The 2019 Humboldt and District Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, with Dan Torwalt (front second left) serving as president. (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff)

By Aaron Schulze

Net assets down, but Humboldt Chamber still comfortable

Mar 29, 2019 | 3:35 PM

The Humboldt and District Chamber of Commerce (HDCC) looked back at the 2018 statement of operations during its annual general meeting Thursday, March 28.

As of Dec. 31, 2018, the HDCC’s net assets decreased from nearly $81,000 from the beginning of the year to just under $72,000 at the end, due to its ‘deficiency of revenue over expenses’ being over $9,000 compared to the near $500 in 2017.

Dan Torwalt, president of the HDCC Board of Directors, said extra expenses were needed at the end of the year.

“We had to hire extra staff to finish the year off,” Torwalt said. “Plus with the campground we lost $3,000 compared to the average, and that’s because the fall wasn’t great. We lost a month of campers and those are things you have to deal with, like a farmer hitting frost or a drought. You just got to stay on top of stuff like that and make sure you keep your numbers.”

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Compared to bringing in over $21,000 with the Visitor Information Centre and Historical Park Campground operations, the HDCC lost nearly $3,900 due to the absence of campers in the fall.

Some positive numbers the HDCC can take from the operations is total revenue seeing a $150 increase and total operating expenses going down nearly $16,000, despite the extra staff costs at the end and the campground deficit.

Although one number that will be a priority for the HDCC will be memberships.

“We want to bring our membership up,” Torwalt said. “Not just Humboldt. We’re Humboldt and District, we like to work 30 or 40 miles around also. The biggest thing is getting out there and approaching, we probably haven’t done enough of that.

“Finding out the new businesses and making them aware of what we can do for them. Here you can talk and express your concerns. We’re connected with the Saskatchewan Chamber and they’re connected with provincial and federal governments, so everything will get voiced both ways.”

The HDCC’s long-term goal for 2019 is to reach 300 memberships.

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow