Media Release
Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce Wins Chair’s Awards at the Ontario Chamber of Commerce Annual General Meeting
Greater Sudbury, May 8, 2017: The Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce were the recipients of the Chair’s Award at this year’s Ontario Chamber of Commerce Annual General Meeting, held this past weekend in Sarnia, ON. The Chair’s Award was given to the chamber in recognition of their hard work on creating awareness and urgency around the importance of succession planning. The Chair’s Award is awarded each year to the chamber that best demonstrates success in operations, member services, and community leadership.
Debbi Nicholson, President and CEO, Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce (right), receiving the Ontario Chamber of Commerce Chair’s Award from Caroline Hughes, Board of Directors, Ontario Chamber of Commerce (left).
In October 2015, the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce struck a Succession Planning Task Force with the goal of raising awareness around the importance of succession planning to our business community. The chamber commission OraclePoll to conduct a survey of local business owners and former business owners. Key finding included:
- 51% of business owners in Greater Sudbury have no form of a succession plan in place (formal or informal).
- 48% of current business owners plan to retire or exit their business in the next 10 years.
- 42% of current business owners do not know what’s involved in succession planning or who they should contact for assistance.
- 79% of former business owners who did not have a succession plan in place ended up shutting their doors completely as a form of transitioning.
“This award reflects the hard work of both our chamber and its’ members. It’s important recognition for our relentless commitment to ensuring community prosperity, and that businesses remain open for generations to come,” said Tracy Nutt, Chair of the Board, Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce. “With the high number of baby boomers reaching retirement age, succession planning is an important issue facing our business community. Our chamber was able to lead this file not only in our community, but we helped create awareness across the network around the importance of this planning.”
The chamber is encouraging business owners to speak to their financial planners, lawyers, and accountants to seek advice on succession planning.
For more information, please see this infographic, visit the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce website, or contact:
For more information, please contact:
Bryan Heystee
Policy and Communications Manager
Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce
705-673-7133 ext. 224
705-677-5735 (cell)
[email protected]
The Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit organization that represents 1,000 businesses and through the participation of its member volunteers on committees and task forces, it works ‘as the Voice of Business’ to influence federal, provincial and local legislation affecting business.