Next week is Small Business Week in Canada and in recognition, small businesses in the Drumheller Valley will be participating in a symposium  being held in Greentree Mall from October 18 to 20.
    “The Chamber hasn’t offered a small business week event for a couple years,” said Roxanne Clark, Office and Membership Coordinator of the Drumheller and District Chamber of Commerce. “We felt we wanted to engage our membership and offer them information that is relevant to the small business owner.”
    The symposium is a joint effort between ATB Financial and the Chamber.
    The three day event will focus on a different aspect of small business each day. “It was information that we thought would be pertinent to the challenges small business owners face,” said Clark.
    Technology will be the focus on the first day, with guest speaker John Shoff from Reality Bytes giving a presentation on how business owners can use social media.
    The Drumheller RCMP will be giving a talk dealing with counterfeiting and credit card fraud.
    On the second day, finance will be the hot topic and Todd Hirsch, Sr. Economist at ATB, will give a short presentation entitle “Everywhere a Sign! Alberta in a dangerous global economy.”
    The last day of the symposium will deal with one of life’s absolutes: taxes. Hansine Kostelecky, from Numberz Accounting, will present “Starting a Small Business, Accounting and Tax Things to Consider.”
    Each session will be followed by a Q&A period and an opportunity for businesses to display their ideas and network. “There will be a wealth of information,” promised Clark.
    Chamber members can attend for free, but the event is not limited to members. The symposium is open to the public as well, with registration fees of $10 per day or $25 for all three.
    For more information and to register visit drumhellerchamber.com.

    The first step of realizing a Main Street Program in Drumheller is going ahead, as a historical inventory of the town is underway.
    The town has contracted Donald Luxton and Associates to conduct the inventory. The heritage consultant completing the inventory is Laura Pasacreta. The goal is to identify 50 buildings to be considered as heritage buildings. These buildings are not limited to just downtown, but the whole community.
    “It is about preserving our history. In creating an inventory, we are saying these are buildings that are representative of our past,” said downtown businessman Mike Todor. “They may not necessarily be the prettiest buildings in our town. A miner’s shack might be a heritage building because he is representative of our past.”
    Todor is planning to participate in the project if his building, which was built by legendary coal magnate Jesse Gouge, is accepted. He sees many positives for building owners to participate.
    “If you need to do some work on the building, you can get some funding to assist you with the work,” said Todor. “They will pay a portion of it.”
    He admits that some property owners have not signed on. One of the goals is to have the building remain representative of its history. If an owner signs on to the project and wants to access funds for conservation, they would have to make sure they maintain the appearance of the building.
    “If you are in the program, there are some restrictions on the exterior itself,” said Todor.
    The Heritage designation is intact even if the property changes hands. The new owner would have to abide by the restrictions.
    “If someone buys a heritage building, I would think the person would be enthused rather than want to do away with it,” said Todor.
    Todor explains that this is the first step for the community to join the Main Street Program. A Main Street Program came through Drumheller about two decades ago. He said the program has changed since, and rather than simply refurbishing the buildings and walking away, this is a three year program that carries on and includes a social component that is geared to keep the town vibrant.
    The inventory has a cost of $50,000, which has been sponsored by the Town of Drumheller, the Drumheller and District Chamber of Commerce and Community Futures.
    There is an open house on Tuesday, October 18 at the civic centre.
    “At the open house we will be discussing what the program is about and to let people know what is happening,” said Todor.