In many respects, things are on the rise at the Richmond Chamber of Commerce.

Sporting a new logo of an upward swinging graph courtesy Hyphen Communications Inc.—who helped the City of Richmond with its new logo, and was a big part of the city's successful bid to lure the Richmond Olympic Oval to Richmond—and armed with fresh ideas on how to better help members network as they navigate the highs and lows of current economic times, all is looking up and feeling positive.

Leslie Matheson, past chair of the Richmond chamber, said the new logo suggests that growth is ahead for the city.

With the Bank of Canada declaring recently that the recession is over while forecasting modest growth, Matheson said her experience as marketing director at Richmond Centre also fuels an air of optimism.

"For Richmond Centre, I keep track of how I'm doing to my competition, and we're doing...pretty good compared to other shopping centres (in the Lower Mainland)."

The decision to revitalize the chamber's logo was made last year.

"We talked at our retreat last year about who is the chamber and where do we want to be positioned. And that's where the decision to update the logo (came from)."

The new logo was one of the options presented to the City of Richmond in its search for a new look.

With a little tweaking, it suited precisely the message the chamber wanted to convey: building prosperity.

The chamber's fresh and modern look melds nicely with a focus on making it easier for local businesses to communicate and connect.

"In tough times it's more important to network than it ever is," she said.

By revamping the networking system and website to make them more user-friendly, the chamber will be better positioned to act as a conduit to help businesses meet and do business together.

This year's board of directors better reflects the community, both in diversity and youthfulness, she said.

Although the chamber isn't tweeting yet on Twitter, that may be just around the corner.

"We're going to position ourself to help the younger business person in the community."

Chamber members get to gather during networking breakfasts and rotating monthly "business after 5" events hosted by local firms, something the membership said it wanted more of.

"So far, they've been very popular," Matheson said of the networking opportunities.

"They kicked off really strong, stronger than we've ever had," she said.

"When times are tough and they're looking for opportunities, the chamber is one venue for them to find new opportunities."

Ray Segat, of the Vancouver International Airport Authority, is the chair of the chamber, while Pryke Lambert Leathley Russell's Tony Kwan is serving as vice chair. Cathie Savoie, of Dickson, Stojak, Brown Chartered Accountants, is the secretary, while Barry Grabowski, of Cohen Buchan Edwards, is the treasurer. Leslie Matheson is the past chair.

Serving on the board of directors are: Fairchild's Danny Leung, Ashton Service Group's Brian Williams, Garfield Production's Jackie Lee, The Richmond Review's Rob Akimow, Digitech Renewable Printer Cartridges' Mike Karamanian, Gateway Theatre's Simon Johnston, Lok's Hakpkido School's Micheal Lok, Oris Consulting's Dana Westermark, ScotiaBank's Vikkie Harvey and The Richmond News' Lori Chalmers.