The Parkland Chamber of Commerce is looking for a new executive director after it was announced Stephen Chychota would be stepping down from that position.
Chychota’s wife Nicole, was recently hired as the city manager in Portage la Prairie and he will be joining her there.
“I gave the board up to May 2. But it could be sooner if they find someone,” Chychota said.
Chychota joined what was then known as the Dauphin and District Chamber of Commerce about 10-1/2 years ago.
Among the highlights for Chychota is the rebranding of the organization to what is now the Parkland Chamber of Commerce.
“And that transition was a big moment for myself, for the board, for the business community in the region. It really meant a lot for many different things,” he said.
“That was a big transition that we went through and it’s really exciting to see where that leads us.”
Year after year, there are different events that need planning, such as the Dauphin Street Fair, which he said is really special.
“We had the fortunate luck of having great weather and the ability to pull that event off and make it bigger and better every year. It’s one of those community events that everyone looks after and looks forward to. So I’m really honoured that I could be a part of that and make that event happen. That means a lot.”
Another highlight for Chychota was the implementation of the State of the District to the Chamber’s lunch series, allowing community groups from across the region to share their message and bring awareness of what is happening throughout the region.
“To try and bridge those gaps and represent that we are stronger together as a region,” he said.
From a personal aspect, Chychota has been part of several boards and he’s been involved in a lot of projects outside of the chamber.
“You don’t expect to be as busy or working that hard, but opportunities present themselves and you keep working towards our goal. These boards and organizations and things that I’ve been a part of outside of the chamber that complement it all has been a lot of fun,” he said.
The milestone awards, which recognizes businesses membership within the chamber, as well as the chamber awards were an opportunity to make more of a flagship event with more regional recognition.
“We wanted to make things a little bit more fun and exciting, especially for the nominated awards and get the community really involved and aware of more of that process and understand that there’s some fantastic organizations and individuals out there that are doing some really hard work and we’ve got to showcase those,” he said.
“We have that coming up and we’re really looking forward to pulling that event off.”
Chychota said it is not easy to leave.
“But there’s an end that has to come once in a while. I think leaving the Chamber in good shape and someone incredibly talented can come along and take it and make it even better,” he said.
Chychota is not leaving the chambers world, however, as he is involved with the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce.
“I’m looking forward to supporting this chamber and others across the network in that capacity,” he said.
