The South Okanagan Chamber of Commerce hosted a recent business walk in Oliver’s industrial sector. Shown from left are Chamber Executive Director Denise Blashko, Kelly Venables from Pacific Silica, and Town Councillor Petra Veintimilla.
To improve the intertwined relationship between business and politics, delegates from the Town and province were invited to join the local chamber on a tour of Oliver’s industrial sector.
The chamber hosted a business walk last year of Oliver’s retail shops and chose to visit the industrial sector this year.
Denise Blashko, executive director of the chamber, said businesses were surveyed and a report from this year will be compiled and put in contrast to last year’s to look for common themes and challenges.
Joining the South Okanagan Chamber of Commerce on the business walk was chamber president Corrie Adolph, Mayor Ron Hovanes, Councillor Petra Veintimilla, Councillor Maureen Doerr, chamber board member Grant Storzuk and Larry Olson, regional economic development manager for the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training.
The businesses they dropped into were Argon Electric and Solar, Outreach Neon Ltd., South Okanagan Deck and Rail, Speciality Kitchens and Countertops, Visual Telecoms Solutions Ltd. and The Painted Chair.
“It was nice and positive and so good to hear that everybody’s busy and they’re happy,” said Doerr.
Businesses are reporting healthy workloads – some won’t advertise because their production is at capacity and others can’t find enough staff, Doerr said. One of the looming challenges is planning the succession for aging business owners, who don’t all have children able to take over.
“Larry Olson talked to them about some courses that he’s going to do in Oliver and the area regarding succession planning and how to go about it,” she said. “The government has some sources you can tap into.”
Doerr said owners didn’t express any need for extra municipal assistance.
“I wanted those people to come to council and be poster children for great businesses because it was so refreshing to hear that they’re busy and they don’t need to advertise.”
Although most local businesses are in good shape the way things are, Doerr said there’s money leaving the community that doesn’t need to be. She said some Oliver businesses purchased solar panels without giving Argon a chance to bid.
“I would like to at least see them give the local company a chance to bid before they source outside the community.”
As the owner of Beyond Bliss, Doerr said she offers retail therapy, which attracts a much different clientele than industrial businesses.
“They rely on contracts and orders, whereas I’m a retailer and rely mostly on walk-in business.”
However, both sectors are being somewhat overlooked by local shoppers, she said.
“People tend to drive out of town to shop because they think there’s nothing in Oliver because they don’t walk Main Street. They don’t actually know what’s in town. It goes back to the comment with the solar panels – people need to look around their own town and know what they have available, and shop outside only if they can’t find what they’re looking for.”
She said that with the right marketing strategy, there’s hope that Main Street can be revitalized back to what it used to be.
“When I grew up, Friday nights were amazing on Main Street. Everybody walked Main Street, it was your social time. And now it’s so easy for people to drive – it takes no effort to just go to Kelowna for the day. When we were growing up, you planned that for months because it was such a rare occasion.”
By Dan Walton
