March 31 will be a bittersweet day for the management and staff of the Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Centre.
For the past 55 years, Comox Valley residents and tourists alike have gone to the Chamber office on Cliffe Avenue for information, maps, and insight on things to do and places to go in the Comox Valley.
That will change on April 1 when the new visitor centre at 3607 Small Road off the Comox Valley Parkway at the Cumberland interchange the Valley’s new official visitor centre.
“While we are all excited about the wonderful new facility, we also feel some remorse,” explains Chamber president and CEO Dianne Hawkins. “Unfortunately, this ‘changing of the guard’ means that our visitor information counsellors are being laid off.
"I am really going to miss having day-to-day interactions with Gillian, Jai, Kirsten and Carrie and our volunteer, Al. These
hard-working and dedicated individuals have been true ambassadors for the Comox Valley in particular and Vancouver Island in general.
"Their positive attitudes and friendly smiles were infectious and their absence will be noticed. I have loved working with them and know I speak for the entire staff, our board of directors, Chamber members, and the community in saying, ‘Farewell and good luck! We will miss you!'
“As we accept this change, and begin to write a new chapter in the Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce’s history, my staff and I will now focus on the future,” concludes Hawkins. “The
locomotive that has its place of honor beside the Chamber offices will stay… and so will we.
"We will still have rack cards and information from our 700-plus members and we will continue to be the voice for the business community in the Comox Valley.”
— Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce