From the president: Ken Dennis

The past three years, which includes my tenure as president, have been ones of challenge and change at the Langley chamber, similar to what many in our business community experienced.

Like many other businesses, the pandemic negatively impacted our operations, activity, and the size of our membership as we were unable to hold many of our traditional events and programs.

But this forced us to re-imagine how we served our members, moving services and events online, and leaning into our advocacy role to push for the supports and programs Langley businesses needed to survive.

Now, as our community has begun to put the pandemic behind us, the chamber has emerged as well, and is growing and building on our history with a new leader at the helm, a new team at the office and around the board table, and a new focus on engagement with our business community.

I’m pleased to share that our chamber is again growing, as we now near the 1,000 mark for member businesses.

And our events portfolio has expanded, offering Langley professionals more opportunities than ever to build relationships within the growing Langley community.

With 300 new people moving to the Langleys each month – making ours the fastest growing part of the region – it’s more important than ever to foster community and connection.

We’ve also embraced the focus on government advocacy, which was so critical during the pandemic.

More than anything else we do, our members tell us that being their advocate and champion with government is our most valuable role.

We know businesses have to focus on serving their customers, making payroll, and growing their companies, so the chamber ensures the “voice of business” is heard and gets the attention it deserves from decision makers – whether in Ottawa, Victoria, or here in Langley.

Going forward, we will continue to expand our programming and create even more opportunities to engage.

For example, the Reboot Plus Program, which launched late 2022, provides local professionals an incredible experience to engage with our youth and help develop the workforce of the future.

And early this year, we will be launching our Langley Women’s Business Network, a new opportunity for women at all levels of business to come together, learn, and connect.

By broadening our events offerings, to expanding the topics and issues we tackle, to creating new programs and opportunities to engage, the chamber is working hard to ensure that every business owner or professional in Langley can see themselves at the Langley chamber in 2023.

– Ken Dennis, president of the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce

.

PAST CHAMBER OF COMMERCE PRESIDENTS

1931 - C. J. Rogers

1932 - Dr. J. G. Jervis

1933 - W. H. Endacott

1934 - P. Y. Porter

1935 - Noel Booth

1936-1937 - Angus Plewes

1938 - F. Rump

1939 - F. B. Dick

1940 - J. G. Beatty

1941-1942, 1948-1949 - E. E. Sendall

1943 - Gordon K. Towers

1944 - R. P. Armstrong

1945 - C. E. Hagelstein

1946 - W. Beatty

1947, 1962 - Len Nicholas

1950-1951 - Richard Langdon

1952 - Leslie McDonald

1953 - Hunter Vogel

1954 - Dave King

1955 - Maurice W. Mulligan

1956 - Dr. J. N. Penzer

1957 - T. Lloyd Steele

1958 - Norman Severide

1959-1961 - Dr. Chapin Key

1963-1964 - Herman Phillips

1965 - W. D. McMillan

1966 - Vernon Penner

1967 - Joseph Chesney

1968 - Bob Duckworth

1969 - Jack Urquhart

1970-1971, 1979 - George Preston

1972, 1975 - Jock MacKinnon

1973 - Harold Stafford

1974 - John Osenton

1976-1978 - Weir Muir

1980 - Ken Baker

1981 - Dr. R. N. Thompson

1982 - John Dance

1983-1984 - G. L. Reinsch

1985-1986 - Rob Telfer

1987 - Art Peart

1988 - Paul Coltura

1989-1990 - Gayle Martin

1991-1992 - David Rowland

1993-1994 - Dale Ball

1995-1996 - Howard Reich

1997-1998 - Bob Long

1999 - Brenda Plowman

2000-2001 - Rob Donald

2001-2002 - Angie McDougall

2002-2003 - T. Graeme Davies

2003-2004 - David Esworthy

2004-2005 - Patrick Yearwood

2005-2006 - Bev Dornan

2006-2007 - John Campbell

2007-2008 - Ed Kolla

2008-2009 - Kevin Staples

2009-2010 - Roberto Farina

2010-2011 - Milt Kruger

2011-2012 - Denni Bonetti

2012-2013 - Angie Quaale

2013-2015 - Kristine Simpson

2015-2017 - Scott Johnston

2017-2019 - Jack Nicholson

2019-2021 - Brad Kiendl

.