Girouxville Chamber of Commerce president Ray Boisvert and secretary Lorraine Boisvert along with Falher Chamber of Commerce president Paula Guindon and secretary Selena Sliger were some of the organizers for the small business week banquet.

Falher and Girouxville Chamber of Commerce along with Economic Development held a small business week banquet on Oct. 23. The event proved to be both educational and fun for business owners, says Falher Chamber president Paula Guindon. “It was a very good evening with a really good supper,” says Guindon. “There was a facilitator named Angelo Murphy who helped brainstorm on ideas for a more prosperous business.” Murphy divided the group of nearly 40 people into teams to gather ideas on how to improve local businesses. He asked groups to discuss two items; barriers to economic development and how to improve it. “All the answers from the brainstorming will be brought to Smoky River Economic Development,” says Guindon. “They’ll put answers together to try to improve economic development in the area.” Guindon says the event was planned to give back a little to the businesses in our community that provide stellar services to residents. “The Falher and Area Chamber of Commerce would like to salute all small businesses and thank them for their continued support in our community,” she explains. This year’s theme was “A world without boundaries”, which Guindon says captures modern business attitude. “With markets available at the mere click of the mouse, access to products and training are truly endless,” she says. “It offers the potential for new businesses as well as enhancing product lines and services to existing business.” The evening was also meant to act partially as a promotion for the Chambers. Both Girouxville and Falher Chamber of Commerce are noticing a steady decline in participation from local businesses in their meetings. They are hoping for an increase in participation to be able to provide the services and special days they currently provide to local businesses and their customers. The banquet was held at the Girouxville hall, and both chambers are hoping a similar event will be available to businesses in the future.