Emily Plihal
Local Journalism
Initiative Reporter
Smoky River Chamber of Commerce is gearing up to create a Community Calendar in the upcoming year.
“We’ve seen other communities do a community calendar as a method to connect community members in a fun way and for local business to be visible in everyone’s kitchen year-round,” says president Nichole Simard.
“It’s called the Smoky River Regional Community Calendar.”
Simard says this will be a way for the calendar purchaser to fill in important dates to share with others in their community.
“(They will be able to) add birthdays, anniversary dates, or other important dates to the calendar,” says Simard.
“Here’s the fun part: all the calendars that get printed will have these dates included. That means you will see when it’s my birthday, and I’ll get to see when it’s yours.”
Simard expects this to be a way to help both the business community and residents connect with one another.
“Don’t be surprised if you get a few extra happy birthday wishes,” she says.
“This will be a 12-month calendar, tear-off style, so the business names and advertisements are visible the whole year through. Pretty handy for folks who need to find local services, as well,” she adds.
Simard urges any community member to reach out to order their own calendar, or for all businesses to reach out to get their ad inserted in. She says orders will be due by September and interested individuals can contact the chamber at smokyriverchamber@gmail.com.
“We hear from community members quite often that it can be hard to find services in the area, especially trades,” she notes.
“Many only advertise through word-of-mouth and may not have a storefront location. This will help connect services to those who need them.”
Simard hopes this will become an annual endeavour to allow businesses and their communities to stay linked on what is available in the region.
“They are $20 per calendar, complete with all your added important dates,” Simard explains.
“For businesses, we have member and non-member advertising rates. Contact us for more info,” she adds.
Simard says any business owners curious about the chamber and all the benefits offered to help businesses thrive should contact them via email at smokyrive rchamber@gmail.com or check out their website at www.smokyriver chamber.com.