Chat from the Chair – Celebrate

March is MSBE month. It is the pinnacle of our year and the jewel in the Stowmarket Chamber crown. Why is it so important? Because it hits right at the heart of what Stowmarket Chamber stands for.

• We want businesses to THRIVE.
• We want to help them CONNECT.
• We want to COMMUNICATE the best opportunities for local businesses.
• We want to CHAMPION what our local businesses are doing.

And that is what the Mid Suffolk Business Exhibition does – all of them!

So firstly, a big thank you to Sarah Manning, who does a lot of the hard work behind the scenes. She will try to deflect thanks to others who help, people like Kim Morrison, who did some wonderful marketing and Keely, who sends out information on newsletters, which is great, but we all know that Sarah is the catalyst. Thank you, Sarah.

Secondly, thank you to our sponsors Humber Doucy Brewery (Gold), Syrinx Systems (Silver), Spi-Des-ign (Silver), Ocala (Bronze) and ISSBA (Photography). Your funding helps us to run the event.

Thirdly, thank you to all the businesses that have had a stand and all those who visited. That commitment from everyone means we create a community celebrating all that is good about businesses in Mid-Suffolk.

We hope you had a great exhibition and that it was a catalyst for conversations with people about your business.

What do we learn?

What do we learn from events like MSBE to take back into our businesses year-round?

Well, firstly, I think it teaches us that we work best as businesses when we work in a community. Forming authentic connections means we spread the word about each other’s businesses and can share business with each other.

Secondly, I think we learn the importance of celebrating what we do. There were so many great stands celebrating what each business offered. Don’t forget to keep celebrating the stories of impact that your business has. My top tip from some of my training is to tell people about the ‘Principle, Story, Impact’. Tell them what you stand for or do (principle), a story that demonstrates that (story) and what difference it made (impact).

So, if you have enjoyed connecting and communicating, we look forward to seeing you at the coffee morning and breakfast in April. Let’s keep celebrating one another.

For the Future

I’m always happy to receive any suggestions for what members want to see the Chamber doing in the future. Please send your ideas (and your wish lists) to [email protected]

Dates for your diary:

Please check the website in case of any last-minute changes.

Coffee Morning	Breakfast Networking
Brightside Wealth Management, Brightside House 7 Finborough Road, Stowmarket IP14 1PN	The Mix Stowmarket, 127 Ipswich Street Stowmarket IP14 1BB
Friday, 10 April 2026	Friday, 17 April 2026
10:00 am to 12:00 pm	7:15 am to 9:00 am

For more information, contact Keely Taylor by email: [email protected].