Benefits of Membership

If your goal is to grow your business by networking, then you have come to the right place!The Chamber hosts a variety of networking events during the year, including General Dinner Meetings, where members have the opportunity to share ideas and business information, to connect with others, listen to a guest speaker and showcase their business. Aside from those events, we also host an annual Golf Tournament, Business Expo, Business Excellence Awards, Canada Day festivities, Summer by the Sea Street Market, Lunch & Learns, New Member Breakfasts and, of course, monthly Business After Business events.

Our monthly Business after Business (BaB) events are also a great way to meet other members. As the host of a BaB, you have the opportunity to showcase your business to a captive audience or simply make a date with someone to play golf with on Saturday.

Referrals are a big part of what we do. On average, the Visitor Centre welcomes over 20,000 people each year and answers many telephone inquiries. Local residents, businesses and tourists are seeking information on: Accommodations, Shopping, Relocation, Attractions, Restaurants and Services. Members can display their business cards/brochures at the Centre to capture the attention of visitors.

Our Website and its Business Directory are the main source of information for the many daily inquiries by phone, email and in person about local businesses. Your membership includes a basic listing, a link to your site / email, a location map and the tools to load your own logos and pictures. Be sure to update your information regularly.

We have a Social Media presence through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (with over 1,500 followers), and like/follow our members and others so we can pass on relevant, member to member, information to our followers.

Referrals.We work behind the scenes to promote your business 24/7. When potential clients stop by the Chamber office or come in to the Parksville Visitor Centre, we point new customers in your direction through word-of-mouth advertising. Put your promotional material on display and find potential clients when and where they're looking. Our Online Member Directory has the double impact of enabling people to find out about your business through the Official Chamber Site while simultaneously increasing the visibility of your own website on the search engines.

Sponsor an Event. Many of the Chamber's monthly events offer high value sponsorship opportunities. As a non-profit organization, our events couldn't and wouldn't occur without the ehlp of our generous and supportive sponsors. There are sponsorship opportunities available for any business, no matter how small or large. Our sponsors benefit from exposure at events through various marketing mediums, showcasing and speaking opportunities, networking, VIP treatment at the event, complimentary access to that Chamber dinner and thank you announcements made at the event.

Donate a Prize. We host annual events for which we ask businesses to donate a prize, such as the Gala, Golf Tournament and other Chamber dinner events. This offers great exposure of your services, products or branding to our Chamber members and their guests. You choose what value of gift to donate to gain maximum awareness.

Advocacy Working on your Behalf

The Parksville and District Chamber of Commerce has teamed up with industry, business associations, and other Chambers of Commerce to work with municipal, provincial and federal government bodies to find solutions to issues that negatively affect business and/or our community.

A list of the Policy and Position papers in the works is right here.

NEW! SME INSTITUTE

The SME Institute by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce is designed as a one-stop shop to give SMEs of all sizes, maturity and sectors the resources they need to adapt, grow and thrive. Get more details at https://www.smeinstitute.ca/

Merchant Visa/MasterCard Preferred Rates

Chamber of Commerce members can see the following advantages when working with Elavon:

• Excellent payments hardware
• Industry leading reporting capabilities
• Increased support from our BC based team of experts
• Increased profits through lower processing fees

  Call the Chamber office at 250-248-3613 to find out more.

  Member 2 Member Discounts

  This program is based on “Members Supporting Members”. Participating members offer 10%, 20%, or 30% off of their regular prices to other members. The use of your member card identifies those who participate. This program encourages our members to shop locally; it's a win-win.

  Market Discounts

  Member discounts are offered for the Summer by the Sea Street.

  Fuel Discounts

  With the cost of fuel today, ANY discount can make a difference. We are pleased to participate in special programs and be able to pass these discounts to you. Our current partner is: Esso Imperial Oil. Contact us to learn more.

  Shipping Discounts

  Sourcing your own rates from multiple carriers can be too slow, too difficult and too time-consuming, so streamline your process by using our Freightcom technology that can integrate, consolidate and improve the entire end-to-end shipping process. .

  Other Affinity Programs

  There are several other affinity programs you may access, including Constant Contact and Rogers for Business.

Whether you're a solo entrepreneur, home-based business or part of a larger firm, benefits are a very important part of your financial security. The Chambers Plan lays a solid foundation for that security, based on a benefit program designed specifically for you and your company! Coverage

• Dental Care
• Extended Health Care
• Group Term Life Insurance
• Critical Illness
• Disability Coverage
• Accidental Death & Dismemberment
• Best Doctors
• Business Overhead Expense Insurance
• Employee Assistance Services
• Group RRSP
• For more information, contact our local representative, Mike Hrabowych

Stay informed about Chamber events and activities through the weekly "Business Matters" e-news. Members are encouraged to use this communication tool as a way to communicate with other members...a Value-Added benefit of your Chamber Membership! Send your e-news submissions to the publisher, and we will include member info that is directly relevant, member to member, as well as newsworthy, to give you the business edge. If we keep each other up-to-date about our businesses, then it will make cross-referrals more effective. The Chamber is also active on social media through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest for immediate updates and information that we hope will be of interest to our followers.

Chamber E-Blast. YOU choose your message and WE E-blast out to over 1100+ newsletter subscribers on a day of your choice (except Tuesdays and Thursdays) and share to our social media pages to thousands of followers. $125 + gst.

Social Media Posting - Business of the Week. Strategic posting to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and Pinterest highlighting the highest priority talking points and image of your business. $50 + gst.

Chamber Website and Visitor Centre/Mobile Kiosk Video. Your desired promotion/business highlight will be professionally filmed and advertised at the Parksville Visitor Centre and on the Parksville & District Chamber of Commerce website. $650 + gst (included in the Chamber Partner Package).

Chamber Partner & Website Highlight. Become a Chamber partner and display your logo on a banner at the bottom of our website for a whole year, with a link to your website included in the package AND display your banner on the Chamber website and Visitor Centre/Mobile Kiosk video plus sponsorships to all remaining Chamber events for the year of 2023. Only $3000 + gst.