Aerial view of Redcliff. File Photo/CHAT News

By Jesse Gill

BUSINESS

Southeast Alberta Chamber of Commerce looking to grow support for business collective in Redcliff

Sep 11, 2025 | 9:00 AM

The Southeast Alberta Chamber of Commerce looking to grow support for its business collective in Redcliff to help more business owner have their views heard.

A meeting was held Wednesday morning at Redcliff Town Hall with a small group of business owners and town staff joining Chamber members.

Also onsite was a presenter who gave an overview of ways to help use social media to help support a business.

Discussion to shift online for the next quarterly meeting in December was presented as an option and accepted.

Southeast Alberta Chamber of Commerce executive director Lisa Dressler said they recognize that a lot of small businesses can’t necessarily get time away.

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“We want to test out going digital, going virtual, particularly with the topic of AI and how you can use AI in your business, and just to see if that is a better platform for businesses to be able to participate in versus trying to carve out time in their day to get away from their business to attend a meeting,” Dressler said.

“We certainly have learned that there’s lots of different ways of engagement and a lot of different tools out there that we can use, and so going online, going digital for the December meeting, we’re hoping that it will provide a platform that more businesses will engage in and attend.”

Dressler said that Redcliff businesses have their own unique needs and challenges that are different than perhaps businesses in Medicine Hat.

“We want to ensure that we have a platform to engage with businesses, to hear what their concerns and priorities are, and essentially drive an agenda that is built on what we’re hearing from them,” Dressler said.

“In an election year with a municipal election coming up, certainly I know our elected representatives are going to want to know what our businesses are thinking about and what they’d like to prioritize in their term on council,” she added.

“We want to know that when we’re putting information forward to our elected representatives that it’s reflective of the needs of the business community.”

A community survey of Redcliff businesses collected data following the June meeting.

It included questions like the top things Redcliff could do to improve the community, how to promote the town to others, and a variety of other focused questions with 40 responses, but not all questions answered.

“Surveys we put out for businesses to really help us with our messaging and what is top priority for them, it just results in greater success,” Dressler said.

“I joke that not every business likes to do a survey, but there is merit and value in the data that we collect. So the more responses we get, the better that the results will be in terms of what we put forward, and being able to carry forward a unified voice, which is what the chamber is about.”

“When they come together and can really hone in on their priorities, you get a little bit more weight and traction behind that movement or that initiative, and we certainly can do more together than what any single business can do alone.”