On 6th September the Chamber held its AGM at the Corinium Museum which was attended by 30 people. Adam Vines, the President gave his annual report starting with the Chamber of Commerce Mission Statement which is
‘To promote, represent and support local businesses in the Cirencester area for the mutual benefit of the town and its future’.
Adam then reviewed the year’s activity highlighting the work done on the three Chamber initiatives starting with ‘Together Gloucestershire’ on which he is the CCoC representative, and which seeks to promote joint working between large locally based businesses, SMEs, and Micro SMEs in the County to foster improvements in the environment and the economy. Key partners include Renishaw, Spirax Sarco, Gloucestershire Police, G First, Publica and St James’s Place.
The second initiative is ‘Future Proofing Your Business’ led by Claire Walmsley Moss which has involved producing a guide to help local businesses improve their impact on the environment and society thus enabling a secure and better future for the business community in and around Cirencester. This guide has been extremely useful in demystifying some of the basics and the terminology around environmental and social sustainability.
The last project centres around training and sustainability led by Marc Begg which was launched in the last 12 months and aims to address the skills shortages in training and apprenticeships. Given the pressure on the Chamber’s workload in this year it was agreed that this new initiative would start in earnest in the autumn.
The highlight of the year was the Annual Cirencester Business Awards which this year were held in the marquee at Ingleside House. The event was reported on in detail in the August issue of Círen Scene and was a wonderful, celebration of the very best of business her in Cirencester.
Next the Chamber Treasurer gave a report on the finances for the year ending 30th June 2023. The Chamber has two principal sources of income. The membership fees and the Awards. This is always a bit confusing when we look at the accounts because it contains the income and expenditure for the previous year’s awards. The good news is that at the end of the last financial year, the Chamber made a slight profit.
So, what is there to look forward to next year?
The Chamber voted unanimously to extend the period of office for the President from two to four years. Adam Vines was duly elected for his third year as President for the next 12 months. He thanked his outgoing committee and then continued with the election and appointment of his officers. Howard Smith continues as treasurer and Hannah Hockley and Fran Coulter as joint Vice Presidents, with Sarah Somers continuing as secretary. Adam then announced that the committee was changing with Anne Marie and David Fowles standing down. The rest of the committee are continuing in post, alongside the newly elected Dan Stubbins and Derek Wetter.
Adam closed the meeting by announcing two key changes for the next year
Firstly the Chamber would be focusing on improving its communications and visibility and secondly the monthly Business Community meetings were going to be overhauled so they would be themed with high profile speakers, Q & A sessions and most importantly of all – refreshments!
Details of forthcoming dates etc will be posted on the Chamber website.
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