Editor's note: Gibsons and District Chamber of Com-merceand Coast Reporter are working on a series of articles to highlight the Cham-ber's theme for 2012 of 'business supporting community.'
This series will focus on the type of support that non-profit community groups and sports organizations receivefrom the business community. The Chamber is conducting surveys to gauge how these organizations are impacted overall and what would happen if they did not receive the support.
A good citizen is one who properly fulfills his role as a citizen. There are many opinions as to what constitutes a good citizen. Theodore Roosevelt once said, "The first requisite of a good citizen in this republic of ours is that he shall be able and willing to pull his weight."
I started with this quote that talks about being a good citizen and the degrees of separation that include us in the human web.
As an active member of several community organizations, I believe that here on the Coast we have a business web as well.
I often see many of the same businesses supporting our community - ranging from youth sporting activities to local service club events and community support fundraisers.
The so-called degrees of separation seem to connect us all and the health of our business community is vitally important to maintaining so many of the groups, clubs and organizations we all benefit from.
We can't stress enough that businesses cannot support us if we do not shop or use the services provided locally.
The phrase that things are more costly here can sometimes become over used. We tend to compare with some of the retailers and service providers off-Coast, and while a good or service may have a slightly lower sticker price, when we weigh the cost of the ferry travel, gas and time spent to save a few bucks, many times any perceived savings go out the window.
A clear example of the way the business web works is when businesses donate to service clubs and entrust them to donate the funds to support needs within the community. This is all part of the web that I'm talking about.
As we refer to the business community, it may sound a little abstract, but we all need to keep in mind that we are not talking about some folks living in a glass tower in another city. We are talking about our friends and neighbours and the outstanding financial support we receive from them. These folks are the coaches and Scout or Guide leaders and service club volunteers who also give tirelessly of themselves with many others to make our community the wonderful place it is.
The Gibsons and District Chamber of Commerce is proud to be representative of many of these individuals and is working to communicate the strong ties the business people and our community so richly enjoy.
A point from last month's column worth noting: the survey results from non-profit and sports organizations reflect that 87 per cent would be affected negatively without business support, while 22 per cent would have to offer less services or increased costs and 13 per cent say they would cease to exist.
See you next month.
Editor's note: Dean Walford is the vice president of the Gibsons and District Chamber of Commerce.
