Community
Red Deer Chamber President Dustin Snider hands the reigns to Matt Cassidy

News Release from Red Deer and District Chamber of Commerce
Chamber elects new President
Following the 127th Annual General Meeting of the Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce, the Board of Directors elected Matt Cassidy of Beyond Insurance to be the
100th President of the business association.
An experienced Insurance Broker, Matt founded Beyond Insurance in 2017 and works alongside his wife Andrea. Born and raised in Red Deer, Matt is an active member of the Piper Creek Optimist Club, Against the Wall Theatre Society, and a Western Hockey League Alumni.
Matt replaces outgoing President Dustin Snider of Earls Restaurant.
Chamber CEO Rick More commented on the election: “We owe Dustin a debt of gratitude for his leadership during a trying time. Dustin led our organization with calm, thoughtful and strategic purpose as we dealt with some extraordinary difficulties – most of which were unimaginable when he first agreed to volunteer for our board. We welcome Matt to the role of President. His business acumen and experience in governance will be a great asset as the board works to hire a new CEO and we work toward a strong economic recovery for the region.”
Matt remarked, “I would like to thank my fellow board members for placing their trust in me as President for the 2021 Chamber year, and I look very forward to an exciting time as the Chamber evolves and continues to support business throughout our region. I would also like to thank Dustin and Rick for their leadership and mentorship throughout the past two years, and I anticipate a great year working with all of our board members.”
The Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce is a non-partisan, collaborative leader in building a vibrant community and fosters an environment where businesses can lead, be innovative, sustainable, and grow.
Community
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Business
Business leaders decide it’s time to reduce the number of homeless in Red Deer

News release from the Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce
Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce to form Task Force on Homelessness in Red Deer
The Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce will be convening a Task Force of community and business leaders to address the issues of homelessness and identify actionable steps which can be taken to tackle this generational challenge in Red Deer.
“With the release of the City of Red Deer’s Point in Time (PIT) Report on homelessness last week we are very concerned and disappointed with the effectiveness of the strategies currently in place, and the urgency by which we need to turn this situation around within our city,” commented Scott Robinson CEO of the Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce. “Clearly our current strategies are not enough, and we need to elevate the urgency by which we get things done to reduce the number of citizens who are without a place to live. The growing number of people who are homeless is not sustainable and is impacting on our sense of pride, safety and attractiveness of our city to business and industry.”
“We will share more about this Task Force and the next steps in the coming weeks. Time has run out to act with conviction, courage, and clarity. Our community and citizens deserve that from our community leaders, and we are ready to bring the business community and the urgency required to the table.”
Over the next 60 days, the Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce will be reaching out to its business and social agency partners to build the Task Force on homelessness and establish a strategy to address the critical steps that need to be taken to reverse the trends and further our community’s vision as a vibrant and healthy city.
Matt Cassidy, Chamber Board President. remarked “Our Chamber is positioned to be the collaborative leader in connecting our business community, social agencies, and elected officials together, to find tangible progress on this complex issue. All businesses rely on the vibrancy of our community as they strive to be sustainable, innovative, or grow, and the results of the PIT Report indicate that we need to do much more. This task force will help hold our leaders accountable for the actionable progress needed and engage one another effectively.”
“In speaking with our membership, and those working closely with the vulnerable populations there are best practices and models for delivery that are successful in other parts of the world that we need to start implementing” says Robinson. In addition, we need to look at ways that our private sector can get more involved and bring their expertise and strategic thinking to the table. As a collaborative community we also need to ensure that governments at all levels are delivering on their promises of affordable housing and eliminating barriers to expediting these investments.
Established in 1894 the Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce is a non-partisan, collaborative business leader representing over 825 member businesses. As one of Red Deer’s oldest and most established membership organizations we are striving to build a vibrant community that fosters an environment where businesses can lead, be innovative, sustainable, and grow.
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