Thanks to everyone who joined us at our AGM on the evening of 9th March – what a great turnout on such a cold, rainy March evening!
It was our first formal meeting as the ‘new’ Committee and gave us a chance to talk about what has been happening at the Chamber over the past year and to introduce our vision and plans for the future.
And we are thrilled that we now have FOUR new members on the Committee, giving us an even wider representation from across the local community.
Well done to The Orwell Hotel for the superb catering, and we are grateful to our guest speaker, David Barnard of Groundwork East, for telling us how the charity is working across the East of England to create stronger, healthier communities, responsible business and greater prospects for local people.
The AGM heard from the various members of the Committee: Paul Borroughs, Chair; Murray Oliver, Treasurer; Amanda Oliver, Business Officer; and Rachael Jackson, PR and Marketing (with apologies from Leanne Gittins).
We also acknowledged the tremendous contributions of outgoing Committee members, Colin Low, who joined in 2017 and has been a strong advocate of the Chamber over the years, and Andy Proctor, who has taken a new role in Kent.
We heard from the Chair how we have been finding our feet as a Chamber and have created a dedicated, multi-skilled Committee that is passionate about representing the very best that our town has to offer, across a wide range of business sectors within our community.
It has been exciting to watch the growing stature and success of our Chamber, from its embryonic stages last Spring to our current membership of nearly 70 companies, from as far away as Ipswich and surrounding areas.
As part of the official business of the evening, we learnt from the Treasurer how – after the rather lacklustre financial performance reported at last year’s AGM – we are now in profit, based on our growing membership and increasing attendance at our regular events.
We are proud to have created a lively and varied programme of events throughout the year, covering a variety of topics that affect businesses – such as mental wellbeing, health and safety, sustainability – and these have proven very popular with both members and non-members alike…especially the ones at The Wine Boutique, for obvious reasons!
We would like to say a special thank-you to our valued media partners, especially ‘Spotlight’ magazine, who have helped us to spread the good news about the Chamber and the positive impact that we are having within our business community.
We have also received some great feedback from guests at the AGM:
“Thank you Felixstowe Chamber of Commerce for inviting Felixstowe Radio to your AGM this evening. It was so encouraging to see and hear your increased membership backing your activities over the last 12 months. We look forward to working with you again soon.” Rob Dunger, Felixstowe Radio
“I had preconceived ideas about the Chamber of Commerce, and I now know that it is much more than just business. It’s about our whole community. We want this community to thrive and to celebrate our differences. I wish the Chamber continued success in helping our community to work together and provide opportunities to all.” Helen Cox
One of our major projects in recent weeks has been the rebranding of the Chamber, updating our name to just ‘Felixstowe Chamber of Commerce’ and removing ‘Trade’. We think that this simplifies our brand and falls in line with other Chambers locally. We hope that you like the fresh, new branding!
Our strong Committee collaboration means that we are able to be agile to emerging business needs, and as such, through feedback from the local community, we have added training to our remit. We have started to provide accredited First Aid training, through experts TRAINEEAST, and we intend to follow this up with Fire Marshall training later in the year.
As a Committee, we have ambitious plans for an even more impactful year in 2023. Through our combined knowledge and expertise, we will be working hard to grow our network and develop new partnerships, helping to add value to our community and ensuring that we continue to represent the ‘Voice of Business in Felixstowe’.
