Welcome


Everyone with a busy business career can likely agree on one thing – there just doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day to get everything done. It doesn’t matter if you own a large or small business, whether you are self-employed or a valued employee – time is a scarce commodity and you have to invest it wisely because there’s only so much to go around.

At the Woodstock District Chamber of Commerce we are extremely proud that so many of the nearly 400 businesses we represent are prepared to invest their own time to help make the Chamber of Commerce a continuing success. Whether it’s our Business After Five or Speaker Series events, or serving on our Board of Directors and Executive positions, members continue to make time in their busy calendars for a broad range of Chamber activities.

We strive to offer genuine value from a membership in the Woodstock District Chamber of Commerce. Not only do we represent the voice of business in our area, we offer informative sessions and business networking events that you just cannot find anywhere else. And here, for the first time, is the secret of our success – they’re FUN. When it comes right down to it, it’s all about having fun and making important business connections at the same time. We all know that the last year has been a tough one, but those in the know say the worst is behind us. There’s light at the end of the business tunnel! We may not be there just, but thank goodness we can still have some fun.

Please feel free to get to know our new Chamber Website. Change is in the wind. Soon we will start our electronic newsletter, which will replace the old monthly paper version. We encourage you to forward copies throughout your organization. Our Business-to-Business Directory is also going web-based which will give our members far more advertising flexibility while drastically expanding the reach of their message!

We wish you a successful year and look forward to seeing you out at a Chamber event soon. They’re always fun, but not as much fun if you’re not there!

There is no better time to be a member of the Woodstock District Chamber of Commerce!

Guy Cassady

President

What We Do 

The Woodstock District Chamberof Commerce is one of the largest business organizations in Oxford county. Our membership, diverse in nature, consists of 360 companies with some 6500 employees which provides the Chamber with a broad and varied base of community support. Eighty percent of our businesses are small business with 50 or less employees.

At the Woodstock District Chamber of Commerce, we like to build relationships, not just with you, but for you, because membership isn't just a one-time activity. Effective membership building results from ontinuously building better relationships as a member, we're committed to building our relationship with you by providing you with benefits.

• Influence public policy
  
• Keep members informed
  
• Be responsive to our member's needs
  
• Help businesses grow
  
• Assist in building a stronger and more effective business base
  
• Build networks
  
• Be your information resource

History of Woodstock Board of Trade / Chamber of Commerce

The Board of Trade Act, effective May 26, 1874 stated that "any number of persons, not less than 30, being merchants, traders, bankers, brokers mechanics, manufacturers, managers of banks or insurance agents, and being residents of any village, town or city, having a population of not less than 2,500, may associate themselves together as a Board of Trade, with all the privileges and powers conferred by and subject to all the restrictions of this Act."

On January 28, 1877, nearly 50 businessmen of the two were present at a meeting held above the YMCA rooms over the James Holmes Hardware Store, for the purpose of forming a Board of Trade in the town of Woodstock.  Of those 50 present, 36 citizens became certified members who sought certification of "the Woodstock Board of Trade".

The Woodstock Board of Trade was certified in Woodstock on February 2, 1877, sent to Ottawa and incorporated on February 19, 1877 under the federal governments Board of Trade Act.

The Woodstock Board of Trade was instrumental in establishing, along with the Agricultural Society, the first Cheese Fair for Woodstock, and cattle fairs held at the market building on Peel Street.    They actively encouraged council to pursue city status in 1901, secured all-night street lighting, enticed business to locate in Woodstock, participated in decisions about hydro power, and industrial tax incentives. A partial list of businesses who located in Woodstock included Woodstock Wagon Company, Canadian Furniture Manufacturers, Standard Wire Fence Company, and  Canadian Wire Fence Company to name only a few.  Negotiations took place to bring an automobile manufacturer to Woodstock in 1912 but ultimately were unsuccessful.  In the Spring of 1910, the Board of Trade enthusiastically endorsed that a industrial commissioner be appointed by the City of Woodstock.  It was stressed that it required an individual who was "intelligent and big enough to meet manufacturers on their own grounds and be able to show that Woodstock was THE place for a firm to locate.   Over the years the Board of Trade continued to promote indudstrial development and were successful during the 1920's in attracting Kirsch, Bickle-Seagrave and LaFrance to the community.

During the "Dirty Thirties" The Board of Trade experienced a temporary loss of membership with the onset of the depression, recording only 67 members in 1932.  One of the Board's chief concerns would be to help the growing list of the jobless in Woodstock.  The first proposal for a central heating system for Woodstock was made in 1933 by the Board of Trade, investigated and forwarded to the city council to make a recommendation to the Public Utility Commission.  Unfortunately, the project did not come to fruition.   Good news came to the city on March 3, 1933 as dairy farmer T.R. Dent's Holstein cow, Springbank Snow Countess was named the world champion of all breeds for lifetime production of milk.  She had raised the butter production record to 7.658 pounds!

The "Fighting Forties" proved to be busy times for the Board of Trade promoting war effort projects, new committees, and providing more land for new industries.

The name was changed in 1961 – to the Woodstock District Chamber of Commerce.  

ve the years the Woodstock District Chamber of Commerce has continued to pursue similar projects.  It is interesting to review the challenges that faced the Chamber in years past and compare to those at this time.  We continue to promote business and industrial development in the City of Woodstock.  The City has been successful in securing not one automotive manufacturing plant, but three afilliated parts and recycling plants.  

Past Presidents Thomas H. Parker, 1877, 1880 William Grey, 1878, 1879 John White 1881-1889, 1897, 1905, 1906 John M. Grant 1890, 1891 James Scott, 1892 Andrew Pattullo, 1893, 1984 David W. Karn, 1895 Alex J. McIntosh, 1896 H.H. Powell, 1898 G. De C. O'Grady, 1899 Edward W. Nesbitt, 1900, 1901 *Wesley W. West, K.C. 1902 John A. Bain, 1903, 1904 Thomas W. Gray, 1907 S.W. Fuller, 1908 John G. McBeath, 1909-1911 J.E. Fidler, 1912, 1913 William J. Taylor, 1914, 1915 William D. Hobson, 1916 E. Blake Terryberry, 1917, 1918 Everett A. Rae, 1919, 1920, 1921 William A. Smith, 1922, 1923 Harold C. Norry, 1924, 1925 Grant Andison, 1926 Andrew J. McKinney, 1927 Bertram L. Cope, 1928 Benjamin C. Parker, 1929 – 1932 Charles O. Tatham, 1933 Colin E. Sutherland, 1934 James A. Vance, 1935 – 1944 Edward G. McKenzie, 1945, 1946 David Bishop, 1947, 1949 Walter W. Schultz, 1950 – 1952 Montrose J. Werry, 1953, 1954 William Knowles, 1955 – 1956 Earle Reed, 1957, 1958 George Miller, 1959, 1960 Harold Swanson, 1961 – 1963 Angus A. Mowat, 1964, 1965 Water W. Boys, 1966, 1967 Gordon Bigham, 1968, 1969 Douglas K. Eckel, 1970, 1971 David Quayle, 1972, 1973 George A. Calder, 1974, 1975, 1977 Walter Hulme, 1976 H. William Graham, 1978, 1979 Ron G. Totten, 1980 – 1981 R.W. (Wes) Magill, 1982, 1983 Ron Ludington, 1984, R.W. (Wes) Magill, 1985 Wayne Boddy, 1986, 1987 David J. Beatty, 1988. 1989 Keith Sherman,1990,  1991 Robert White, 1992, 1993 Milt Bruch, 1994, 1995 Al Shipp, 1996, 1997 Sherri Stevens, 1998, 1999 John Wylie, 2000 John Davis, 2001 Ruth Buchner 2002 Keith Stevens, 2003 Pat Logan, 2004 Jean Shippey, 2005 Sheri Knott, 2006 David Darby, 2007 Jim Harrison, 2008 *Mr. West was active in the Board of Trade at this time.  When he left Woodstock some years later on being made a judge, he was referred to in a press report as "past president."  The year 1902 is the only one where there is no known record of a president's name.  The assumption is that he may have held the office then.  Every other year is accounted for.

Secretaries James White, 1877, 1878 James Scarff, 1979 John White (pro tem) 1880 John Craig & Cornelius Kerr 1881 – 1889 James G. Wallace, 1890 – 1908 Charles F. Hamblyn (assistant) 1904 – 1908 John Ross, 1909, 1910 Harry Sykes, 1910 – 1923 Archibald T. McNeill, 1924 John L. Coles, 1925 – 1927 .A. B. (Bert) Smith 1928 – 1938 Hector Symons, 1939, 1948 Secretary-Managers Russell Brady (part-time) 1948, 1958 G. Fred Heathcote, 1959 Gordon Gibson, 1961 David Stupart, 1963 – 1966 Bernard Charette, 1966-1968 Managers Murray Wounch, 1969, 1970 W. Beverly Wallace, 1971 – 1975 Clifford W. Pratt 1975 (June to December) Jerry Daniel, May 1976 – 1978 A.R. Hancock 1979 – 1982 A.A. Mowat, 1983 – 1996 E. Earl Shea 1996 – 2000 Martha A. Dennis 2001 - Present