Board of Directors – Cumberland Chamber of Commerce

Bill Dowe

President

Bill Dowe is president of the Amherst & Area Chamber of Commerce. In 2015, Bill joined Amherst & Area Chamber of Commerce and became a board member in March 2016. He started his trucking business in 1987 doing line-haul work, switched to excavation and aggregate hauling in 1994 and in 2009 took over Dowe Concrete. He is one of two co-coordinators of the Bordertown Working Truck Show & Shine, an event that pulls working trucks together to fundraise for Special Olympics-Amherst. He also donates his truck and trailer to the Special Olympics town Christmas parade display each year.

Bill has participated in the Special Olympics convoys in P.E.I., Dartmouth for the last three years. In 2016, he was the first recipient of the Darrell Ward Giving Back Award. He has served various positions in the Truckers Association of Nova Scotia, advocating for better rates and conditions in the trucking industry. As a small business owner, Bill sees the importance of getting involved to make a strong business community. He believes that all levels of government need to be held accountable and support local businesses by removing barriers. Bill grew up in Amherst and says that having close-knit relationships in the community makes running a business much smoother. His pastimes are boating and spending time with family.

Carys Wood

Past President

Carys Wood has been with CBDC Cumberland for 22 years where she started as the Business Development Manager, and has now served the last 10 years as the Executive Director at CBDC.

She has been with the Amherst & Area Chamber of Commerce since 2015 and served as the President of the Chamber from 2017 to 2020 as well as on various committees within the Chamber.

Kathy Legere

Kathy has been doing business in the area for most of her life, and has been a committed board member of the Amherst & Area Chamber of Commerce for the last 4 years. She was twice nominated for the RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur awards and is a friendly and welcoming face in the community.

Kathy started the Copper Tree Boutique in 2016, which is now a very popular store located in historic Dayle’s Grand Market in Downtown Amherst. She was the proud winner of Business of The Year in 2019, and anyone who visits her store is sure to walk away with a smile on their face.

Keith Thompson

A graduate of the forestry program from UNB Keith was employed with  the N.S. goverment for eleven years.

He then started his own Construction /Landscape Company in the Amherst area which he operated for some thirty years. He recently did a short tenure as General Manager of Athol Forestry.

He stays active during his semi- retirement years serving on a number of committees and boards .

Joanne Hopper

My name is Joanne Hopper and I was born and raised in Amherst. I consider myself very fortunate to have grown up in a small community like Amherst with an amazing family and many friends. I have worked many jobs in my lifetime from Tim Horton’s to teaching Pre-school at the Trinity-St. Stephen’s United Church.

My current position is at the Bridge Adult Service Centre as the Executive Director. I have worked with persons with disabilities for almost 24 years. In my spare time I enjoy spending time with family and friends. My future goal is to get more information out into the community of the benefits of hiring persons with disabilities.

Cindy Costin

Treasurer

Cindy Costin-Fury is treasurer of the Amherst & Area Chamber of Commerce. She brings financial expertise from her position as Director of Assurance Services at McIsaac Darragh Chartered Accountants, where she offers financial advisory services to a variety of clients and business types. She joined the firm in 2008 and obtained Chartered Accountant designation in 2010. Prior to that she worked in financial services at TD Bank for seven years and graduated Mount Allison University in 2005 with a bachelor of commerce in accounting. She loves working and living in her close-knit hometown of Amherst, where she says you can often walk down the street and see a friendly face. Outside of work she loves powerlifting at the gym and being with friends and family.

Krista McDonald

My name is Krista MacDonald, and I reside in Springhill with my son, daughter and husband Brent.

Brent and I are the owners/operators of Sociables Pub and Eatery in Springhill. Although my employment is outside of our small business enterprise, Brent can be seen there daily. We are lucky to have an amazing team, that feel like extended family and are very proud to own a business in our hometown.

We each have extensive volunteer experience, having served and serving on many Boards and Committees and we like to give back to our community and local area whenever possible.