Why you should become a Chamber Member today!
 
Chambers were established and designed to help your business.

As private sectors report a slow in BC’s economy for the rest of 2024, businesses are feeling the weight of high interest rates, increasing cost of living, and softening global markets more than ever. It is imperative for these businesses to feel a sense of stability in the supports that are offered. Chambers are an integral part of those foundational support services.

What is a Chamber of Commerce?

A question that is asked more and more – what is a chamber? Our interest is your business. The chamber’s advocacy work directly impacts local business communities as we act as the bridge between business and government within our regions. The Ridge Meadows Chamber operates and advocates within the cities of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows. However, our work is not limited to the municipalities we represent. The work of the Chamber extends to all level’s government – including Provincial and Federal – through our participation in the BC Chamber of Commerce and Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

Benefits and Services

All Chambers offer several different benefits and services to their membership. From Group Insurance to everyday business expense savings, the Ridge Meadows Chamber will always work to provide you with a service or support that your business can benefit from – long term. We even offer gas savings – probably one of the more relevant benefits during this challenging economic time.

Included in our amazing benefits, the team at the RMCC work tirelessly to provide amazing in-house services such as individual marketing e-blasts to our 1500 newsletter subscribers, as well as help coordinate marketing on our social media and ensure you can develop the right strategies for your business. We can also help new entrepreneurs with their aspirations with our “How to Start Your Business” package (available on our website) – tailored to the City of Maple Ridge. We are currently in the collaborative process of developing one with the City of Pitt Meadows as well.

Networking and Connecting

After a long time of isolation due to a global pandemic – an unprecedented amount of people are looking to rebuild those lost connections. Chambers are the perfect outlet for businesses who need to rebuild those networks – or start new ones.

So many people in the last 4 years have found a passion in a new business – homebased or otherwise – and are seeking the supports of the community to continue their growth. The Ridge Meadows Chamber offers a multitude of different types of events – from casual and intimate, to large scale events – such as our 2024 Ridge Meadows Business Excellence Awards that had record breaking attendance this year.

Our monthly Business After Hours are our casual evening socials that we host in any one of our 500 members establishments and is kindly sponsored by our Group Insurance provider – S+F Benefits, who serve over half of the RMCC’s membership.

Education and Growth

We understand that not everyone has been given an opportunity to learn and grow within different areas of business. A lot of people start out with an idea and turn that concept into a success story. The RMCC offers several educational luncheons throughout the year that can focus on topics such as Social Media Management or Human Resources Development, and much more. These educational series known as Food 4 Thought, are opportunities for business owners and their team to develop the necessary skills to maintain a thriving and positive work environment. All of our upcoming events or educational series can be found on our event page.

Advocacy Work and City Roundtables

As a chamber that represents two municipalities, we believe it is important to work with our cities both individually and together to produce meaningful conversations between their business communities.. The Ridge Meadows Chamber actively puts together roundtables – both for industry specific topics as well as creating connection opportunities for the communities and their elected officials.

Having balanced and non-partisan relationships with all our elected officials at each level of government is an important value that all chambers maintain. The RMCC is no different – and we take any opportunity to give businesses and dignitaries an open and productive space to voice concerns, comments, and commitments.

Working Together

“We are extremely proud to be an all-female office with a 50% female Board of Directors,” states our CEO, Kristi Maier. “We are a compact yet dynamic team of three. Tetiana serves as the front of house, the voice you’ll hear on the phone, and the point of contact for all inquiries and concerns. Dara is the creative force behind our communications and events – responsible for our record-breaking event attendance.”

And it isn’t just the staff in the office, Monday to Friday, who pull off the Ridge Meadows Chamber’s success.

“Our Board of Directors comprises a diverse array of business professionals. In my seven years within the chamber realm, I’ve encountered no board as active, caring, and devoted as ours.” Maier says, reaffirming our value that all voices can and will be heard within our organization.

“Together, our chamber operates from a foundation of compassion, genuine care, and unwavering support for our business community.”

The Ridge Meadows Chamber serves 500 members in the Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows business communities and operates on the traditional territories of the Katzie and Kwantlen First Nations.