Kamloops posted Mar 28, 2023 @ 04:00pm by Steve MacNaull

New prez of Kamloops Chamber of Commerce ready to make a difference

We all like 10-year passports, tax-free savings accounts and gift cards that are non-taxable benefits, right?

Well, all those initiatives started as Kamloops & District Chamber of Commerce resolutions to lobby governments to change the rules.

In the past, in the case of passports, validity for only five years used to be the norm; tax-free status was only for registered retirement savings accounts; and gift cards were a taxable benefit if your employer gave it to you as a perk.

</who>Tim Shoults, executive director of the Thompson Region Division of Family Practice, is the new president of the 700-member Kamloops & District Chamber of Commerce.

"The Kamloops chamber has been successful in the past in advocating for policy changes," said Tim Shoults, the new president of the 700-member chamber.

"And we will continue to advocate through policy development at the local, provincial and federal government levels."

Shoults is also the executive director of the Thompson Region Division of Family Practice, the group that represents family doctors, nurse practitioners, midwives and retired physicians in the area.

The group also lobbies government for tax incentives to attract and retain family doctors in Kamloops.

Shoults moved up to the position of chamber president from first vice-president at the organization's annual general meeting in the Grand Hall at Thompson Rivers University.

At the same event, a dozen other elected chamber directors were sworn in.

</who>The 2023-24 board of directors of the Kamloops & District Chamber of Commerce. New president tim Shoults is in the front, on the left.

"The Kamloops chamber always strives to be relevant and increases the services we offer to members and the community," said Shoults.

"We create opportunities for members to network and benefit from each others expertise and we uplift and help local businesses with our job fair, state of the city address and business excellence awards."

Essentially, the chamber is an invaluable resource for entrepreneurs, business owners and professionals.

The 2023-24 board:

- president: Tim Shoults, Thompson Region Division of Family Practice

- first vice-president (and president for 2024-25): Cindy Piva, Thrive Business Strategies

- second vice-president: Sara Lawson, Schoening Funeral Service

- treasurer: Ab Ashok, Avalon Accounting

- secretary: Alicia Glaicar, Gillespie & Co. Lawyers

- past-president: Kate Stebbings, Trans Mountain Corporation

- Nicholas Adams, Interior Display Services

- Rich Welch, Nomodic Modular Structures

- Phillip Stagg-Tanner, Acres Enterprises construction

- Colin O'Leary, O'Leary & Associates management consultants