The Annual General Meeting of the Weymouth & Portland Chamber of Commerce was held at the Oasis Wine Bar, Weymouth on Wednesday 27 February where past President Anna Maria Geare of Lloyds Bank Commercial handed over the Presidency to Mark Blunden or Puragen.
Over 40 members of the Chamber attended the meeting, Anna Maria Geare said “The Weymouth & Portland Chamber of Commerce has come a long way in just 12 months, one of my first aims was to establish strong relationship with members, local businesses and the local authority together with a strong calendar of meetings, seminars and social events. With the help of my Executive committee we achieved this and during 2012 membership of the Chamber increased by some 80% .”
Mark Blunden, President of the Weymouth& Portland Chamber of Commerce 2013 said “I am really looking forward to 2013 and building on the strong foundations set out in 2012. The Weymouth& Portland Chamber of Commerce is fortunate to have a strong committee of 14 executive members* who help to deliver the ambitions of the Chamber. 2013 will be a year concentrated on growth and for the first time the executive committee will now be focused into five key delivery areas using the expertise of the committee:
· Education & Training
· Business Events / Social Events
· Marketing / Graphics & PR
· IT & Communications (Website and Social Media)
· Liaison Groups
Each group is responsible for delivering the four strategic aims of the Chamber in 2013 which are :
· Business Retention & Growth
· Skills, Employability, Education & Training
· Inward Investment
· Area Connectivity (Travel Network and High Speed Broadband)
Mr Blunden went on to say “The Weymouth & Portland Chamber members are vital to the success of the chamber, they are the voice of the local business community and therefore are listened to by not only the Local Authority but also, the media, the general public, new business and the wider business community”
The WPCC Business Breakfast is held every first Tuesday at the Rendezvous Weymouth, booking is essential as the breakfast is very well attended. Guests are invited to come along to try out the format before deciding to become a member. The next meeting will be held on Tuesday 5th March 2013, please email [email protected] if you would like to attend. Weymouth & Portland Chamber of Commerce Memberships are available for 2013 at a cost of £99. Application forms can be downloaded at www.wpchamber.co.uk
The Chamber are also hosting two other events in March, firstly the Social Media for Business Seminar on 7th March at Weymouth College in conjunction with WSX Enterprise and the new “speed networking” Business at Break Net Speed on 26th March at Budmouth College CEIL. Bookings for events can be found at www.wpchamber.co.uk.
For more information about the Weymouth and Portland Chamber of Commerce, please visit: www.wpchamber.co.uk or email [email protected]. For further press information, please contact Laura Culshaw, [email protected] or [email protected] 01305 774629
