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During its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on March 13, the Pemberton & District Chamber of Commerce (PDCC) confirmed Sierra Townley and Graham Page as its new president and vice president. Townley succeeded Adam Adams in the position after three years on the job.
“Adam built some really great momentum with the board, and I would say we're miles ahead of where we were,” said Townley. “Our membership is growing.”
Townley is the general manager of Whistler Welding Society, which is named after its former location in Whistler’s Function Junction. The company has operated out of the Pemberton Industrial Park since the mid-'90s. She started working with the company in 2018 after earning a business degree from the University of Victoria and BCIT.
Townley was recruited to the PDCC board three years ago by Adams, who stepped down this year to serve on the board as a director—providing an element of continuity and offering a resource to tap for directors in new positions. To help boost that continuity, the 2025 PDCC AGM also moved ahead with a bylaw change that will see the PDCC president serve a two-year term, instead of the previous one-year tenure.
Per PDCC bylaws, the president is elected by the directors of the board. Instead of a formal campaign, the process involves a nomination followed by a vote.
Townley laid out key issue areas to tackle as part of the PDCC’s work during an interview with Pique; providing educational resources to local businesses, advocating on members’ behalf to government and other stakeholders and running events.
Fielding businesses' questions
Townley repeatedly underscored the educational role of the PDCC. With Pemberton growing, the local business community has questions about key issues like infrastructure, zoning and taxation.
“If people are looking for resources or they have specific issues, that's why we're here,” she said. “Reach out. I think a lot of people don't realize that's what we're there for.
“People can reach out and ask specific questions, whether that's about transit or ‘what's this law being used for? What's the plan for the village the next 10 years, seeing the amount of homes that we're building ... are we gonna start saving for a hospital or for a school? What's the plan here?’”
Townley highlighted the changing nature of the Pemberton Industrial Park as evidence of the quickly changing environment for businesses.
“So the Industrial Park is zoned for specific business use, but it's growing rapidly, and a lot of businesses want to know [whether] they are allowed to operate out there,” she said. “Ten years ago, they wanted to keep the professional businesses in town, [but] there's not available space in town. But there is now out in the Park. So they wonder, ‘Can I get a variance to work and put my business out there?’”
Townley mentioned businesses also often have questions about jurisdiction between the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, Village of Pemberton and Lil’wat Nation, and how those bodies work together.
With agricultural tariffs set to go into place on April 2 and a 25-per-cent tariff on goods, including building materials, already in place since March 4, she said farmers and construction workers are both “waiting to see what happens.”
“We export a lot in Pemberton," Townley noted. "I know the farming community is nervous, and [while] our construction industry is usually crazy, everyone's waiting this year because they're not sure what the building materials are going to cost.”
Advocating for local businesses
In addition to providing education for businesses, Townley highlighted the advocacy role the PDCC plays.
“We do have some power to get some responses or help people push through certain issues they may be having, with the Village or with other parties," she said.
She singled out BC Hydro’s substation as the exemplar, saying business owners in the valley have expressed concern the substation might not have the capacity to accommodate current and projected growth. The Chamber is also advocating for planned outages to land during more convenient times for business owners. Townley noted there’s been better communication between the utility and the Chamber of late.
“Usually chambers get a better response than a single entity, so we try and advocate as best we can on the appropriate items,” she said. “So we always have to think back to what our members want, what do they value, and what they're asking for.”
She highlighted the PDCC’s relationship with nearby chambers of commerce, including those in Whistler, Squamish and Lillooet, as well as the Lil’wat Nation and local governments.
“We as the board of directors represent the members," Townley said. "So our main goal is to advocate on their behalf, figure out what they want to do. So we advocate to local government [and at the] B.C. government level.”
Hosting events
Townley is looking forward to seeing the PDCC grow. After Adams’ successful outreach saw the Chamber’s membership increase, she’s looking to keep the streak alive.
“There is definitely massive room for growth,” said Townley. “And every year there's more and more business licenses in Pemberton, so hopefully we can keep ramping up those numbers.”
The other side of the PDCC’s work is to foster links between businesses. Townley hopes to host more events in the years ahead to help build that value for members.
“Our members also really want to just have a mixer with each other; they want to communicate with each other, they want the opportunity to advertise, they want the opportunity to interact with people,” she said.
Townley said the Chamber has gotten positive feedback from local owners on events featuring external experts, ranging from human resources specialists, benefits providers, WorkSafe BC, or other entities.
The Chamber’s next event is its Development Advocacy Roundtable meeting on April 10. Local businesses will have the chance to engage with groups like the SLRD, VOP, and local First Nations to focus on issues related to “local planning, economic development, and infrastructure.”
