Burlington's Chamber of Commerce is setting a new course as it adapts to some choppy water

By Pepper Parr

July 18th, 2022

BURLINGTON, ON

The Burlington Chamber of Commerce is on a bit of a tear.

Terry Caddo, the recently hired President is rebuilding an organization that had fallen out of favour with many in the private sector.

There is more than a single page to the Strategic Plan – they just weren’t prepared to share it at this point in time.

One of the people close to the man set out what he has done and what he will get done, described him this way:
“Terry started his working career in the sports department of a newspaper.
“He is very competitive and is going to make the Chamber relevant once again.
“He is a goal setter, and is working on goals that are achievable.”

We don’t know all that much about what those goals are other than the first page of the latest Strategic Plan that was put together by an independent consultant.

We know that major changes are planned for the Advisory Committees that Chamber has had in place for years.

Changes are coming in the Committee structure.

Chamber President Terry Caddo working the audience at a recent event.

The Burlington Chamber proudly boasts that it is a proactive, not reactive organization. “We help draft policy rather than simply criticize it.”; to that end Caddo has been meeting with anyone that will take his call – including the Mayor, the Regional Chair,  the City Manager, leading developers and those stakeholders that Caddo thinks he wants to listen to – if the City had a Chaplain Caddo would probably want to talk to the man.

As a member-based business association, “our Chamber has three main goals: to act as an advocate for local business, to create opportunities for member businesses to promote themselves and do business with one another, and to provide business education opportunities for our members.”

We had hoped to have a chance to look at the Strategic Plan in detail with the hope that it might become a template that others in the community could use.

Everyone is experiencing the same environment.  Are we still in a pandemic?  While we are out of lock-downs are we going to find ourselves in the same situation come the fall when people will be working more closely and not outside as much.

Are we anywhere near resolving the supply chain problems?  Are we even beginning to get a handle on the labour issues – far too many organizations still can’t attract the people they need.

Is Tourism a sector in Burlington?  The collection of pamphlets in the Team Burlington building is an embarrassment.

Terry makes a point ensuring that you know who he is responsible to: the member and the Board of Directors – they hired him and they will review his performance. That Board is made up of: