Chamber of Commerce keeps moving

BY ELYSE AMEND

elyse.amend@transcontinental.ca

About eight years ago, when Andrée Bélanger’s boss told her she was heading to Manila in the Philippines for four months to direct fashion school, she only had 10 days to get her vaccinations, obtain her visa, and pack her bags.

“It was not a foolish decision. I ended up staying four years. You have to take risks sometimes,” said Bélanger, who is now back in Quebec and living in Pierrefonds. This is the same philosophy she applies as the director general of the West Island Montreal Chamber of Commerce (WIMCC), a position she took up in August last year.

A lot has changed at the WIMCC in the past eight months, including the membership numbers: just under 500 local businesses have joined the Chamber, an increase of about six per cent.

“I can’t wait to sign the 500th one,” Bélanger said. With about 6,000 businesses in the West Island, Bélanger hopes those numbers will keep growing quickly. “We have almost 500 now. If everyone would bring in one more member, we’ll be at 1,000 next year. I don’t see why this chamber can’t be a big chamber. There’s nothing wrong with being great.”

With their partners, the WIMCC organizes numerous events for both its members and non-members, including the monthly Rendez-Vous TD – the latest of which was held last Tuesday afternoon at Restaurant La Serenata in Dollard des Ormeaux – and the CIBC Diplomat Breakfasts. Along with plenty of interesting information, these events provide a good venue for local businesspeople to network and establish contacts.

“It’s always the same thing. At home, your neighbour will always be your best friend, in my philosophy. We’re living the same situations,” she said, adding she has noticed some people may be reluctant to join for their own reasons. ‘But, before you find problems, why don’t you make the call and find out? You have the resources. You can do things…You don’t make clients and friends if you’re staying behind your desk.”

Gregory Mate, the president of Search Engine Academy – a three-year-old business based in Pointe Claire that teaches other businesses techniques on how to get noticed on the web by popping up high in Internet search results – joined the WIMCC late last year. Mate heard about the WIMCC after he opened another business 18 years ago.

“I should have joined back then, but I finally decided to do it for this company, and the reason was to make business contacts,” he said. “It’s definitely a great way to pass lunchtime, but it can turn into something that’s helpful to business, also. The cost (of joining) is minimal. I don’t think there’s any downside to joining. Only upsides.”

Bélanger said things at the WIMCC are still moving. They are currently in the process of revamping their website www.wimcc.ca) and have partnered with the Canadian Cancer Society to promote the Relay for Life which, for the first time ever, is coming to Pointe Claire this May. They are also working hard preparing for the Salon Affaires et Emploi (job fair) on Sept. 19 and 20, and have extended the inscription deadline for the Accolades – the WIMCC’s annual awards ceremony to be held in June – to March 26.

“It’s a brand new wind,” Bélanger said. “It’s been a year of movement and change. It’s been a refreshing year.”

For more information on the WIMCC, their activities, and membership, visit www.wimcc.ca.