The staff at Delta Chamber of Commerce are gearing up to throw a birthday bash for the organization which celebrates its centenary next year.

But just what that will entail is not yet clear, says the chamber’s executive director Peter Roaf.

“If there is a day that marks the chamber’s birthday it is March 4,” he said. “That was when the Delta Board of Trade held its first meeting.”

The problem with holding a party at that time to mark a significant point in the organization’s history is the possiblity it will be sandwiched by the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

At the moment chamber staff are researching ways to highlight the accomplishments of the chamber over the years that it has represented and promoted the local business community.

One way that has already been implemented has been a facelift for the chamber’s office at the corner of River Road and 60th Ave.

As the operator of Delta’s tourism Visitor Centre it also needed to look its best leading up to and through the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The just completed repairs plus a new coat of paint , in preparation for these two celebrations, is the result of a $10,000 special projects grant from Tourism BC.

“The new facelift for the Delta Chamber building gives the place more of a contemporary look, but with earthtones in harmony with the surrounding fields and open spaces in this part of the community,” said Roaf in a press release. “ We are grateful for the support of Tourism BC on this occasion and in the past. We really do believe that these projects have improved the visiting tourists’ experience.”

Currently, the chamber has a total of 420 members spaning all manner of enterprises. It’s a long way from the initial mmebership that reflected the nature of early Delta when agriculture made up the bulk of business interests.