Hub Staff

A new president and two new directors for 2016 as the Saugeen Shores Chamber of Commerce held their election for the 2016 board of directors last night at The Walker House in Southampton.

The board sees Pier Donnini, owner of The Queen's Bar and Grill, take over as President with Jeff Carver, owner of The Wismer House, becoming Past President. Judy Rich and Ann Veyvara Divinski were elected as new board directors with Geza Kocsis and Kim Coulter stepped back from the chamber office.

Donnini welcomed the new board and said he was very honoured by the position. “I think this community is served by the chamber in ways that they don't know,” he said. “One of the things I plan on doing is making absolutely sure that everybody knows what it would look like if we didn't have such an active chamber and what it would cost, because we owe it to ourselves to promote what we do more in the community because I think that would garner more support and help us in our efforts and expand our efforts, so I'm looking forward to that.”

After the election Donnini said that Pumpkinfest was his number one goal. “We need to invest in that asset,” he said. “It's a real gem and communities in Ontario would kill for that so we can't take it for granted. We have to really treat it with care." Donnini added that the chamber will be meeting later to discuss and provide strategic direction to staff on the annual event. “There's going to be changes coming for sure.”

Editor's Note: Since this article was published, The Hub has learned that Jeff Carver has in fact resigned from the Chamber Board and will not be staying on as Past President, although does plan to stay involved with the Trolley project through the Port Elgin BIA and working with other supporting partners.