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St. Albert Chamber's new chair vows to stand up for businesses

Angie Hampshire assumes volunteer role from Rosanna Fischer in January
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NEW CHAIR — Angie Hampshire, shown here, will step up as the 2025 volunteer chair of the St. Albert and District Chamber of Commerce on Jan. 15, 2025. Hampshire is a longtime employee with Great West Media.

A grief counsellor and longtime Great West Media employee is stepping up to lead St. Albert’s chamber of commerce.

St. Albert and District Chamber of Commerce chairperson Rosanna Fischer will hand over her position to first vice-chair Angie Hampshire on Jan. 15.

Hampshire has worked for Great West Media (parent company of the St. Albert Gazette) for about 25 years and currently serves as the Gazette’s media sales manager. She is also a grief counsellor and a board member with the suicide prevention group Soul Sisters Memorial Foundation.

Hampshire said she joined the chamber’s board years ago at the suggestion of then-Gazette publisher Brian Bachynski. She is passionate about St. Albert businesses and hopes to continue to grow the chamber’s membership to pre-pandemic levels.

“We live in a vibrant, bustling community, and there’s so much potential.”

Hampshire thanked Fischer for the hundreds of hours she spent this past year tuning up the chamber’s bylaws and committees.

Fischer said Hampshire was in tune with the community and brought a wealth of experience with local businesses to the chair. Fischer said she would continue to support Hampshire and the chamber in her new position as past chamber chair.

Tough times

The past year has been busy for the chamber, with board members completing a review of their bylaws and signing a new lease with the city for their offices on St. Albert Trail, Fischer said.

The chamber also lobbied against the federal government’s moves to raise the capital gains tax inclusion rate, Fischer said. This lobbying effort included tabling a motion at the Canadian Chambers of Commerce’s annual general meeting in October to call on the government to scrap this increase. The motion passed with 98.6 per cent support.

“None of this could have been possible without the dedication of board members,” Fischer said.

It was also a year of many challenges for St. Albert businesses, Fischer and Hampshire said. Rail, port, and postal strikes snarled sales and supply chains, and employers continued to struggle to attract skilled employees. The federal government’s two-month GST break created a ton of work for owners for what would probably be little savings.

“It’s been a tough year, and I think it’s probably going to continue to be tough,” Hampshire said.

Hampshire said she plans to stand up for businesses of all sizes in her new role as chair, and encouraged business owners to come to the board with any concerns they might have.

In addition to next April’s Lifestyle Expo and Sale, Fischer said chamber members can look forward to the launch of the new St. Albert and District Chamber of Commerce Community Fund in early 2025. Run through the St. Albert Community Foundation, this fund (the details of which were being finalized as of this writing) should give city businesses a way to support local charities and causes throughout the region.

Hampshire will be sworn in as the chamber’s 2025 volunteer chair during the Chair’s Luncheon event this Jan. 15 at the Sturgeon Valley Golf and Country Club. Visit business.stalbertchamber.com/events/calendar for details.




Kevin Ma

About the Author: Kevin Ma

Kevin Ma joined the St. Albert Gazette in 2006. He writes about Sturgeon County, education, the environment, agriculture, science and aboriginal affairs. He also contributes features, photographs and video.
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