Atikokan Chamber of Commerce

The Atikokan Senior Chamber of Commerce was founded on April 15, 1948 when a certificate of formation of Board of Trade was signed under the name Atikokan Chamber of Commerce.  The first President was John Reid Sr. and the first secretary was the late Gordon Starr.

The objective of the Atikokan Senior Chamber of Commerce as stated at the time was to promote and improve trade and commerce and the economic, civic, and social welfare of the Atikokan area.

The membership, while open to any resident of the area, was made up largely of business and professional people and heads of industry, as it still remains to this day.

The scope and range of the Chamber activities varied greatly.  The Chamber was instrumental in organizing the first Home & School Association and granted some of the earlier bursaries and scholarships.  Chamber representations resulted in boat ramps and parking areas at a number of local lakes, as well as representations were made to local authorities to preserve the White Otter Castle as a historic site.  In the field of transportation and communication, the Chamber was instrumental in getting CBC to set up the local radio re-broadcast tower and also the CBC television channel.

Over the years the Chamber's goals have changed but benefiting Atikokan has always been the main goal.