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June General Meeting Minutes

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General Meeting

13 June 2018
Held at Harrington Grove

The meeting was opened at 6.25pm.

Welcome – Brett McGrath, Vice President – Communications

MC for the evening, Brett McGrath, welcomed Chamber members and guests and acknowledged and thanked guest speaker, Kerry Boulton and sponsor, Geolyse.

President’s Report – Maria Sapienza, President

  • Maria congratulated Chamber members who have been selected as finalists in the NSW Business Chamber Awards.
  • Christmas in Narellan will be on Saturday, 20 November. The headline act will be Paulini, who will also attend the sponsors thank you event. Some sponsors are already on board, but more packages are available.
  • The August meeting is on 1st August with the Premier at Club Menangle.
  • Maria took members though the process of updating their business profile on the website. It is most important to update the business category to enable others to find you when searching for a particular type of business. Maria also advised that those who update their profile before the July meeting will go into a draw to speak at a future meeting.

Minutes of Previous Meeting – Pania Gregson, Secretary

Pania advised the minutes from the previous meeting held on 9 May 2018 are available on the website. The minutes were moved by Geoff Rogers, seconded by Maria Scattergood and accepted.

Treasurer’s Report – Geoff Rogers, Treasurer

Geoff presented the Treasurer’s Report as at 31 May 2018. The Chamber is in a healthy financial position.  The report was moved by Pania Gregson and seconded by Sue Robinson.

What’s Happening in Macarthur

21/6/18 – Campbelltown Chamber of Commerce meeting

22-23/6/18 – Live & Local

4/7/18 – Australian Wildlife Society Gala Ball

11/7/18 – The Greater Narellan Business Chamber meeting

28/7/18 – Youth Solutions Annual Charity Ball

1/8/18 – Premier’s Breakfast at Club Menangle

18/8/18 – Cirque de Ocagi

Business Tip – Geoff Rogers, Camden Valley Financial Solutions

Geoff presented some insightful tips and information to help with tax planning for the end of the financial year.

Sponsor Presentation – Greg and Warren, Geolyse

A video started the presentation with VP, Shaun Pereira, at Geolyse. Their goal is to be accessible, local and provide services to everyone, from mums and dads to large organisations.

Sponsorship Report – Sue Robinson, Sponsorship Coordinator

Sponsorship packages for 2018/19 have been released. There are Gold and Silver packages only, priced at $6,500 and $2,500, + GST respectively.  All Silver packages have been taken but there are 4 Gold packages left.

Sue also announced the monthly sponsor specials offered to members.

Membership Update – Maria Scattergood for Amy Woodley, Membership Coordinator

Maria advised there are 212 financial members and welcomed our 5 new members:

  • CRG Plumbing
  • Family Focus Legal
  • Camden Regional Economic Taskforce
  • Staff Partners
  • Ultimate Karting Sydney

Maria advised that most members will be invited to renew at the end of the financial year. Membership for new members, however, will expire 12 months from the date of joining.  There are now multi-year membership options for 2 and 3 years.

Maria facilitated a ‘shout out’ session for attendees to acknowledge other members for services provided.

—————   Networking Break   —————-

Guest Speaker – Kerry Boulton, The Exit Strategy Group

Kerry presented on how exit planning is good business strategy. Some of the key statistics presented include:

  • Over 50% of business owners are over 55 years old
  • 75% of business owners plan to use their business to fund retirement
  • 25% plan to close the doors on retirement
  • Only 20% of businesses listed will be sold

The 8 key drivers of value are:

  1. Financial performance (for at least 3 years)
  2. Growth potential
  3. No reliance on a key customer, supplier or employee
  4. Cash flow positive
  5. Business differentiation
  6. Future recurring revenue
  7. Customer satisfaction – net promoter score
  8. Key person risk

Kerry offered 2 free gifts to members who texted their first name to her mobile.

Brett thanked Kerry and Maria presented her with a gift.

Lucky Door Prizes

Donated by Steve Grabowski – 2 tickets to the Australian Wildlife Society ball, won Jamie Grigg.

Donated by Geolyse – 2 bottles of wine, won by Pena from Ocagi and Kaisha from Coutts.

Donated by Kerry Boulton – 4 book packs, won by Geoff Neville, Stephen Pauley, Ian Wolf and Elisha Crismale.

Closing Remarks

Maria thanked Brett as MC and acknowledged life members present. She advised that a new Life Member Policy and nomination forms will be uploaded to the website soon.  Current Life Members will be on the panel.

Next Meeting

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, 11th July 2018 at Harrington Grove, arrival from 5pm for 5.30pm start.  Members may bring a non-member guest for free.  The speak will be Mark Squirrel.

There being no further business, the meeting was closed at 8.50pm.

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