Chairs Report 2022
Sharni-Marie Barney
“A year of growth and collaboration. New energy, renewed vision and amazing support.”
I’d like to acknowledge that we live and work on the lands of the Barngarla people and elders past, present and emerging, and all Aboriginal people in our communities.
The past twelve months have been a whirlwind for many of us, with some sort of normality returning to life and business with the COVID restrictions easing. It has not been easy for some, and yet our community continues to band together to support each other and continually find new ways of moving forward.
There is an optimism in our business community that is admirable. Through all that we have been through in the past few years, not only have many businesses used the time to make improvements, but we have seen many new businesses open. Though we are connected to the rest of the world now with digital technologies that continue to improve, there is also an element of a circular economy that continues to help our region thrive. This should be cherished and celebrated. New businesses encouraged and young business owners mentored. This is what creates sustainability for our region.
This was my first year in the Chair’s role following on from Jack Ritchie’s influential role with which I had the pleasure of supporting in the vice chair role for a couple of years. It was daunting for me to step up as I realise the influence the Chamber has and that many look to us to see what kind of impact we will have in the community before making the decision to support us or ignore us. Thankfully I believe we have risen to the challenge, and we have earnt the right to be respected for all that we do as a volunteer organisation. We must not take this for granted as we move into a new year and potentially a new committee, pending the outcome of our AGM.
Our new committee formed with some changes over the year. A big thank you to Franziska Huber for her role as Secretary and then to Triona Thompson for taking over the role earlier this year. Your support is critical to our ongoing communications. Thank you also to Michael Tarin, who has successfully steered our ever-changing financial position as Treasurer. Your ongoing commitment is much appreciated. Anne-Marie Hammond, thank you for your many, many years of support to the Chamber and your wisdom and insight into many topics we discuss and your longevity as a volunteer on the Executive Committee is admirable – as with some of our committee members.. A big thanks to your ongoing support as minute secretary. I would also like to thank Valerie Staunton, the Council’s representative on team, who for the past few years has been the driving force behind the Christmas and New Year’s working party. And thanks to Jed Carson as Public Officer. Hazel Manning, Triona Thompson and Amy Williams – thank you pulling together many successful networking events and Hazel thank you for your ongoing support with doing whatever needs to be done with setting up events, supporting in the PR and Marketing role. And of course, the commitment and ongoing contribution from the committee members Andrew Foster, Rob Watson, Jack Ritchie and Rebbecca Bruce. This chamber would not exist without your voluntary contribution and I personally thank you for backing me and supporting me as I have grown (and learnt) a lot in this role.
It’s been a year of building relationships and collaboration. We have had some incredible events across the past 12 months, kicking off with a very rushed lead up into another brilliant Business Excellence Awards with our prestigious Gala Dinner being another booked out event. It was a brilliant celebration of business in our community and a big thank you to all who were on the committee that pulled it off in under 8 weeks!
Following that we rolled straight into the Christmas and New Years Eve events and again a big thank you to both Valerie and Jack for the incredible hours, blood sweat (and possibly tears at times) to pull those events together under the intense strain that COVID restrictions put upon us. I think we had 8 rounds of revisions to SA Health but the determination to bring some positivity to the community and help support the local economy with these events was what saw it through to success. And this year, without those limitations, is set to be another successful and exciting event with a new collaboration with the Carols on the Foreshore following the Pageant. Great work to all who are involved and a big thank you also to the committee who worked behind the scenes from across our community.
The Australia Day Celebrations were a brilliant opportunity for collaboration with the Port Lincoln City Council, celebrating the theme of Reflect – Respect – Celebrate. The Chamber was honoured to work with Council on the transformation of the LOVE structure on the foreshore with artwork from the talents of local Barngarla artist Vera Richards, and the work of Jack Ritchie for us and Helena Jones at Council to pull it all together delivered a prominent showcase on the foreshore on Australia day as a symbol of the community working together and a great reinterpretation of the LOVE sign.
Then as the year kicked off with the ups and downs of COVID across our community, we positively saw a series of collaborative networking and training events rolled out throughout the start of the year. We had a brilliant time with the crew from Showcase SA bringing their regional training series to Port Lincoln. Following on from that, we had a successful day with the team from Business SA, who we have enjoyed connecting with and being a corporate member to give our members more access to their resources and support.
Building Sustainable Businesses and Growing Our region was a brilliant collaboration with Adelaide Business Hub, The RDAEP and the Port Lincoln City Council, bringing together stakeholders from our region and the broader Eyre Peninsula to focus on how we can each contribute to growing our economies. A big thank you to Adelaide Business Hub for their sponsorship of the event which saw over 100 businesses register. This event is still being talked about and has set a precedent for more events like this in the near future.
Our Business After Hours series of networking events saw great support from local businesses and has also brought in new members. Great work to the team who pulled these together. Topics included Grants, traineeships, financial management, tax, with a lot of positivity and interaction on each of the events we have held. I always enjoy putting people together who would not usually connect and triggering deeper conversations with my random questions. 🙂 Thank you also to all the venues we visited with brilliant offerings of food and wine and genuine hospitality and support for what we are doing in our community.
We have played an active role in advocating on behalf of the community, and a big thank you to Jack Ritchie who is representing the Chamber with the National Indigneous Australians Agency (NIAA) – Remote Engagement Eyre Co-design Group. The Eyre Peninsula is one of 5 national trial sites to look at a new model for the Community Development Program which provides employment support for remote areas outside of the major centres and covers the majority of EP. The group made a series of recommendations to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and the Federal government about increasing support for Port Lincoln and the region. We look forward to hearing the outcome.
After my initial involvement late last year, Jack has also stepped in to be our representative for the Site Selection Committee for the Desalination plant as SA Water works with industry and community representatives to select a suitable site that has social licence to operate and mitigates any risks for existing business in the region, particularly the seafood and aquaculture industry. A new site has been selected and a funding sub-committee was established that has now been converted into a working party chaired by Peter Treloar. Jack continues to be a part of that committee to support the finalisation of the project and secure the additional funds required to support the selected site. He is putting in so many hours representing the chamber on both important initiatives, that are vital for the Chamber to be active in, and so a very big thank you for that Jack.
A new website has been developed, initially coming from a collaborative vision to have a platform that provides a hub of small business information between the Chamber, the Port Lincoln City Council and the RDAEP. After lengthy discussions about how best to utilise this website, it was agreed to be a site upgrade for the Chamber with the business support hub built into it. A big thank you to the RDAEP and The Port Lincoln City Council, who have supported & co-funded the site into a new Chamber website that will function to keep our business community well-informed as well as help us to encourage new membership. I really appreciate the relationships we have with both organizations and their encouragement for all that we are aiming to achieve. We look forward to building these relationships through that spirit of collaboration to have a greater impact for our region. The new website is just days away from being launched and will be an exciting platform to highlight the work of the Chamber and a valuable resource for the business community.
Membership continues to grow with a significant number of new members joining in the past 12 months. We have embarked on an overhaul of our membership database and reconnected with old members. We have focused on connecting with people who attend our events and communicating more clearly about who we are, what we do and why we need their membership investment. As a volunteer organisation we would not exist without our members and it has been so encouraging to see people jumping on board to join us in our mission to serve the business community.
Sponsorship is the other way we are able to do what we do and we appreciate the support of so many amazing and generous businesses and organisations in our community. Though I cannot name them all here, I would like to acknowledge the regular and ongoing sponsorship of the Port Lincoln Hotel who sponsor all our events with free event hire, reasonable costs for any catering we do, and offer us the room hire for our Chamber meetings on a monthly basis. They are major sponsors of our Business Excellence Awards, and our Christmas and New Years Eve events and often pull things together last minute for us when needed. The City of Port Lincoln are also a key supporter and collaborator with funding and in-kind support. Thank you so much and we do really appreciate the teams we collaborate with. Our media partners are also constantly supportive and give us brilliant coverage of all our major events so thank you also to Eyre Peninsula Broadcasters, Southern Cross Austereo, The Port Lincoln Times and more recently The Advocate.
On reflection and in discussion with members, we spent time revising and renewing our vision and messaging to further refine who we are and what we do. I am pleased with the result and look forward to regularly sharing with our community as we progress into a new season for the Chamber. I’d like to share this to remind us all of our purpose and our focus for the coming year.
The Port Lincoln Chamber of Commerce and Tourism is an independent and membership-funded organisation supporting business sustainability and growth on the Lower Eyre Peninsula.
We do this through:
- Advocating to Council and Government bodies on behalf of the business community
- Actively promoting business and tourism in the region
- Providing up to date information and facilitating access to beneficial resources
- Fostering Business Development through workshops and events such as the Business Excellence Awards
- Providing a platform for the development of stronger relationships within the business community through activities such as networking events, seminars and workshops
We empower business through a range of services to members.
In closing, and looking to the future, I am excited about the potential we have as a Chamber to continue to bring support, direction and positive change to our region through our voice and our active involvement in many projects and issues on behalf of our members. As we work together and focus on collaboration, we can make a massive impact to ensure businesses continue to grow and our communities thrive well into the future.
