The president of the Portage la Prairie and District Chamber of Commerce says hosting the Manitoba Chambers 85th annual general meeting was an uplifting experience. Dave Omichinski says the weekend's event saw between 40 and 50 chambers represented, and really provided an opportunity to highlight all that Portage has to offer. He says the opening reception at Southport was a hit, noting Preston Meier provided tours of the city to some of the delegates from other cities' chambers.

Overall, Omichinski says all those who had attended had positive comments surrounding Portage, and the local chamber as well. He feels while some local people may become focused solely on the challenges facing our area, he hopes a weekend of positivity may help boost the local perception of Portage la Prairie.

"Hopefully it helps to get that message out here. It's so easy to become isolated, insular, and be a cup-half-empty individual. Like any community, we have our challenges, but when you hearing people from the outside coming in, and being so complimentary --they're getting very positive impressions of Portage-- hopefully it can help from a positive outlook perspective."

Omichinski notes hosting the 85th Manitoba Chambers AGM, alongside the Portage Chambers 130th anniversary was a great experience. He notes it also marked a great time to network with the provincial executive, citing a growing relationship with their provincial counterparts.

"Over many years it was 'Yeah, we're members of the Manitoba chambers' but there wasn't that much in the way of involvement. Since 2014, when the Assiniboine flood crisis hit and we stepped up to the table from a Chamber side of things to lend our voice in support of petitioning the province to take some action, and we did that with great assistance from the Manitoba Chambers. It all comes down to the strength in numbers."

He says those conversations with the provincial body have really energized the board, while the renewed focus on advocacy really helps their work with both Portage city Council and RM Council.