In the immortal words of Colin Clive’s Dr. Henry Frankenstein, “It’s alive. It’s alive… It’s alive!” After months of silence, the Meadow Lake and District Chamber of Commerce is letting the local business community know it still very much exists and efforts are underway to revitalize the organization for the betterment of all Meadow Lake and areas shops and services.

“Our board of directors wanted to reach out to you all regarding the Meadow Lake and District Chamber of Commerce,” Chamber president Miles Nachbaur wrote in a recent email to Chamber members “Our administrator position has been open since May 2025 due to a number of reasons, but this has given us an opportunity to assess what we have and where we might go. What we see in our community is hard working businesses trying to provide value and services to Meadow Lake and surrounding areas.” This past spring, the Chamber board decided to no longer employ a paid administrator. Apparently, in spite of continuous fundraising efforts, membership drives and more, the group simply could not secure enough money to support the paid administrator position. This meant the organization had to part ways with Trevor Dignean, the man who filled that role on and off for the Chamber over the past several years.

Since then, the Chamber has remained somewhat on the down low, but, according to Nachbaur, now has a chance to redefine itself. The first step was by conducting an outreach day last Thursday (Oct. 23) with the assistance of members from the Battlefords, Lloydminster and Saskatchewan Chambers of Commerce. “We want to hear from you on what your thoughts are on the Chamber and its place in our region,” Nachbaur noted in his email. “Our outreach team will also be able to answer questions on the benefits of being a Chamber member… I am so encouraged we have this opportunity to learn and connect with successful Chamber administrators from our neighbours… Our board of directors wants to hear from you and help us gather information on how our Chamber should look into the future.” Among the visiting Chamber representatives to tour Meadow Lake last week were Michelle Tatton, member relations manager with the Battlefords and District Chamber of Commerce, as well as Josie Fries, the senior director of marketing and events with the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce.

“We’re here to support the Meadow Lake Chamber and to help them get their operations up and going,” Fries said. “As a Chamber network, we’re all about supporting other Chambers. We’re here to help Miles show the Meadow Lake and District Chamber of Commerce is still here, it wants to be more active, and we’re here to help businesses understand how the Chamber can help you.” Fries went on to say the feedback received from the business community was primarily positive. “We had a lot of great conversations,” she said. “Our questions have mainly been around how the Chamber can support them, what they’d like to see, what used to happen they would like to see happen again, it’s really about figuring out what the community wants and how we can help the Meadow Lake Chamber get there. Everyone has been great to talk to. There’s been a lot of great ideas.”

Belonging to the Chamber of Commerce brings with it a number of benefits including but not limited to advocacy, group health benefits, merchant services, a Chamber website listing, volunteer opportunities and advertising sponsorship. “Advocacy is a big one,” Tatton noted. “We’ve been asking how the city is with business owners – what the relationships are like there – and the health benefits, while relatively new, is really taking off. It’s a big help for small businesses that maybe have one or two employees. It’s a perfect fit for them.” Fries echoed this. “There are a lot of tangible things the Chamber here is trying to reactivate,” she said. “Generally speaking, the goal of any Chamber is to be the voice of its business community.”

Both Fries and Tatton said they were more than happy to help the Meadow Lake Chamber when Nachbaur reached out to them for support. “Essentially, Miles is a volunteer,” Tatton said. “And, there isn’t a (Chamber) administrator in Meadow Lake at this time. So, we’re here to help him see what can be done to help the community.” Fries also said there is a need for more volunteers at the local level. “They need volunteers for everything, so part of the conversations we are having is to see if you or someone else is interested in being more a hands-on volunteer,” she said. “Meadow Lake is part of our overall network, and we have access to so many resources that can help. That’s what Chambers are all about – bringing businesses together and having these conversations. It’s nice to do so at a local level.”