Tuesday July 3, 2012
8:00 am - 3:00 pm
Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club
1 Priddis Greens Drive

Less than two weeks left to register for the Calgary Chamber’s annual Play with the Presidents golf tournament, at the spectacular and private Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club.

This is your chance to exchange golf and business tips with the upper echelon of Calgary’s business community. Give a mulligan to Ken King, fix a divot for Guy Huntingford, or hold the pin for David Swann but make sure to get a business card for your effort.

When the business of golf is done, get onto the business of building your business by networking with high-level CEOs and presidents.

Corporate executives from ATCO Group, Axia NetMedia Corporation, Bayer CropScience Canada, BigRock Brewery, Black Diamond Group, Calgary Flames, Calgary Herald, Coril Holdings, CN, DeVry Canada, Encana, ENMAX, FirstEnergy, First Calgary Financial, Rogers Communications, Travel Alberta and Newalta will be joining us.

Secure your foursome today.

In a few weeks the Calgary Stampede will be celebrating its 100th anniversary. More than a million people will be attending the week-long celebration, with 70 per cent of those visitors coming from outside of Calgary.

This is a huge opportunity for Calgary businesses to showcase what they do to the global marketplace – a person strolling by your business or even a casual word-of-mouth conversation could lead to more business or expose what you do to a visitor who’ll open you up to a new market.

Find out how your business can reap the rewards of this celebration from Ben Brunnen, chief economist with the Calgary Chamber. 

Thursday June 21, 2012
11:30 am - 1:30 pm
Fairmont Palliser Hotel - Crystal Ballroom
133 9th Avenue SW

For the last three years, Laura Lochman, U.S. consul general for Alberta, has played a vital role in managing Canada-U.S. relations as issues surrounding the oilsands and pipelines south of the boarder have taken centre stage. Lochman will leave Alberta for a new posting in Colombia in July, but much of her work will continue to effect companies in both our two countries.

Join us to learn more on the key developments in Canadian-U.S. relations over the last three years, and what these changes mean for the future of Alberta’s energy industry.

Congratulations to the 2012 recipient of the Distinguished Business Leader Award (DBLA) Susan L. Riddell Rose, president and CEO of Perpetual Energy Inc.

Since 1993, the DBLA has recognized outstanding leaders in the Calgary business community, honouring those whose exceptional demonstration of vision and leadership, sound business sense, and commitment to the community has marked them as role models for future generations of business leaders. It is presented by the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary and the Calgary Chamber.

Read more on Riddel Rose’s vision, leadership and tenacity in this month’s Business in Calgary magazine.

Thursday June 21, 2012
5:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Kensington Riverside Inn
1126 Memorial Drive

Meet new clients and make new business connections in the friendly and casual atmosphere of the Kensington Riverside Inn.

The award-winning restaurant Chef’s Table will be roasting a pig and providing wine tastings throughout the evening so invite a client and get to know him or her better over the exceptional food and drink, or mix and mingle with entrepreneurs and business professionals from Calgary’s business community.

Don’t miss out on this great value - sign up today.

Few companies – small or large – can successfully drive rapid, comprehensive change — even when it finds itself in an urgent situation that necessitates a makeover in company-wide behavior. While leaders may understand the recipe for change, they struggle with the most important part of the process – getting their people on board.

Speaking to the Calgary Chamber on June 14, Eva Klein, a professor of human resources and organizational dynamics with the Haskayne School of Business, detailed some of the biggest mistakes businesses make when undergoing a corporate change. This can include everything properly executing a merger or an acquisition to phasing in a new leader or undertaking a training initiative.

Klein was the third speaker in the Member Expert series, a new event program by the Calgary Chamber that lets members present to other members, offering them business advice from their area of expertise that can used to grow and improve their business.

Learn how your company can avoid the potholes of change management. (Members only)

Wednesday June 27, 2012
7:30 am - 9:00 am
Hyatt Regency Calgary 
700 Centre Street SE

Aboriginal communities play a critical part in the growth of the Canadian economy. They are an underutilized source of labour and owners of land vital to resource and project development.It’s in every company’s interest to develop and maintain a productive business relationship with these communities.

This is the final event of the Aboriginal-Business Connection series, which has brought together members of the Aboriginal community and leading Aboriginal experts to share insights on how these groups can build successful working relationships.  It will be accompanied by the release of a summary report and a business toolkit highlighting the findings gained from this series.

A keynote address by Robin Campbell, Alberta’s newly appointed minister of Aboriginal Relations, detailing how the government plans work with Aboriginal communities over the next four years. 

Join us to learn how your company can build prosperous partnerships with Aboriginal communities. 

Wednesday July 4, 2012
7:00 am - 9:00 am
The Ranchmen’s Club
710 13th Avenue SW

Depression is the most common mood disorder in Canada.

It breaks the spirit, drains motivation and can greatly diminish a person’s creativity, focus and problem-solving capabilities. This is a wide-spread issue that every business needs to know how to deal with as it affects the performance of a company’s most important asset – its people.

Join us for a talk with Clinical Psychologist Michael Yapko, author of Breaking the Patterns of Depression and Depression is Contagious, on the steps business leaders can take to help their employees – thereby helping themselves and their business – when dealing with depression in the workplace.  

Friday September 14, 2012
6:30 pm - 11:00 pm
TELUS Spark Science Centre
220 St. Georges Drive NE

Alchemy 2012 is the Calgary Chamber’s newest experience. It will raise eyebrow and expectations. We’ll turn Telus Spark into a place where diverse elements will connect, co-mingle and clash. Ideas will be sparked and fused. Sense will be stirred.

Our guest speaker, former Harvard teacher and bestselling author Shawn Achor, will change your beliefs about success and happiness and leave you (and your business) transformed.

The one element that is missing is you. You belong here.

Last week, Ben Brunnen, chief economist with the Calgary Chamber, presented to the Senate Finance Committee to provide feedback on the government’s budget legislation, as well as the new duty free travel exemptions for Canadian visitors to the U.S.  

The policy harmonizes the amount of duty-free-goods Canadians can buy south of the border with policy currently in place for U.S. shoppers in Canada. This will reduce costs and increase efficiency at border services while simultaneously forcing Canadian retailers to be more competitive so they don’t lose out on customers who might head to the U.S. to shop. 

Learn more on how these amendments will save businesses money.

Wednesday October 24, 2012
7:30 am - 2:30 pm
Marriott Calgary Hotel
110 9th Avenue SE

Canada’s economic success is tied to the competiveness of its cities.

Over the next several years Canada’s growing population will become more urbanized, and Canadian cities will have to meet the challenges related to this growth. That means cities need to be innovative, strategic and efficient if they plan to continue to be hubs of economic activity.

To pave the way for a cleaner, better and brighter future, the Calgary Chamber and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce are joining forces to present Smart Cities of the Future, a conference that will examine how Canada’s competitiveness can be improved by addressing the core challenges facing its urban centres — issues such as transportation, infrastructure, urban planning, governance, sustainability and energy.

Join us as we discuss how cities can become innovative and prosperous centres that fuel sustainable economic development and a high quality of life.