In January of last year, one of our members caught a rare glimpse of a Great Grey Owl visiting Prince of Wales Island and shared the images of this beautiful animal on one of many Facebook groups catering to the varying interests of our friends, neighbors, and community members. What a sight to behold!
This was a positive highlight to start what ended up being a very challenging year for many, and we felt the symbolism of this event was relevant to all our lives these days. Owls represent wisdom, knowledge, change, and transformation, which made it the perfect choice for our 2022 window-cling decal.
We are very excited to share with you the plans for the coming year, during which we hope to gather all the shared wisdom we’ve gained over the past two years and utilize this knowledge to drive the change we all need to transform the pain and suffering many of us have experienced into passion and purpose!
Many of you know that our motto is Progress Through Unity and our mission is to “promote the economic development and quality of life on Prince of Wales Island”. On January 8th, we will be gathering as a board to finalize our plan of action and look forward to hearing your feedback.
In the meantime, we wanted to share with all of you some of the things we have confirmed and are considering for this year. If you have additional ideas of how we can boost our support for the community as we are recovering from the impact of COVID-19 on our lives, please reach out!
● 2022 Island Guide - after taking a break from publishing, we are excited to announce that our new guide is complete and has been sent to the printers. Get your newsstands ready!
● Trade Show - we are confirmed for this event on Saturday, March 26th - this will be held at the Craig High School - please save the date and stay tuned for registration details.
● Virtual Luncheons - we started doing these in 2021 and received wonderful feedback from the community. We will continue to host these virtual events monthly on Wednesdays at noon.
● Island Post Articles - our goal is to publish one article per month in the Island Post to provide information and updates about things we’re doing to support economic development.
● Buy Local Campaigns - in the past we’ve done a variety of things to promote shopping at local businesses (e.g., coupon books) - we will be considering all sorts of fun options this year!
● Chamber Scholarships - application submissions have waned over the years, and we’re excited to visit local schools to speak directly to students about how we can better support them.
● Education Committee - we hope to engage all members of our community in a deep discussion about the future of Prince of Wales Island, and how we can better coordinate our efforts.
As you can see, we have a lot in store for 2022, and we won’t be able to accomplish our goals without you. Please stay tuned for opportunities to participate in events, marketing campaigns, member surveys, and more. Your businesses and the members of our communities are why we do what we do.
We are looking forward to working with all our members this year to continue to shape the future of Prince of Wales Island. It’s been a tough couple of years for many, and we know that the only way forward is together. Thank you for your commitment to always striving to better our community.
Sincerely,
Your 2022 Board of Directors