Ninety years of business community

The Kimberley and District Chamber has long served the best interests of the area and looks forward to continued growth

1 of 2From left: chamber manager Mike Guarnery, treasurer Liana Shaw, board member Greg Bradley and Darren Close, president, work together to serve Kimberley's business community. — Photo courtesy Mike Guarnery

2 of 2Downtown Kimberley, B.C., a.k.a. the Platzl pedestrian mall. — William Pitcher photo

‹ ›

…

It’s been full of roller-coaster challenges and successes, but the Kimberley and District Chamber of Commerce is proud to have spent the last 90 years promoting business in the area.

Originally called the Kimberley Board of Trade, the organization was founded at a time when the local Sullivan Mine was a major industry. Kimberley was a busy little mining town, but in the 1970s, it became clear that mining was a declining industry in Kimberley and the City adopted a Bavarian theme in order to bolster tourism. At that time, the chamber was rechristened the Kimberley Bavarian Society Chamber of Commerce. Today, as the Kimberley and District Chamber of Commerce, the organization serves much the same function as it always has, working with the City to welcome and grow business in the area.

“If you consider Kimberley’s history with the mine and the culture of the community that developed around the mine, there’s always been an attitude of risk-taking and innovation on the part of the business community,” said Greg Bradley, a member of the chamber’s board. “If we look at the Bavarian overhaul, there was a fair bit of risk-taking and leadership taken on by the business community at the time. You see that through the city . . . it’s just a general attitude of taking on ownership and really ensuring that, over time, Kimberley remains a vibrant community.”

Changing with the times

Kimberley recently went through a rebranding process with Story & Co., a successful business that chooses to call Kimberley home. The Kimberley chamber worked together with Tourism Kimberley and the City to make the city’s rebranding a reality.

“(Kimberley) seems to attract a very like-minded group of people,” said Bradley. “Putting a finger on what that is was a part of the branding process that we went through. A very soft-pedal kind of approach to promote Kimberley is that it’s a good place to be. That’s the tag line we came up with, and we found that the more people think about it, the more it really starts to resonate with them. It just has that feeling about it that is good and it’s where people choose to move to and choose to raise their families and run their businesses.”

There are a number of different facets to business in Kimberley, said Mike Guarnery, manager with the Kimberley and District Chamber of Commerce. The chamber looks forward to working with business succession and is currently conducting a business retention and expansion survey. A younger business community is helping maintain Kimberley’s vibrancy, and home businesses have a significant place in the community.

A forward-facing community

Current initiatives such as a newly purchased retail space, the Spirit Rock Climbing Centre and the potential Sun Mine project at the old Sullivan Mine site are tangible representations of a positive business climate, said Bradley. All in all, Kimberley is a good place to be, as its residents often choose the area for quality of life and community. It’s a climate that the chamber will be working to encourage.

“In working with the business community of Kimberley I (have come to) really appreciate their sense of community and their sense of goals to keep this city moving forward and to really present it in the positive light it deserves,” said Guarnery. “I’m working with like-minded, very professional, Kimberley-oriented people. Coming to work every day is an incredible professional gift.”