Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Moose Jaw and District Chamber of Commerce had a successful 2021 and are now looking forward to 2022.

One of the biggest success stories to come from the Chamber this past year was the Big Give initiative. The Chamber asked residents to donate money that was used to purchase meals from local restaurants.

In conjunction with Hunger in Moose Jaw and the Moose Jaw and District Food Bank, those meals were delivered to people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford a take-out meal from a restaurant.

The Big Give raised about $29,000 for 23 participating restaurants and produced over 2,600 meals for people in the community.

“I still wander around and it is so rewarding to see what happened. We're out delivering the food as well, so it was pretty amazing,” said Chamber CEO Rob Clark, reflecting back on the Big Give.

The Moose Jaw Citizen and Group of the Year awards and MJBEX awards were handed out this past year, but it took on a different look.

The Citizen and Group of the Year ceremony was held virtually, while the MJBEX nominees were rolled out on the Chamber’s Facebook page with videos being posted of the winners.

The Chamber is now looking forward to the future and hopes that the Citizen and Group of the Year and MJBEX ceremonies can be held in person as well as other events.

“We understand this new variant is coming through, but we're going to start planning. We want to be prepared so we can have some events, all informational, all educational events,” said Clark.

Nominations for the Citizen and Group of the Year awards will be opening in the last week of January, while the Chamber is planning to hold the MJBEX awards in April.