Near sell-out crowd take part in Langley chamber’s first in-person event in a year

In the first in-person event in more than a year, the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce brought 140 people together for some play time.

It was a near sell-out crowd who took part in last Wednesday’s 35th annual chamber golf tournament at Redwoods Golf Course, exclaimed a thrilled CEO, Colleen Clark.

“Considering COVID, it was really great so many people came out,” she said, noting it was just four short of a sell-out for both the 18 holes of golf and the outdoor buffet dinner served under the large tent and emceed by Steve Darling.

“It’s an event that we do for A) networking purposes – to give our members an opportunity to come together – and B) it’s a fundraiser event for us,” Clark said.

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While numbers were still not finalized, this year’s fundraiser was expected to be on par with past years, generating between $20,000 and $25,000 towards chamber operations.

That’s possible, Clark said, in large part thanks to the golfers. But, moreover, the corporate sponsors that get behind the chamber and help facilitate events such as this and the upcoming virtual business excellence awards event happening in October. She pointed to MNP as a gold level sponsor for the tourney, and Envision Financial as a silver, plus about 30 others who helped make the event a reality.

“Overall, from what I understand, it was a great day for all those one the course,” she said, noting a three-way tie prompted a one-hole shootout for top spot among the golfers. Focus West Logistics walked away as the winner.

“A lot of people expressed their thankfulness for being able to actually get out and see people for a while, and be back in a networking situation again. It was really nice to see a lot of smiling faces,” Clark added.

Asked about plans for the 2022 tournament, she said the location is still up in the air since Redwoods will be closed down for construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

“That’s undecided yet,” said Clark. “We just got off the course. But stay tuned…”

She is hoping to see the event moved back to a June date, as has been the case in past years.

In the meantime, the chamber is gearing up for its online federal all-candidates meetings, a series of virtual webinars, and the organization’s next in-person event, which is the chamber’s 90th anniversary and annual general meeting on Sept. 21 at Cascades Casino.

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And, as much as Clark didn’t “really want it” to be virtual, the chamber’s biggest event of the year – it’s 25th annual business excellence awards – is on tap for Thursday, Oct. 21.

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