- October 22, 2019
The Bow Valley Builders and Developers Association (BOWDA) is a membership driven networking and advocacy group focused on the needs of the building & development industry and related business in Canmore and the Bow Valley. As of Oct 2017, BOWDA consisted of over 225 members comprised of builders, developers, consultants, suppliers, trades and supporting businesses. This gives the association a significant voice when addressing issues that impact business and development in the Bow Valley. BOWDA has an elected Board of Directors that meets monthly with its Executive Director. To maintain regular liaison, members of the Board also meet 5 times per year with the Town of Canmore’s General Manager of Municipal Infrastructure, and Manager of Planning. BOWDA began as the Bow Valley chapter of the Urban Development Institute (UDI) in the late 1990’s as a way for the development community to have a common voice when addressing issues that impacted the industry. In the late 2000’s the organization decided to move away from the UDI framework and become a stand-alone organization, not affiliated with a parent organization.
In many ways, BOWDA is similar to a UDI, a Canadian Home Builders Association, and a Chamber of Commerce, however is not affiliated with any of these organizations. BOWDA does borrow and adapt applicable ideas and programs from these organizations to suit the needs of our members.
Carmella Consulting manages BOWDA’s social media pages; Facebook and Twitter. Once a month, Carmella attends the BOWDA luncheon, to capture content, interview stakeholders and post live event coverage to the BOWDA Facebook page. Carmella is currently in the works of creating a film of the Christmas Luncheon, where the Bow Valley Builders and Developers Association raised over $25,000 in 13 minutes for the Canmore Community Daycare Society.