Housing affordability remained our primary advocacy focus. We released a housing backgrounder, participated in provincial roundtables, where we discussed the challenges our business community faces from a small-town perspective including workforce development, attracting and retaining young people and housing affordability. And we have worked closely with the Muskoka Community Land Trust to support a mixed-use development in downtown Bracebridge.
At the local level, we maintained regular discussions with the Mayor, CAO, and Economic Development staff, ensuring that the business community’s concerns were heard and addressed. With provincial and federal elections on the horizon, we will continue to provide unbiased election information and host all-candidates meetings to help our members make informed decisions.
Last year, we hosted 12 networking events, averaging 49 attendees per session. We carefully scheduled events at different times to accommodate various business needs.
Key events in 2025 include:
Beyond events, we continue to facilitate business partnerships and connections. With the decline of traditional media, our newsletter has become a vital resource for members. We encourage businesses to subscribe to stay informed.
Looking ahead, we plan to expand our outreach by visiting our members in person, onboarding an intern through the FedNor program and strengthening cross-Chamber collaborations, including continued joint events with Muskoka Lakes Chamber, Gravenhurst Chamber, and expanding to include an event with the Huntsville Chamber.
Providing valuable resources to our members is a top priority. Over the past year, we have shared educational content, webinars, and industry insights to help businesses thrive.
A major initiative for 2025 is our partnership with HR Covered, offering Chamber members access to over 1,000 HR-related documents, including templates for job postings, memos, and checklists—all at no cost.
In 2024, our promotional efforts resulted in:
We also expanded advertising opportunities, including:
Additionally, Oktoberfest continued to boost tourism and local businesses. With Bracebridge’s 150th anniversary in 2025, additional funding has been secured to make this year’s event even bigger.
This year marks one big change in particular. We are anticipating a move of the visitor information centre, where we operate from the Bird Mill Mews, just above the falls to the old Carnegie library building. With this move comes a sentimental weight, moving from a building with memories since the 90s, but it also brings a physical component of moving the furniture, digitizing documents and setting up the new Visitor Centre to ensure it provides the same or more value to visitors, and in turn the businesses supported by them. We ask for and appreciate your patience when this move happens and are excited for the future possibilities that come with a new space.
Last but certainly not least, I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude to our board members, volunteers, and staff whose hard work and dedication make all of this possible.
To our members, thank you for your trust and partnership—your success is at the core of everything we do.
I also want to recognize the board members who have served this year but will not be renewing their terms:
These board members have made significant contributions, from helping shape our advocacy efforts to securing support for our Golf Day and Gala. We sincerely thank them for their service.
I also want to extend a warm welcome to our new and returning board members:
A special thank you to Nicolette Rushton, who has been an exceptional President throughout my tenure. Her guidance, leadership, and unwavering support have been invaluable. While I may occasionally have questions—some better than others—Niki is always there with thoughtful advice and a steady hand. I deeply appreciate her dedication, and I know the Chamber is stronger because of her commitment.
Thank you to all of our members once again for being here today and for your ongoing support. Here’s to another successful year for the Bracebridge Chamber of Commerce!