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.
Support for a landmark and a plan to bolster meeting attendance highlighted the agenda as the Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce met Tuesday. Members voted to use the chamber's upcoming bannock and chili lunch giveaway as a fundraiser to repair the Cenotaph war monument. While the food will still be free, donations will be accepted to help professionally clean the Cenotaph and repair the fence and cement surrounding it. This comes in response to a request for support for the Cenotaph project from Bob Penner, president of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 73. In a letter to local organizations, Penner said time and the elements have 'deteriorated the cement and fence surrounding the area' around the 54-year-old Cenotaph. Upgrade He said comments posted on Facebook last year got the ball rolling on a restoration project, with a volunteer committee struck to upgrade the area. 'The good news is that the monument needs a power wash, and the bad news is that the cement and fence need immediate work for the monument to last another 54 years,' Penner added. While donations are being sought, the Legion is also applying for grants to help cover the price tag. A sign at the bannock and chili lunch will clearly indicate that donations will go toward the Cenotaph work. The lunch will be held as part of the Trout Festival on June 28 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Main Street. Meanwhile, members voted to test a web-based program that brings people together, virtually, for meetings. There are concerns that chamber members who live outside Flin Flon have difficulty attending committee meetings. This fall, the chamber will take advantage of a one-month trial of a yet-to-be determined online meeting program. The host computer will be at the chamber office. If members agree there is value in the program, they will discuss whether the annual cost _ $348 at the low end and $468 at the high end _ is worthwhile. There are no immediate plans to use the program for the chamber's regular executive and general meetings, held three times a month at the Friendship Centre Restaurant. Other highlights from Tuesday's meeting: Options are being explored to update the chamber's website, President Kory Eastman told the dozen other attendees. The last provider of the website was local when hired but has since left the Flin Flon area. Eastman said the chamber is now looking at potentially hiring a local provider who would charge $300 to set up the site and $100 as an annual fee. He called that a very affordable rate, but more discussion is required before a decision is made. Eastman said the chamber's 2013 geocache coin will not be minted in time for the Trout Festival, but the goal is to have it ready for sale by Flinty's Birthday this August. The winner has been determined but will not be announced until a meeting between that individual and the chamber's coin committee can take place. The coin will be sold as a souvenir and as an item for inclusion in the 'caches' sought by those modern-day treasure hunters known as geocachers. Treasurer Lois (Bunny) Burke announced that hanging flower pots are expected to go up along Main Street next week. Suspended from brackets attached to the light posts, the flowers will be just five feet above the sidewalk, much lower than previous years, making watering and maintenance much easier. Burke has said the downtown flowers in The Pas also hang five feet off the ground and there have not been problems with vandalism. Eastman took time to promote the chamber's upcoming 'suggestion box meeting' to be held June 19 at The Unwinder, which can now be booked for formal gatherings. Following and during supper, members will be encouraged to put forth ideas on lobbying goals for the chamber and ways to make the organization more effective. Eastman said no one will be 'put on the spot' and that he hopes for a positive meeting with a good turnout. 'Everyone and every idea is welcome,' he said. For more information on the meeting, including the cost of supper, contact the chamber office at 204-687-4518.
