Robyn Fraser has been awarded a life membership for her long-time service to the Chamber Warwick Chamber of Commerce at the group’s AGM held this past week at Club Warwick RSL.
During her acceptance Ms Fraser, a former president, spoke about the importance of the chamber in the region and encouraged new ideas and businesses to join the chamber in the future.
The evening included the election of office bearers for the following year with president Gary Lawrence, vice-president Michael Jones, and treasurer Tom Smith being returned to their respective positions. Unfortunately, no one was nominated for the role of secretary, leaving the position vacant.
During his president’s report earlier in the evening, Mr Lawrence highlighted the chamber’s successful 100 years celebration dinner at Club Warwick last year, which saw businesses across Warwick celebrating a century of the Chamber of Commerce’s service to the community.
He also mentioned the reintroduction of the Business Connections Series (BCS), with the first two events featuring guest speakers Mayor Vic Pennisi and CEO Dave Burgess from Southern Downs Regional Council, and Bianca Park from AusIndustry respectively.
The third breakfast is scheduled to be held at the Dairy Lounge, with guest speaker Maria Baker from Acciona (Wind Farm). This event is one not to be missed and is the business communities chance to ask any questions they have in regards to being a part of the the increased business that Acciona is bringing to the region.
Mr Lawrence also announced that the Warwick Chamber has several exciting events planned for the year, including Business at Dusk, which will provide Chamber members with the opportunity to strengthen their business networks while visiting local businesses like Andersons Carpets, SDIEA, and Scots PGC.
He said another upcoming event is the Rural Women in Business event on 15 October, featuring special guest Katie Morgan PHD and new start-up tech app Eggy, Joy Mingay (past president of Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce and owner of Classic recruitment) and Susan Mackie (top-selling book author).
Mr Lawrence also expressed his excitement about hosting the Warwick Chamber of Commerce Business Awards, the first awards night since Covid put an end to the event three years ago. The evening is sure to be a highlight on the Warwick social scene calendar and is a great chance for the business community to let their hair down and celebrate all their achievements.
The evening’s guest speakers included Brisbane Chamber Queensland president Paul Garcia, who spoke about the role of a chamber in today’s society and how to encourage younger business owners to see the benefits. Michael Hefferan (PHD Emeritus Professor) discussed a survey that will be sent to businesses across the Southern Downs to determine their most pressing needs.
Finally, Senator Gerard Rennick, LNP Senator for QLD, addressed the roadblocks standing in the way of running a successful small business today and his plans for returning prosperity to this sector of the economy.
