The inaugural general assembly for the Association des gens d’affaires d’Ormstown et des environs (AGAO+) was held on March 8 at the Ormstown Legion. The meeting, which formalized the business association created last November, was followed by a networking activity.
During the meeting, the AGAO+ reiterated its core values as partnership, commitment, integrity, and pride. The main objective of the association is to promote, support, and defend the interests of local business owners, including its 35 active members, as well as the economic development of Ormstown and its surroundings.
Philippe Besombes, a former assistant director general of the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de la Montérégie-Ouest (CISSSMO), is the newly elected president of the AGAO+, while René Gauthier, the owner of the Ormstown BMR hardware store, will serve as vice-president. Suzanne Hutchinson will take on the role of secretary-treasurer, and the three remaining seats on the board have been filled by Catherine Paradis, Chloe Chamandy, and Ken Dolphin.
Representatives from local municipalities, businesses, and organizations were present for the networking event that followed the official meeting, including Rodolphe Demers, an attaché for Salaberry-Suroît MP Claude DeBellefeuille.
“Congratulations on the creation of this association,” said Demers. “You will now be able to focus on local issues while promoting and improving the visibility of the region’s businesses,” he added, noting that Debellefeuille is “in favor of development and believes it must be done in the spirit of solidarity and unity.”
To help the association start off on the right foot with its projects, Mallette announced a contribution of $1,200 was being provided to the AGAO+ by the minister of finance, Éric Girard.
“I can sense that business owners are coming together,” said Mallette. “People are talking, they are sharing ideas, and the energy is dynamic,” she noted. “We must face these difficult issues together. I think the strength of the association and the community will help those who are having a more difficult time to find their footing and keep going.”
Mallette said she is also ready to play her part in “supporting and helping the association in their actions and decisions, so that things move more quickly.”
