Sjoerd Huese

The Steinbach Chamber of Commerce has a new president. He is Sjoerd Huese, a Commercial Account Manager at Steinbach Credit Union. He succeeds Keith Unger of Prudential Riverbend Realty.

Huese says he's taking on the position at a great time, thanks to the hard work of those who have gone before him.  He explains, "First of all Kim Shukla and Mary Jane Hiebert way back when they put the building blocks for Eastman Immigration in place. After that, Paul Neustaedter, who had the vision and took it upon himself to lead the Chamber of Commerce in a path that was intertwined with Eastman Immigration that led to the building that we're in today, and, as a result, we have shared staff between the Chamber and Eastman Immigration. That has put us in a position to refocus which Keith undertook when he became the president. Keith worked on the mission and the vision and has put in place a new structure."

Huese says his plan now is to implement the strategy laid out by Unger. That involves filling the Member Services, Business Development and Community Relations committees and having them carry out projects to enhance the business community. Ultimately, he says, their goal is to have people shop, work, live and play in Steinbach.

He points to news earlier this week, that Steinbach has hit a record 86 million dollars in building permits for the year, as a sign the city is poised for even bigger things ahead. Huese says, "Building permits get issued one year and become realized in years after. So I think we are indeed on the cusp of another growth era in Steinbach, not only for business, but also for housing and other infrastructure such as schools, pools, hockey rinks, those kind of things."

Huese moved to Steinbach from the Netherlands in 1989. He has a Bachelor of Commerce Honours degree from the University of Manitoba and spent 13 years in the feed industry before joining Steinbach Credit Union. He is married and has three children.