The Board of Directors of the Pontiac Chamber of Commerce have appointed a new member to the board. Jessica Forgues was given the role of the new executive director.
With more than 10 years of experience working within the Pontiac in various sectors, Forgues has always enjoyed being in the tourism industry, she studied business administration and went on to work in areas such as tourism business, administration and marketing. She also worked as a parliamentary assistant for the former Pontiac MP Will Amos. When the executive director job post went up she knew it was the position for her.
“It was literally my dream job to be able to continue to work at bettering the Pontiac,” said Forgues.
The Equity talked to Todd Hoffman, president of the Pontiac Chamber of Commerce who is excited to have her on board. “Jessica’s role and mandate is to reengage members, to get the membership roll back up, because it’s been found to be wanting in the last few years. And it’s just to reinvigorate the chamber because the chamber has a lot to offer,” he said.
The Pontiac Chamber of Commerce was first established in 2007 and its mission is to help foster economic growth in the Pontiac and understand the needs and concerns of businesses. They hope to be known as the regions leading business organization.
Hoffman highlighted that he is thrilled to have Forgues on the team because she has a passion for the Pontiac, and being young he hopes she can attract new young business owners. “She’s an engaging person,” he said.
Born and raised in Fort Coulonge, Forgues has lived in the Pontiac her whole life. She left briefly to go to school but added she came right back. To her, the Pontiac is a special place that has generational love and being able to be part of its revitalization has always been something that was important to her.
“I just really care about seeing the Pontiac reach its full potential because there’s so much potential here and I just want to be a part of making this place as great as it can be,” she said.
As it stands the board of directors is currently run by entrepreneurs who are very busy individuals, she pointed out. So in order to offer more services and alleviate some of the workloads on them, they created the role of the executive director.
The position that Forgues is currently holding was specifically made to allow the chamber to flourish and be able to offer businesses more networking opportunities, training opportunities, visibility, marketing, and promotions. The goal this year is to make businesses more aware of the chamber’s services and provide more opportunities for local entrepreneurs and reintroduce them to what they can benefit from by being a member.
Members can expect exclusive trainings, networking opportunities, access to promotions, and social media campaigns, along with working together with the SADC she said.
When asked what she hopes to bring to the table, Forgues said it is her vast knowledge of the region and believes her past work experiances will really allow her to be an asset to local business owners. “Especially with working for the federal member of parliament, I know the area very, very well. I have had the pleasure between door knocking and visiting businesses and visiting each and every municipality,” said Forgues.
“The idea of being in the position of support for Pontiac businesses is something that has always really excited me. It’s really the goal for me to be able to help the Pontiac in any way that I can,” said Forgues. And to be able to do that as her job is “really the dream,” she said.
After starting her job on May 30, Forgues was excited to dive in. “I am here for anybody who has any questions about absolutely anything. I really look forward to working with the businesses of the Pontiac so I’m really looking forward to the next year seeing things get back to the way they were before and seeing people’s faces in person,” she said.
To reach out to Forgues, email info@pontiacchamberofcommerce.ca or visit their facebook page www.facebook.com/CommercePontiac/.
by Zainab Al-Mehdar
