Weekly news from the Bellingen Chamber – 1 June 2020

Business link-up – Wednesday 3 June, 8am

A reminder to join us for our weekly Zoom catch up. Click here just before 8am to join.
To join by phone please contact for meeting details.
We also hope to have the new board members (see below) participate in this week’s zoom meeting so that you can meet them.

Welcome to the new members who have joined our Board

We recently put out a call for new members to fill casual vacancies on our Board and I’m delighted to welcome the following people who have generously agreed to join us.

• Nicole Holland from CHESS Connect. Nicole is keen to assist the Chamber to develop programs to support youth employment through traineeships and mentoring programs.
• Garth Douglas of Coast and Plateau Fine Foods. Garth’s business operates across the region and gives him a broad perspective on the needs of business owners. Garth is very aligned to the Chamber’s objectives to promote and advocate for local economic growth.
• Anton Juodvalkis, CEO of Ozgreen. Anton will bring his considerable experience of running a not for profit organisation and particularly his knowledge of the legislation governing incorporated associations to further strengthen our governance.
• Bryce Clark, Clark Piano Tuning. Bryce has recently moved to Bellingen and has previous experience as a board member of the Piano Tuning Guild in Victoria.
• Jason Errey, owner of OMEG Global, brings his experience as chair of Ozgreen for over four years. He will contribute his tenacious and determined approach to our advocacy efforts for issues relating to local economic development.

We are looking forward to working together to continue to support the development of the local economy in Bellingen Shire.

Farewell and thank you!

I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank the board members who have recently left the Board and acknowledge the significant contributions that they have made to the Chamber of Commerce – thank you Rod Keers, Jo Keers, Yvonne Wynen and Margaret Girdwood!

Annual General Meeting

Look out for information about our AGM when formal elections for the board for 2020-2021 will be held.

Strong business strong community

The Bellingen Chamber of Commerce is committed to supporting the sustainable development of our local economy.
We believe that a strong local economy is a key element of a strong and resilient community. At this time of great challenge to businesses across Australia, we want to highlight the importance of local businesses to our community.
Small businesses have a profound impact on the community, contributing to the special character of the shire and to our shared sense of values and pride in our place.
Local businesses provide security of employment for many residents. Did you know that 58% of the population in Bellingen Shire are employed within the shire itself. (Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2016).
Click here  to review the Bellingen Chamber of Commerce Strategic Plan 2019–2021.

Draft Local Strategic Planning Statement

Bellingen Shire Council has developed a draft Local Strategic Planning Statement (LSPS) for the Shire. This strategy is designed to set out the 20-year vision for land-use in the local area, the special character and values that are to be preserved and how change will be managed into the future.
The Chamber of Commerce, the Bellingen Co-Working Group and the Centre for Ecological Learning contributed to the development of the draft LSPS through participating in a series of workshops and identifying priorities and ideas for inclusion.
The draft LSPS is now available on the Council’s Create website (Click here) for public comments. The Chamber of Commerce is also planning to invite Council staff to attend a zoom meeting with our members to discuss this further with us.