She's nearly 100, but she's never been stronger.

The Delta Chamber of Commerce, established in 1910, is preparing to celebrate a century representing businesses in Delta.

As part of that, the chamber has given its building at the corner of River Road and 60th Avenue a new look as it gets ready for its 100th anniversary in 2010. As the operator of Delta’s tourism Visitor Centre it also needs 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.

Granted in 2008, the special projects capital funding for this project came from a special Tourism BC program to help Visitor Centres across the province improve their physical spaces and in turn the visitor experience. This program has also sponsored the special shed behind the chamber building for storing boxes of tourism information and the garden in front, developed under the direction of DRS Earthwise Society, based in Tsawwassen.

Officiating at a dedication ceremony today were Nancy Frederickson, Network Program Manager of Visitor Centres throughout the province, for Tourism British Columbia, based in Victoria, Councillor Anne Peterson of The Corporation of Delta, and Greg Muirhead Chair of the Delta Chamber of Commerce.

Delta Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Peter Roaf likes the new look.

“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," Roaf said. "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.”

In recent years Tourism BC has also been providing funding of $10,000 annually to support the operations of the Visitor Centre. This amount tops up the main funding for the Visitor Centre from The Corporation of Delta which invests $43,000 a year to support tourism in Delta.

“One of the two main purposes of our Visitor Centre is to help visitors feel comfortable and find the services they need as quickly and easily as possible in a friendly way," Roaf said. "The other is make sure that they know as much about Delta as possible to encourage them to stay here. We have been collaborating with The Corporation of Delta in advertising and in other ways to promote the huge opportunity for eco-tourism here in Delta – fresh air, wide open spaces, walking and biking trails and hospitality – next to a major urban centre and convenient to so many transportation systems of highway, ferries and airport. Wearing our Delta Chamber of Commerce hat we also serve the business community by referring visitors to businesses in the hotel/motel/B&B areas and to places to eat and play”

The chamber is grateful for several of the proprietors who helped get the building facelift done, including, Fisher’s Fine Homes in painting the building, Theresa Hrabovski, Colour Consultant and Interior Designer with South Delta Paint and Design Ltd., for her contribution as a consultant on paint colour, Brian Kingston, of Our Neighbourhood Building Cleaners, for the original, careful hand washing of the wood clad building and Henri Wendel and the team at Delta Cable which helped with some difficult removals in preparation for the project.

kdiakiw@surreyleader.com