One hundred years! And no, I have not been here from the beginning.

Despite the fact that 2013 marks me officially as the longest standing chamber maid in Abbotsford's history, there have been several good women who have served the Abbotsford Chamber along the way!

We're going to be taking a good look into the past to commemorate our 100 year celebration. We'll take stock of who has led, who has served, who has worked behind the scenes and in the end, provide you with an impressive list of the Chamber's accomplishments.

There is no doubt that the Chamber has grown and developed and is a living, breathing organization, which has impacted the evolution of our city and the business community at its core. Highly influential with the power of a collective voice, the Chamber has grown from a fledgling group of dedicated community volunteers to an organization with a policy development board that has lobbied effectively at a municipal, provincial and more recently at a national level. The Abbotsford Chamber's lobby efforts have given local business a broader perspective on issues that affect trade and commerce in our city.

We are excited to explore the past as we look towards the future.

One hundred years is worth celebrating! We will begin the year with a series of articles in The Chamber Voice and online, that will cover the highlights of each decade. We have planned three celebration events during the year with the first one held on Feb. 19 during Chamber of Commerce Week.

We kicked off the 100 year celebration at the Duke of Dublin. The new Duke of Dublin welcomed the old Chamber of Commerce, and it was a great evening filled with fun, food and friends.

Our grand 'all community' event will feature a summertime picnic on July 24, complete with fun for the whole family.

The official commemoration of our anniversary will come in October as part of Small Business Week, and will feature memorabilia displays and 'remember when' reminiscences from several of our past presidents. Stay tuned for details on these events and more as they are posted to our calendar at www.abbotsfordchamber.com.

Join with us as we celebrate where we've come from and look towards a bright future in Abbotsford!