- Community Relations Committee
- Business Development Committee
- Membership Services Committee
- Eastman Immigrant Services
COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMITTEE
The mission of the Steinbach Chamber of Commerce is to unite and represent Steinbach and area businesses in the belief that the resulting economic growth and stability provides an enhanced quality of life for the entire community.
The mandate of the Community Relations Committee is to bring business and community together. Over the years, the committee has supported this statement by way of coordinating various community events and participating in community initiatives. As Committee representatives, we look for ways to celebrate many local business successes and support tourism to our community.
As usual, the recent Pioneer Days Parade was a huge success! Even with the adjusted route due to construction, it was one of the biggest and most well attended parades to date. Many local businesses put in countless hours of creative energy, and it showed in the incredible floats and parade entries.
We are looking forward once again to bringing our local business members together with the community through our Steinbach Burger Days event, and next year’s Pioneer Days Parade, both of which consistently generate strong community involvement and support for our local businesses. Our committee is also excited to continue building on the success of our second Taste of Steinbach event. This year’s event at the Steinbach Airport provided an incredible and unique local dining and connection experience for the Southeast region, highlighting the economic value of our airport and its stakeholders.
The Community Relations Committee would like to thank the Chamber membership for their support and invite them to provide feedback and ideas to continue to foster a spirit of community here in Steinbach.
Submitted by Committee Chair, Adam Jarvis – Barkman
Matthew Penner – Print Studio One/Three Six North Marketing
Dom Trotta – Steinbach Dodge Chrysler Ltd.
Brad Elias – Coldwell Banker Preferred Realty – Realtor
Jonathan Knowles – Titanium Mechanical
Kevin Geisheimer – Hylife Ltd.
Lindsay Penner – Embody Wellness Studio and Clinic
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
The mandate of the Business Development Committee (BDC) is to promote and support growth and development of the business community. The BDC works effectively to organize these learning opportunities in various ways as we learn from those who have pursued their vision in the business community over time, by hosting Professional Development presenters, and developing the young leaders of our region.
The mandate of the Business Development Committee (BDC) is to promote and support growth and development of the business community. The BDC works effectively to organize these learning opportunities in various ways as we learn from those who have pursued their vision in the business community over time, by hosting Professional Development presenters, and developing the young leaders of our region.
A highlight for our Committee this year has been the first ever Chamber Challenge. This event featured young entrepreneurs from Southeastern Manitoba that pitched their business ideas to a group of judges. The judges were represented by the business and public sectors and collaborated to choose the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finishers. These winners received cash rewards from event sponsors. The committee is already starting to plan next years Chamber Challenge and is looking forward to more presentations from youth entrepreneurs.
SCU will also once again host the Roundtable Mentor Event happening in October. This event features a fantastic group of local mentors who will undoubtedly educate and inspire attendees. Our Committee is also looking forward to a special upcoming speaker event in Fall so stay tuned for more details.
Looking ahead, the Business Development Committee is excited about what 2025 will bring, with an emphasis on quality over quantity events and continued focus on engagement with our local business community.
Submitted by Co-Chair, Rob Warkentin – Steinbach Credit Union
Co-Chair Chris Esau – Schinkel Properties
Gerald Banman – Evergreen West Ltd.
Jill Pankratz – Steinbach Holiday RV
Chad Brown – Brown’s Plumbing & Heating
Jeremy Dyck – MNP
Cassandra Bueckert – Smith Neufeld Jodoin
Sadja Siemens – Scholars of Steinbach
Stephanie Williams – Lakeview Insurance Brokers Steinbach
MEMBERSHIP SERVICES COMMITTEE
The mandate of the Membership Services Committee (MSC) is to develop and implement effective marketing, mentoring, and membership programs to achieve Chamber retention and recruitment objectives.
The following is a summary of the key areas of focus for our Committee in 2024:
Membership Growth & Retention
The Steinbach Chamber of Commerce continues to see strong growth. The Chamber continues to support businesses, both existing and new members, by reaching out, connecting with new members, offering referrals to business supports, and attending grand openings.
Mixers
This year we held mixers at the MHV with Steinbach Community Foundation, Loewen Body Shop with RIVR Financial, The Home Workshop, Fast Insurance, and Galen Peters Accounting, and Prairie Oaks with Schinkel Properties. These were our most well attended mixers to date with over 180 people joining us at Loewen Body Shop. This winter we will also host a mixer at Penn-Co’s new building on November 14. Make sure to join us then!
Business Excellence Awards
The Business Excellence Awards exist to recognize and celebrate the great work that is being done within our business community. This year, our annual awards ceremony will be held once again at Friedensfeld Community Centre on October 24th. The Membership Services Committee extends a big thank you to the Awards Nomination and Selection Committees for their engagement and enthusiasm.
Submitted by Committee Co-Chairs, Bailey Simner – Simner Mortgages, Invis and Gion Delvecchio – Golden West Broadcasting
Darren McGill – BDC Business Development Bank of Canada
Eugene Warwaruk – Loewen Henderson Banman
Alan Klippenstein – Schinkel Properties
Donny Wolfe – Re/Max Performance Realty
EASTMAN IMMIGRANT SERVICES
Eastman Immigrant Services is funded by the Governments of Canada and Manitoba, and has been supporting newcomers and immigrants in Southern Manitoba for over 20 years. In addition to working with newcomers, EIS is invested in working together with community partners to support welcoming newcomers to Eastern Manitoba.
Eastman Immigrant Services (EIS) assists newcomers settling in the Eastman and Interlake regions in Manitoba. EIS has welcomed many newcomers from Ukraine in 2023, which has contributed to the growth of our program this past year. The region also continues to welcome newcomers from around the world with the top five countries of birth being Ukraine, Philippines, India, Mexico and Germany.
Our settlement services also continue to grow in the Interlake region with our main office being in Arborg. Needs in this region have grown considerably due to a large number of Ukrainians settling in the area.
We were able to host more events and had more people attend than in past years. Clients were able to fully connect with both community members and those from their home countries. This significantly aids clients in feeling at home within EIS and within Canada as a whole. Clients are eager to connect and build communities in the regions which has resulted in a new influx of volunteers into EIS. This collaboration resulted in events such as “Culturama” which showcased different cultures and was a huge success in both the Eastman and Interlake regions.
Employment Services
Building strong relationships with local businesses is a crucial part of our employment program. As a result, we were able to orchestrate and execute our main event of the year—the Job Fair. Twenty-seven local businesses participated and through effective promotion, we had an impressive turnout of 409 attendees!
English For Work
EIS continues to offer the English for Work program which has run for the past several years with enrollment numbers increasing significantly in the past two years. At the end of June 2024, we had 190 clients use our English for Work services.
SWIS (Settlement Workers in School)
Since reaching an agreement with Hanover School Division for SWIS to conduct all newcomer school registrations, we have instituted SWIS arranged school tours and provided interpreters for these tours. Volunteer interpreters for parent/school meetings and other contacts with newcomer families has improved communication and understanding both for newcomers and school staff.
HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters)
HIPPY is a newer program where our home visitors help preschoolers (ages 3-5) and their parents prepare for school and life in Canada. HIPPY 2023-2024 saw much growth and success! We had a total of 71 clients and guests attend the celebration where children received certificates for the work that they accomplished this year. Thank you and all the best to our former HIPPY Coordinator, Joelle Klassen, in her future endeavours, and we welcome Donna Pae as our new HIPPY Coordinator!
Number of New Clients who Received Settlement Services in the last 5 Years
2023 – 1379
2022 – 1404
2021 – 663
2020 – 554
2019 – 741
Submitted by Gwen Reimer – EIS Program Director
Catherine Chlopecki – Settlement Facilitator (Interlake)
Sarah Simbi Nakure – Settlement Facilitator
Emily Guenter – Settlement Facilitator
Andrii Kovalskyi – Settlement Facilitator
Itrat Anwar – Settlement Facilitator
Amira Salvi – Settlement Facilitator
Roxanne Buhler – Settlement Worker in Schools
Maria Zhosan – Settlement Worker in Schools
Pam Einarson – Settlement Worker in Schools (Interlake)
Olesja Schwabauer – Eastman Region Immigration Partnerships Coordinator
Barb Plett – English Teacher Lead
Iryna Sosnii – Employment Facilitator
Ritu Kumar – Volunteer & Integration Coordinator
Donna Pae – HIPPY Program Coordinator
Angela Plett – HIPPY Home Visitor
Magali Escareno – HIPPY Home Visitor
Amber Reitsma – Communications Coordinator