May 2018 breakfast
Three guests and the fastest AGM on record
At May 2018’s breakfast, we had three guests among the 19 attendees in our now-confirmed summer venue, Finborough Hall.
They were:
- Paul Dennis, of Pure Flooring, based at Combs Tannery, Combs, Stowmarket, but expanding across the region;
- Jazmin Peach, the new corporate fundraiser for St Elizabeth Hospice, and
- Vicki Etherington, of Website Mentor, a WordPress specialist who has moved back to the UK from California and trains and supports small businesses in setting up and managing their websites and marketing.
The AGM
Unfortunately, Allan Scott, Danny Cuff and Kim Morrison could not be with us.
However, Danny sent a message to say how delighted he was with the success of MSBE and the feedback he has had.
Allan sent a review of “an amazing year”, the highlight of which was our first venture into the world of running a business exhibition, MSBE. He thanked all those who had worked so hard to set up and promote it as well as The Mix, the venue where it all happened, and confirmed that MSBE will be back, by popular demand, in 2019.
He also reported that 2017 was the last for our transitional subsidy from Suffolk Chamber of Commerce, after which we need to be both self-financing and viable on our own as the support and voice for Mid Suffolk’s many small businesses.
We will be keeping an eye on the developments with the proposed new industrial estate, known as Gateway 14, and progress on the new Tech Hub planned for Stowmarket, which was another Stowmarket Chamber initiative.
Secretary, Keely Taylor, has been less than happy with the GDPR mail-out to people asking whether they were happy to continue receiving email news. Unfortunately, it has proved impossible via the template service we use to tell who has accepted, or not, so it will have to be done again via a different provider.
Treasurer, Kate Kelly, emphasised Allan’s point that although we are a not-for-profit organisation, we do need to be at least at break-even. We also want to have funds to invest in initiatives, such as MSBE. She announced a new discount as an incentive to members who brought a visitor/guest to our meetings. Any member who would like a copy of the full Statement of Accounts should contact Kate.
Members were then asked to vote en bloc for the election of next year’s committee. All the existing members were re-elected.
The Committee, therefore, remains:
Allan Scott (Chairman), Kate Kelly (Treasurer), Keely Taylor (Secretary), Alison Withers (Publicity), Kim Morrison, Suzanne Bloomfield, Shelli Moyes, Danny Cuff, David Baker and Neil Lennon.
Tell us what you want
Allan is happy to receive any suggestions for what members want to see the Chamber doing in the future. Please send your ideas (and your want lists) to [email protected].
Dates for your diary:
| June Coffee Morning | June breakfast |
| Needham Market Community Centre | Finborough Hall, Gt. Finborough |
| Friday, June 1 | Friday, June 15 |
| 10.00am | Starting at 6.45am |
For more information contact Keely Taylor
phone: 01449 770965
e-mail: [email protected]
Anyone who has a story to publicise should contact marketing officer Alison Withers:
