Chamber has new president after AGM
By Shara JJ Cooper
A new president was elected at the Boundary Country Regional Chamber of Commerce (BCRCC) during their annual general meeting (AGM), March 9.
Dean Engen, who also serves on the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB) recreation board, was elected at the meeting after past-president Alan Cooper resigned from his post early due to personal reasons.
Engen said he decided to run because he wants to associate himself with “better people” and that he has been actively watching for seats to come available in local organizations.
One of the things that Engen wants to move forward with is the ideology “there is no ‘I’ in teamwork” and he’d like to see all the local groups working together.
“If you benefit, I benefit,” he said, on how all local businesses should support each other.
Engen is a business owner, having previously run the West End Store and currently running a food truck and catering business called “Spencer’s Chef Garden.” The food truck is a spin off of a business he previously owned with the same name.
Engen said that his focus is on Grand Forks, but he believes that when any business succeeds all businesses with succeed, regardless of where they are in the Boundary.
He noted that the BCRCC will continue supporting and working with the Downtown Business Association in Grand Forks, who focus specifically on Grand Forks’ downtown core.
“Everyone is on the same page and moving in the same direction,” he said of business owners.
One of the challenges Grand Forks business owners face is that they only get traffic from two directions — East and West — unlike other communities that can get traffic from all directions. This is particularly true when the border closes. He’d like to see businesses ready to consume that traffic as it comes through town.
Engen ran against Cathy Korolek at the meeting.
