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Table of contentsA word from the Chair of the Board

A word from the President and CEO

Vision & Purpose

Board of Directors & Staff

Chamber at a Glance

OCC AGM Conference

Outstanding Business Achievement Awards

Membership Services

New Task Forces

Achievements

Connecting Members with Government

When Government listens...

Social & Networking Events

Volunteers

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A word from

the chair

of the board

Looking back over the past year, I’m struck by the tremendous challenges that we as a business community have had to contend with. The province increased the minimum wage and introduced new scheduling costs and constraints. The quick rollout and the administrative burden risks hampering growth and as a Chamber we continue to call for re-thinking these measures. Another challenge came from the federal government’s proposed business tax measures. Because of the fierce opposition the federal government has backed off some of its proposals, but others remain. On these and other issues the Sarnia Lambton Chamber has been able to present a constructive business perspective.

At the same time, I’m deeply encouraged by clear signs of economic growth in our community. I’m especially encouraged by the strength of our organization to bring forward fresh thinking and robust advocacy on behalf of our members.

In May, our Chamber hosted the AGM of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. Delegates discovered that we are a forward-thinking and diverse community, at the forefront of bio-based research and environmentally responsible development of the petro-chemical industry. The Premier, too, heard that message. First Nations Dancers performed a traditional welcome – many delegates said they were deeply moved. A wide range of Chamber volunteers and supporters, from the organizing team to our sponsors, helped make the event a huge success, and we owe then a deep debt of gratitude.

Locally, the Chamber has hosted successful Business after Five events, as well as the blockbuster Outstanding Business Achievement Awards in June. We’ve also engaged our municipal leaders in constructive dialogue, ensuring that our community continues to advance a supportive business agenda. Our core strength as an organization is our attention to our members’ needs. We’re now even better positioned to deliver on that. Our President and CEO Shirley de Silva leads a dedicated team: Monica Shepley on advocacy, Kim Inniss-Peterson on member engagement, Diane Nadeau on accounting - personnel and Ana Dailey on information coordination and member support. She had again delivered a budget surplus. As for the Board, we remain deeply committed to our Strategic Plan objectives: increasing member engagement; shaping the future through advocacy; ensuring financial stability; and enhancing corporate excellence.

The year ahead is exciting. With the announcement of the Nova expansion, new investments in bio-innovation, the expansion of Lambton College, as well as growth in the housing sector, Sarnia-Lambton will more than ever need the diversity, dedication and agility of the small and medium size enterprises. Our new advocacy teams will focus on improving the airport, identifying opportunities for youth, and building a culture of entrepreneurship. We can’t stand still.

I’d like to thank Shirley and her team for their tireless work on behalf of our members. I’d also like to thank fellow Board members for their dedication and service. And finally, let me thank our volunteers, who give of their time and expertise to help make Sarnia Lambton a community we all want to do business in.

Michael John Kooy Chair, Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce

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A word from

the president

and CEO

Every year, as we look ahead to what the Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce hopes to accomplish, we reflect on what has helped define our progress. I’m excited because in the course of the past year, our Board of Directors has come together to update our vision, purpose and strategic direction. We have made major adjustments that have allowed us to look forward in a way that maintains our historic leadership role. This became evident in the development of the new strategic plan that focuses on our value propositions and shifts our advocacy agenda towards a highly local constituency, that being our local communities. I’m also excited to help launch a forward-thinking approach for our organization. The ability to adapt to new realities, faced by the Chambers across Canada, was part of that exercise and I believe we are now seeing positive evidence that is resulting from those discussions. It's an initiative that we have become very good at because several times over the years we have successfully adapted, reacting to challenge and responding effectively. I can tell you with certainty that I'm proud of my team, in their resilience and dedication to working together and I’m happy to say your Chamber is doing well. We have established new, more flexible and nimble ways of incorporating local business insights to advocate on positions that are key to the future of our region with the help of an advisory team and task forces. This new way of taking the pulse of the membership has allowed us to act quickly and with strategic prowess, as we respond to actions taken by various levels of government. It's all part of our role in scanning the landscape that our members face each and every day. We have also sought to strengthen our communication efforts and plan to continue doing so. We are also continuing to adapt, as we take advantage of strong relationships we have with Chamber networks, both provincially and across the country. Throughout the year, we arranged various roundtable events and town halls, focusing on issues such as the cost of electricity, cap and trade, the corporate tax changes and Bill 148. We also continued a tradition of participating at Advocacy Day at Queens Park, attending and presenting resolutions at the Canadian and Ontario Chambers of Commerce forums and presented to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs on behalf of our members. In addition, more than 200 participants from across Ontario came to Sarnia-Lambton as we hosted the Ontario Chamber of Commerce Annual General Meeting and Conference. That, combined with a litany of other legislative initiatives that affect our businesses every day of the year made for a very active 2017. Looking ahead, we will continue to advocate on key issues, activities that define what it means to strengthen our business community and keep members abreast of changes that may impact them through our communications channels. One thing is clear: your Chamber has a rich history of being able to adapt in the face of change, connecting to our members and taking advantage of new opportunities. Just know that everything we do starts with the business community in mind and we will adjust our focus to meet the needs of our members. Entering our 113th year, we are more determined than ever to serve as the voice of the business community and be the catalyst empowering business to succeed. Let me offer my congratulations to all our members for their successes and thank you to the business community for working with and through the Chamber this past year. I’m excited about our future. Thank to everyone, board members, staff, sponsors, partners and volunteers for giving so much You deserve credit as we undertake this tremendous journey. Thank you. Shirley de Silva President and Chief Executive Officer 5

Vision & Purpose

Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce is a catalyst empowering business to succeed

We are the nexus of local business dedicated to fostering vibrant, diverse and prosperous communities

Members matter IntegrityHistorical rootsEntrepreneurshipVolunteers, staff and partners are importantConfidentiality and privacy of information

Increase membership engagement Shape the future through advocacyEnsure financial stabilityCorporate excellence & leadership

Vision

Purpose

Values

Strategic Goals

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The Board of Directors & Staff

Chair Michael John Kooy RBC Dominion

1st Vice-Chair Charles Fisher Mainstreet Credit Union

2nd Vice-Chair Ryan Bell George, Murray, Shipley, Bell LLP

Hon. Secretary-Tresurer Mary Jean O'Donnell MJ Waste Solutions

Past Chair Mark Lumley Fairwind Farms

Jon McEachran Entrepreneur

Kathleen Mundy Little Caesars

Abdul Younis TD Canada Trust

Greg Holmes Sarnia Observer

Kurtis Gray Lambton College

Bevin Perdu Young Professionals

Mat Berube Leadwave

Mike Service Larlyn Property Management

Executive Members of the Board

Staff

Shirley de Silva President & CEO

Diane Nadeau Accounting & Personnel Administrator

Ana Dailey Information Coordinator

Monica Shepley Manager, Advocacy & Policy Development

Kim Inniss-Petersen Manager, Member Engagement & Retention

Stephen Thompson Sarnia Lambton Economic Parntership

Joyce Doyle Blue Water Area Chamber of Commerce

Karen Sanders Lambton Federation of Agriculture

Ex-Officio

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Chamber at a Glance

Our messaging goes out to

4,419 social media followers!

Multiply that by

our followers' shares and

our reach is endless!

737 MEMBERS

46 NEW MEMBERS

38 EVENTS

Membership broke down by category

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OCC AGM ConferenceHosting the AGM and Convention of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce was an opportunity to remind ourselves just how important the role of advocacy is to the benefit of not only our members but businesses throughout the province and beyond. Over 200 chambers came to Sarnia-Lambton from across Ontario.

Our connection to the Ontario Chamber and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce are both important, but it's at the local level where the Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce, and your membership in our organization, really shines.

With strategies in place to identify key issues and opportunities to dialogue with our members on what future issues may be emerging, we remain well poised to take the initiative in influencing political decision makers and regulators.

Politicians turn to the Chamber of Commerce on a regular basis to make sure that the views of the business community are heard.

A key benefit of being a local Chamber member is knowing that there are opportunities for individuals—whose time is certainly valued—to take part in shaping the recommendations that we put forth as a business community.

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Outstanding Business Achievement Awards 190 nominees

Every year, the Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce honours and celebrates the very best in business excellence at its Outstanding Business Achievement (OBA) awards gala. The awards recognize the best and brightest in local business in 16 categories ranging from innovation to marketing to employee relations. The gala – which has evolved into a somewhat ‘social event of the year ’ was held last June to a “sold out” house.

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Membership Services

GBOC is a FREE mentoring service that helps businesses identify the steps they can take to begin exporting, to expand

their sales abroad and seek new markets. Interested businesses are matched up with a group of “export experts” who will guide them through the process and provide free

face-to-face advice.

Group Health Insurance Shipping Services

Data Payment Fuel Savings Program

and more...

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"GBOC's biggest gift was bringing together different levels of government support agencies for a general meeting that helped us better understand the various generous programs available to companies like Great Pretenders that manufacture in Canada. Thank you GBOC."

Great Pretenders, Point Edward, ON

New Task Forces

One of the biggest successes was establishing a renewed focus on the way we put the experience and expertise of our members to work. After an extensive review of how the Chamber develops its policy positions, a pilot project was initiated to try out a new process for identifying and prioritizing the issues with the help of a Policy Advisory Team, representing a cross section of the membership.

We have established five groups:

• Air Transportation • Digital Economy

• International Student Retention • Small Business Development • Trade Corridor Development.

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Achievements

In 2017, your Chamber worked on the following issues:

• Bill 148 • Provincial Interest Arbitration

• Cap and Trade • Municipal infrastructure Funding

• Electricity Costs • Downtown development

• Corporate Tax Changes • Government budgets

• Sarnia Transit Levy • Tree By-law

• Passenger Rail Service • Skills Mismatch

• Oversized Load Corridor • Enbridge Line 5

• De Minimis threshold for online shopping • Electric Vehicles

• Tax on Employee Health Benefits • Official Plans

• Financial Literacy • ESA Labour Exemptions

• Municipal Planning • NAFTA

• Red Tape •

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Connecting Members with

Government

Federal pre-budget presentation

Premier hosted by us at the OCC AGM

Advocacy Day at Queen's Park

Parliamentary Assistant Bob Delaney Roundtable

Bill 148 Town Hall14

When Government listens ....

Local government

• Decided not to move forward with changing the transit levy which would have taxed businesses and farms for bus services outside of their areas

• Deferred decision to pass a bylaw to regulate trees on private properties

Government of Ontario

• Promised to reduce the small business tax rate from 4.5% to 3.5% in 2018 to offset the costs of a higher minimum wage

• Committed $124 million over 3 years towards the hiring of youth and apprentices

• Mandated financial literacy lessons for all Grade 10 students • Introduced a potential new regulation to allow special carbon allowances for

Sarnia’s co-generation site • Established a Long Term Energy Plan that included affordability , a 20-year

energy price forecast and a commitment to make energy bills easier to understand

Government of Canada

• Decided not to tax employee benefits • Promised to reduce the small business tax rate from 10.5% to 9% by 2019

• Committed an easier transfer of a business to the next generation • Backtracked on the proposed corporate tax changes that would have restricted

access to the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption and changed the rules on conversion of Capital Gains into Dividends. Rules on income splitting were

clarified and a $50,000 threshold for passive income investments was established

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Jan MarchFeb

OctSeptJuneMay

DecNov

April

Social & Networking Events

The Workplace Group

Sarnia ObserverLeadwave at Paddy Flaherty's

Sarnia Sting at Brownstones

Business Showcase

Town of PetroliaPollutech

Mainstreet Credit Union

Tourism Sarnia Lambton

Dante Club

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VolunteersThank you to our many volunteers for all that you do!

Kelly Ash Gary Atkinson Jason Baker Mike Banovsky Paul Beaudet Ryan Bell Lianne Birkbeck Missy Bosch Joeanna DeMarco- Bolce Hugh Brignall Ed Brost Reid Campbell Shauna Carr Melissa Chong Helen Cole Jason Cole Nicole Crosby Steve Crozier Joe Dedecker Bryan Doull Michael Edgar Cam Ellis Jon Ferwerda Franco Filia Ray Fillion Charles Fisher Johanna Franz Noelle Frank

Robert Gee David Grant Geoff Greening Richard Hall Mike Hanki Wendy Heasman Bruce Hein Mabel Higgins Leona Holland Matthew Hutchinson John Innes Valerie Inglis Sarah Jackson Devin Johnson Michael Kooy Joe Lasowski Helen Lomax Vicky Luke Maike Luken Julie Lukon Mark Lumley George Mallay Jessica Markic Donna Mathewson Jon McEachran Mat McEachran Judy McKeegan Jason McMichael Christopher Misch

Matt Mitro David Moody Gus Mumby Kathleen Mundy Jasmyn Newton Bill Norton Tom Paes Alex Palimaka Rick Perdeaux Elvira Popova Mark Russell Deanna Sandrin Lucio Sandrin Joel Simard David Simon Matthew Slotwinski Lisa Smith Peter Smith Leo Stathakis Dave Vanos Katherine Walker Paul West Adam Wood John Wood Chelsea Workman Abdul Younis Joe Zanyk

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Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce 556 N. Christina Street

Sarnia, Ontario N7T 5W6 519.336.2400 slchamber.ca