COCHRANE— Looking to help local businesses grow and connect with the Cochrane community, Ozzie Sawicki has been named the new president of the Cochrane and District Chamber of Commerce.
Sawicki sees serving as Chamber President as a great opportunity to support the community and plans on bringing his experience and leadership background to the organization. Sawicki has owned businesses in Canada and the United States and is looking forward to sharing the knowledge he has gained running businesses both nationally and internationally to Cochrane.
Sawicki has been a business owner since 1996. Four years ago he started a business with a physical location in Cochrane, which really connected him to the local business community, he said.
He first joined the Chamber in mid-2020. He was compelled to become a part of the organization after launching Amped2Play Inc. and initially served as Chamber director.
“Ultimately, once I created a business that was a physical business in town, I started meeting a lot of the other business owners around me and realized the conversations were always useful,” Sawicki said. “I think COVID brought the group of people that are the board of the Chamber together in a different way. I think everybody leaned on each other to get through this.”
The Cochrane community has the opportunity to generate a rich business sector that supports local restaurants and shops while attracting internationally based companies like Garmin, he said.
His years of experience collaborating with Paralympics sports also aids his ability to foster teamwork, Sawicki said. He has helped lead Canadian teams to multiple games and understands how to connect and engage people to unite for a desirable outcome.
Sawicki is looking forward to bringing that spirit to the Cochrane Chamber of Commerce.
His greatest influence in looking to take on a larger role in the Chamber was the members on the board and the enjoyment he has found in working with them.
He described the Chamber members as proactive and approachable who together have created a strong team centred on helping local businesses in Cochrane.
During COVID-19, the Chamber has been focussed on fostering round tables that allow business owners to connect and chat about how they were surviving the pandemic and opened up communications within the town.
The Chamber serves as a great opportunity to connect businesses and generate ideas on what is going on in the community. He added these conversations help guide the strategic plan of the Chamber and help fuel collaborative relationships, including with the Town of Cochrane.
Sawicki praised the Town of Cochrane Economic Task Force and former Chamber president Kelly Sinclair who sat on the Task Force for the beneficial work the group was able to accomplish for the local economy.
Sinclair has passed down nuggets of wisdom, Sawicki said, including the philosophy that change is a constant businesses will face and the importance of helping members navigate the challenges they encounter in an economy constantly in flux.
Sawicki cited the cancellation of the Cochrane and District Chamber of Commerce annual Trade Show in 2020 as an example.
“The Trade Show is a huge part of the Chamber’s mandate. That’s a big loss for the Chamber of Commerce and a big loss for the businesses not being able to promote themselves and present themselves to the community,” Sawicki said.
Bringing on Kelly Carson as the executive director of the Chamber has transformed the operations of the organization. Having a full-time staff member at the Chamber has made a big difference for the organization because ideas can now be carried out and implemented by a staff member as opposed to volunteers.
“There’s a structure there that allows us as a Chamber of Commerce to connect even more with the community, connect with different elements of the community and have a good relationship with the Town of Cochrane,” Sawicki said.
As president he is looking forward to building on these relationships— One of his key goals will be working to help the community better understand the business community in town, while reinvigorating the Chamber’s projects and plans in Cochrane.
Sawicki added The Transit and Innovation Hub will also serve as an exciting opportunity to provide input from the Chamber of Commerce to help promote and grow local businesses.
Sawicki said this includes working to promote local businesses through the annual Chamber of Commerce Trade and Show potentially taking place in the fall and the town’s Cochrane Dollar.
“It’s a huge value add if we can get that circulating into the community and people start spending that in business in town, and I think the trade show is going to be really important this time around once we are able to do it in-person,” Sawicki said. “It’s getting our businesses out there.”
To learn more about the information on the Cochrane and District Chamber of Commerce and its ongoing projects visit cochranechamber.ca/.
