Stephenville -
The Bay St. George Chamber of Commerce has a new president after Debbie Brake-Patten was chosen from among the executive.
Brake-Patten, who was previously elected to the 1st vice-president position is comfortable with the executive's decision to appoint her president, and looks forward to her tenure.
"I'm really excited about leading the chamber for this two-year term as the organization has gone through some struggles in the past," she said.
For the past two years Brake-Patten has served in the position of secretary and noted the 2005 shutdown of the AbitibBowater mill as a difficult time for the group.
"When we started to recover from that, our president Wayne Wheeler got sick and that weakened the chamber for awhile because he was such a hard working individual and dedicated worker," she said.
Brake-Patten has a long history of leadership which includes, serving as president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Chiropractic Association from 1999-2003, and has just completed six years as the Newfoundland Governor for the Canadian Chiropractic Association.
She served as president of the Stephenville Rotary Club in 2007 and continues to be an active member in the organization, and is serving in her second term as a Kippens councillor.
n her vision as president, Brake-Patten believes the Bay St. George Chamber of Commerce has to form a strong bond with the Port aux Basques Chamber with the reasoning that Port aux Basques has Marine Atlantic and Stephenville has an airport.
She said both communities can help each other to ensure neither industry is lost.
"I honestly feel the west coast of Newfoundland is one of the most scenic place in all of Canada and can compete on the world stage when it comes to attracting tourists. We need to get everyone involved, from the small farm owner to a woodworker, who can showcase their talents and works," Brake-Patten said.
However, she said amenities and attractions such as museums and pavilions are needed to promote the diverse culture of the area.
Brake-Patten feels the area needs to be seen by government as a strong and vibrant region, and she plans to build strong relationships with government so the voice of the business community can be heard.
Other areas of priority for Brake-Patten are the maintaining of health services, relaxing of rules and regulations placed on fisher people, and the development of oil and gas in the area to create employment and stimulate the development of infrastructure.
Joining her on the executive are: Randy Roberts, 2nd vice-president; Arch Locke, treasurer; Mary Lambert-Skinner, secretary; and Cynthia Downey, past-president.
Currently the position of 1st vice-president is vacant with an election planned for the next general meeting on Jan. 12 to fill that position.
Remaining directors of the executive board of directors include: Marie Alexander, Bob Delaney, Rosa Dollard, Andre Perrier, Brent Pottle, Bob Byrnes, Clayton Billard and Joan Pinsent.
Brake-Patten credits her decision to lead the helm on the people she will be working with.
"The major reason I considered stepping up to the plate as president is I was surrounded by very hard working and dedicated executive members and directors. I believe in order to be a good team leader, you have to have good team players," Brake-Patten said.
