Winnipeg chamber chair seeks to get creative
Could Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre tickets be the next company-wide perk? It’s a question Bob Somers is posing. He’s slated to take the reins as Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce board […]
Bob Somers, who will become the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce board chair on October 1, is considering unconventional ways to engage Winnipeg's creative sector. One idea he's floated is offering theatre tickets as a perk for businesses, similar to how sports teams provide season passes. Somers, a principal landscape architect, is also aiming to raise wages in Winnipeg's creative industry and connect local businesses with the arts.
He's prioritizing high-quality public spaces downtown, such as parks and open areas, seeing potential for public investment and policy to shape these spaces. Somers draws on his experience as a skateboarder and as the founder of the Skateboard Coalition of Manitoba to advocate for better public spaces. The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce is currently concerned about downtown businesses and community safety, as stated in the latest chamber survey.
Somers is set to replace Amanda Buhse, who served as the chamber's president for her first year. Buhse, founder of candle company Coal & Canary, said her term was a "greatest honour of my professional career."
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