The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Doug O'Brien, the new president of the Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce, sees the future of Main Street as a major issue facing the organization. Elected to the position at the Chamber's annual general meeting yesterday at the Friendship Centre, O'Brien said he hopes the group can help address the concerns of downtown businesses. "A lot of them feel very threatened with what's happening out at the (Flintoba) Shopping Centre, and I think those are issues that the Chamber has to look at," said the one-time owner of three Northern Manitoba radio stations, including CFAR. "Maybe the Main Street businesses have some ideas for the Chamber as to what they would like to see." An active member of the Chamber for the past 31 years, O'Brien also sees Chamber membership Ñ the organization's main source of revenue Ñ as a crucial matter. "We would like to increase the membership in the Chamber to include many of the businesses that we don't have right now," he said. "To do that, I think there has to be a lot of face-to-face talking with the businesses to see what they want. Maybe we're not addressing their concerns, and maybe that's something the Chamber has to address, to see what those concerns are." This will be O'Brien's third stint as president, as he previously served two terms in the mid-1980s. The retiree said he again put forth his name for the position because he had the time and desire to help the Chamber. He also saw the opportunity to work with an executive council that he considers outstanding. "We've got some good people sitting on the executive this year, some people who are enthusiastic and I think that's what we need Ñ some enthusiasm," he commented. O'Brien heaped praise on his predecessor, Dave Kendall, saying the chartered accountant left "big shoes to fill." "Dave has worked very, very hard and put in hours and hours of time on the Chamber, among other organizations in town," said the new president. "He's been a great president for the Chamber." Originally from Riceton, Saskatchewan, outside of Regina, O'Brien came to Flin Flon in 1972 to work in the advertising department at CFAR. In 1982, he purchased CFAR, CJOB in The Pas and CHTM in Thompson Ñ the trio of stations that constitute the Arctic Radio Network. In 2000, O'Brien handed over the reigns of the three stations to his son, Tom. The complete 2003-04 Chamber of Commerce executive elected yesterday consists of: See 'Chamber' P.# Con't from P.# President - Doug O'Brien Past-President - Dave Kendall President-Elect - Karen Thomson First Vice-President - Phyliss Stadnick Second Vice-President - Maureen Kozar Third Vice-President - Tom Therien Treasurer - Lois (Bunny) Burke Secretary - Gordon Mitchell Directors - Dale Powell (to be followed by Bob Cooper); Keith Argo; Janice Cassidy; Lorraine Poirier; Lottie Schanowski; Phil Robinson; Catherine Hynes; and Mary Dwernichuk. Each member was elected to a one-year term.
