Crowsnest Pass Chamber rebuilding

The Crowsnest Pass Chamber of Commerce says it is rebuilding connections with local businesses after staffing turnover disrupted membership renewals and outreach through 2025 and early 2026.

The Chamber reports 96 current members. In written responses provided to the Pass Herald, Chamber president Kim Cunningham attributed the decline from the number reported in 2024 to a period of significant staffing transition.

Current staff are reviewing previous membership records, reconnecting with businesses whose memberships lapsed and checking that businesses were not missed during the transition, Cunningham said.

“Our focus right now is on working collectively, rebuilding and strengthening connections with our membership,” she wrote.

Cunningham became Chamber president in March. She owns Merch on Main in Blairmore, manages the Crowsnest Community Market, works as a real estate agent with the Real Estate Centre in Blairmore and volunteers with the Blairmore Lions.

The Crowsnest Community Market is a separate non-profit organization and is not operated by the Chamber, she clarified.

In 2025, the Chamber moved toward a staffing model with two part-time positions: an office manager and an events manager. The events manager left shortly afterward, leaving much of the workload with the part-time office manager, who then left in spring 2026.

The Chamber responded by replacing that structure with one business and community liaison position. Teyel Strandquist currently holds the position and works approximately 32 hours per week.

The role combines daily administration with membership support and outreach, business and community engagement, event planning, communications, partnerships and the delivery of board-directed initiatives.

The Chamber has seven directors, each with voting rights unless a conflict of interest applies. The liaison is a paid staff member, not a director, and does not vote.

Board applications open each year before the annual general meeting to fill vacancies created by expiring terms. Cunningham said most turnover reflects that regular cycle, although directors sometimes step away before their terms end because of personal, professional or time commitments.

Directors are expected to identify actual or potential conflicts of interest. Anyone with a conflict related to a matter before the board does not participate in the decision or vote, according to the Chamber’s response.

Cunningham said the current board is focused on member engagement, increased participation and sustainable events and initiatives rather than setting a fixed list of projects or deadlines as its measure of success.

The Chamber intends to continue its core initiatives while reviewing each one to determine where changes would benefit members, businesses and the wider community.

The Crowsnest Pass Lifestyle & Outdoor Adventure Show is currently planned to return in May 2027.

The Chamber also described Crowfest 2026 as extremely successful, saying sponsor support was strong and feedback on the venue change was overwhelmingly positive.

Organizers introduced a Shop Local Scavenger Hunt intended to carry the event’s activity into local businesses. Cunningham said it sent hundreds of participants into participating businesses throughout the community.

Following Crowfest, Strandquist contacted those businesses about the event’s effect on sales, customer traffic and visibility. The Chamber said the feedback was positive and would help guide future planning. It said final financial information is reported through its financial and member-reporting processes.

The Chamber said staffing limitations also caused some administrative work, including website updates, to fall behind during 2025 and early 2026. The board has not decided whether it will continue publishing board minutes online.

Details of the 2026 annual general meeting will be provided to members once they are finalized.

The Chamber has conducted surveys and other outreach over the years, but Cunningham said low response rates have made it difficult to consider survey findings representative of the full membership. The organization is placing greater emphasis on direct conversations with business owners and other membership outreach.

Cunningham described the Chamber as non-partisan and said it must be cautious about taking positions on divisive issues when doing so could affect its ability to represent members with differing views. The local organization also works with the Alberta Chambers of Commerce and Canadian Chamber of Commerce on broader provincial and federal business advocacy.

She said one continuing challenge is a lack of understanding about the Chamber’s role, which extends beyond organizing events to connecting businesses, supporting the local business community and helping create opportunities that bring customers through their doors.

“Ultimately, success isn’t just about what the Chamber itself accomplishes,” Cunningham wrote. “It’s about whether we’re helping create an environment where our local business community can thrive.”

By Nicholas L.M. Allen, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Original Published on Sep 08, 2026 at 22:11