“I have a feeling that when we have this conversation next year, the financial position of the organization will have changed drastically,” she said, citing the loss of revenue from ServiceOntario, and the loss of the liability of owning a building.
The Chamber confirmed five members to their 12-member board of directors. Lynn Chauvin, Bill Makinson, Shannon Lebrun, Joel Marleau, and Kristin Davey were all newly confirmed or re-confirmed to their positions on the Board.
