This is part of a year-long ‘Love for Local’ series called NB365: portraits of New Brunswick entrepreneurs, businesses and organizations. Huddle is a media partner with Love for Local. In this segment, Krista Ross of the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce talks about the province as a place where each person has a chance to make a difference, and newcomers can quickly become part of the community and flourish.

WE ARE LUCKY TO LIVE IN A PROVINCE WHERE IT IS SMALL ENOUGH THAT WE HAVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE BUSINESSES THAT WE ENGAGE WITH, WHERE EACH PERSON HAS A CHANCE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE, AND NEWCOMERS CAN QUICKLY BECOME PART OF THE COMMUNITY AND FLOURISH.

The province is also, however, big enough to have tremendous opportunities! Seeing our province and our Chamber members, grow, prosper and our economy expand motivates me to dig in and work hard at the Chamber – helping businesses to succeed and supporting them through good and challenging times fills my cup, and I love seeing our population becoming more diverse creating a more beautiful cultural fabric and global community in which to live.

My work and personal life are intertwined – my daughter understands the value of community and my commitment to it, and my work embraces the importance of family personal life! In fact, the Chamber’s vision is ‘stronger community through business prosperity’ which really represents a holistic balance.

I feel lucky to have a job that I’m passionate about and can draw on my lived experience to succeed at work and vice versa. The support from New Brunswickers allows me to share the importance of supporting our local businesses in this global world and economy, thus allowing our members to grow and prosper both here and globally.