The first-ever WeyBex Awards in June of 2004, saluting better business practices in Weyburn, proved to be very profitable for the Weyburn Chamber of Commerce, bringing in over $12,000 in revenue.

Most revenues and expenditures were roughly the same in the 2004 financial report of the Chamber of Commerce, which was made available at their annual meeting on Wednesday night.

The biggest new source of revenue was the WeyBex awards. Memberships brought in $28,342, down about $306 from 2003. The Farm, Home and Leisure Show, which has been cancelled for 2005, was approximately the same as 2003.

One area that was way down was general fund-raising activities, which fell from $8,046 in 2003 to $3,236 in 2004. Rob Stephanson, who read the report, explained that the drop was largely because there was no golf tournament last year; the event will likely return in 2004, he noted.

Many expenditures were also the same, though salaries and wages dropped nearly $5,000. Stephanson also noted a new expenditure this year, a $1,000 donation to the Summer Games.

At the end of the year, the Chamber added just over $12,000 to their cash accounts.

The annual meeting also saw the induction of the new president, Trent Jordens. In one of his first new duties, Jordens read the Chamber's new mission statement: "The Chamber of Commerce will provide business leadership dedicated to economic vitality and quality of life."

Jordens said there is a need to create and execute a business plan for Weyburn, but he also believes the city needs a marketing plan to deliver the message that "Weyburn is the community of choice, whether you want to raise a family, build a business or start an active retirement."

Jordens took over for outgoing president Ian Carleton, who became president in 2003.

In his speech, Carleton said that, as business owners, Chamber members need to convince their employees to shop locally. He offered his workplace at AM 1190 as an example, where people are constantly telling him about local purchases they made.

"I don't think we need to guilt people into shopping here. We need to get people to understand why they should support us."

The new board of directors of the Weyburn Chamber of Commerce includes president Jordens, Susan Stewardson and Brent Allin as vice-presidents, manager Cindy Bell and directors Gail Bartlett, Ian Carleton, Dylan Clarke, Melissa Frank, Gary Frederickson, Ted Hillstead, Tom Huston, Neal Keefe, Chris Michel, Jerry Ponto and Marion Severson.

This year's speaker at the Chamber of Commerce was Barb de la Sablonniere, a Regina businesswoman and author with over 20 years of experience in marketing and sales.

Sablonniere talked about being in the Regina Chamber of Commerce, suggesting that the No. 1 reason the business community joined the Chamber was networking. If you delve a little deeper, psychologists say it goes back to a herding instinct; people want the protection of a group, she said.

"You're all cattle tonight," she joked.

The problem with a herd is too many follow and not enough lead. A president doesn't drive a Chamber of Commerce, an executive doesn't drive the Chamber - its membership drives the Chamber. Sablonniere then challenged those attending to start driving the direction of their Chamber.