Masstown Market
Masstown Market is an award-winning, progressive, family-owned business celebrating over 50 years of quality and excellence in specialty food, gift, and garden retailing. Nestled in beautiful central Nova Scotia, the Market has built its reputation around great service and fresh, local products. This thriving business began out of a half-ton truck in 1969, when a local farmer couldn’t get his produce into in the regional grocery chain. Customer demand has helped it evolve every year since, into the local landmark we know today, featuring The Market, Masstown Butcher Shop & Creamery, The Peg, Masstown Lighthouse, Wharf and Fish Boat, and The Masstown Petro Canada and Tim Hortons locations.
The business development manager at the Masstown Market, Ron Smith is also an executive member of his local chamber of commerce. As an executive member, he has been able to gain more insight into what it actually takes to organize the chambers offerings.
“You can see what it can take to bring events and training together,” Smith said. “The chamber has tremendous responsibilities and tremendous results.”
Through their chamber membership, Masstown Market has been able to access medical plan coverage, training, and resources for their employees. Ron himself was able to take his PMI certification through the chamber, and he has participated in many training opportunities throughout the years.
During the pandemic, the chamber stepped up to provide much needed assistance around signage for the business and testing for its employees. The Market has also benefitted from chamber networking events that have helped to strengthen its community ties, and Beautification Grant funding, which allowed Ron and his team to update the signage for the business.
“[Through] the work that has taken place in a variety of projects because of the chamber’s support, flexibility and affiliations, the Market was able to be agile,” he said.
Ron’s decision for joining his local chamber as an executive member was due to him wanting to make a larger impact on his community. He feels that the chamber is an effective way to help local businesses grow, and has experienced the effects of that support firsthand.
“The chamber provides a real liaison between local government and local business industries," Smith said. “Over the last few years, our chamber was able to track interactions, and it is easy to see the steady increase of membership and business contacts within the local business community.”
Ron’s advice to joining a chamber as an executive member: If you really want to participate in a more impactful way and help guide the activities that lead to further success, you should join.
