November General Meeting Minutes

Written by Executive on November 27, 2017. Posted in Minutes.

General Meeting

8 November 2017
Held at Harrington Grove Country Club

The meeting was opened at 6.35pm.

1 President’s Welcome and Report – Maria Sapienza, President

Maria welcomed guest speaker, Kendra Strudwick and acknowledged meeting sponsor, Club Menangle.
Maria acknowledged that Christmas In Narellan is on Remembrance Day and thanked the committee for their hard work in putting the event together.
Maria received an email from Transport NSW regarding their Draft Future Transport 2056 Strategy presentation on 13 November at Wests Leagues Club.
Mark Bouris from Yellow Brick Road is hosting a new series on Channel 7 and is looking for small businesses to participate in the show. See Maria for more information.
Maria advised that the February meeting, which falls on Valentine’s Day, will be a breakfast meeting and will feature Dr Rosie King as guest speaker.

2 Christmas in Narellan Update – Ian Wolf

A video of some executive members and Alfie Arcuri was played. Ian advised that this year there will be an additional Santa, called Sensory Santa, for children with a disability. He also advised that there will be a tribute to acknowledge Remembrance Day and this has been welcomed by the RSL.

3 Minutes of Previous Meeting – Pania Gregson, Secretary

Pania advised the minutes from the previous meeting held on 11 October 2017, and all future meetings, will be available on the new website. The minutes were moved by Geoff Rogers, seconded by Maria Scattergood and accepted.

4 Treasurer’s Report – Geoff Rogers, Treasurer

Geoff presented the Treasurer’s Report as at 31 October 2017. The Chamber is in a healthy financial position. The report was moved by Pania Gregson and seconded by Shaun Pereira.

5 Membership Update – Amy Woodley, Membership Coordinator

5.1 Financial Members

Amy advised there are 191 financial members and welcomed our 4 new members:

Nictritious
Edge Central
Solid Partners Accountants & Advisors Pty Ltd
Go Vita Narellan Health Food Shop

5.2 Member Shout Out

Amy invited attendees to publicly acknowledge any member businesses with whom they have had a positive experience. Pania Gregson acknowledged Bella Arts, Tony Wolf & Son Quality Printers and EmbroidMe. Maria acknowledged Club Menangle; Club Menangle acknowledged The Strictly Limited Company and Synergy acknowledged Pearl Studios.

6 Council Update – Debbie Roberts, Economic Development Officer

Debbie announced the launch of the Camden Region Economic Task Force, established to guide and facilitate economic growth in our area. A breakfast was held to officially launch the Task Force which included a presentation by Paul Fletcher MP, Federal Minister Urban Infrastructure about the Western Sydney Airport.

7 What’s Happening in Macarthur? – Brett McGrath, VP Communications

11/11/17: Christmas in Narellan
12/11/17: Fisher’s Ghost Fun Run
15/11/17: Campbelltown Chamber of Commerce meeting
16/11/17: 4 Futures of Business free workshop by Colin Potts
24/11/17: Camden Community Connections 30 Year Anniversary Dinner
1/12/17: BRAS Christmas Luncheon, Camden Lakeside
13/12/17: The Greater Narellan Business Chamber Christmas Party

To receive updates, members should subscribe to the Chamber mailing list.

8 Sponsorship Update – Sue Robinson, Sponsorship Coordinator

Synergy People have been approved as service providers to local and State government. Robert said a few words.

Sponsor special offers:

Tony Wolf & Son Quality Printers – a small poster for $66.00 on Yupo
The Strictly Limited Company – personalised boards for Christmas gifts

————— Networking Break —————-

9 Meeting Sponsor Presentation – Bruce Christenson, Club Menangle

A video was played with Shaun Pereira taking a look at what goes on behind the scenes at Club Menangle. The venue can cater for a wide range of functions for 100-600 people.

On 25 January, the venue will host an Ashes Battle event, featuring Sir Ian Botham and Jeff Thompson. Their premier race event, the Miracle Mile Carnival, is being held across 3 Saturdays – 10, 17 and 24 February 2018. There are 112 race meetings per year.

Club Menangle won an award for their Indigenous Riders Race and recently received approval to develop the Menangle House Horse & Jockey Inn site into a club.

10 Guest Speaker – Kendra Strudwick

The Neuroscience of Networking

Kendra started by explaining the more neurological reasons behind why we behave the way we do and then invited tables to discuss and share thoughts.

Some of Kendra’s key tips to get results:

Curiosity – creates connection; listen more than speak.
Visibility – be memorable; act like the host, introduce people to each other.
Credibility – have a compelling elevator pitch; go regularly to meetings.
Prosperity – teach people how they can contribute to you – ask them.

Kendra’s elevator pitch format:

You know when you … (have this problem / do this/want to do this/try to do this)

Well, I … (solve this by… / do this)

The important thing is to ensure that you tell people what you do in order to solve the problem they have identified with when you asked the question, ‘You know when you…’.

The top tip for a new Chamber meeting attendee is to listen, and ask questions.

11 Lucky Door Prizes

Donated by Club Menangle – dinner for 4, won by Trevor from The Strictly Limited Co.
Donated by The Strictly Limited Co – a Santa chopping board, won by Sandy from Stairway 2 Dreams.

12 Closing Remarks

Maria thanked the Leanne and Elisha for the slideshow and Pearl Studios for the video content. She encouraged members to attend meetings regularly.

13 Next Meeting

The next meeting, the Chamber Christmas Party, will be held on 13 December 2017 at Italian Food Project, arrival from 6.00pm.
There will be no meeting in January. The February meeting falls on Valentine’s Day, 14 February 2018, and will be a breakfast meeting with guest speaker, Dr Rosie King.

There being no further business, the meeting was closed at 8.56pm.