GIBC - A Year in Review
In April 2023, the Glen Innes Business Chamber officially launched, taking over from the previous Chamber of Commerce, Business in Glen. In the past 12 months we have worked hard as a committee to become an active and engaging chamber, offering new opportunities to inspire, motivate, educate and connect our business community:
Summary of our first year as an active chamber:
Welcomed 82 Members across 13 Industries. Our members ranged from sole traders to large enterprises, community organisations to individuals interested in business.
Hosted 5 Member Meet-Ups where we heard from our Glen Innes Council Directors, Met our GIBC Chamber Committee, was inspired by the work of Howard and Hugh Eastwood, Celebrated the end of 2023 and learnt about the role of Business NSW.
Held our first AGM and farewelled David Scott and Moira Munro and welcomed Peter Lynn, Carlie Donnelly, Sam Price, Allana Price and Stefania Pallotta bringing our GIBC committee to 9
Gave away $10,000 in prize money as part of 2023 Spend In Glen Campaign with manual and online entry formats. We received 4700+ entries, 35% of which were online.
We produced 19 Newsletters for our 148 email subscribers
Curated and hosted 3 x workshop modules to Elevate Your Brand, Business Story & Content as part of ‘Glen Innes Small Business Week
Received over $31,000 in grant funding thanks to White Rock Wind Farm and $3000 thanks to the NSW State Government
Celebrated the 17 lucky Recipients of the WRWF Glen Innes Business Awards. These winners were narrowed down from the 935 nominations and 700 People’s Choice votes
Welcomed Guest Speakers Nathan and Bonnie Hindmarsh, and celebrated among 300 of Glen Innes’s best dressed community members at the Business Awards Night
Worked alongside the Glen Innes and District Services club to host the inaugural IWD Long Lunch with 80 guests, plus speakers Zannita Burgess, Ellen Mulligan and Holly Goodman
With the first year under our belt, we still have much work to do! And as we move into our next 12 months we look forward to:
Improving our B2C offering via the Glen Innes Business Collective which will be launching this autumn
Creating a visual directory of businesses and downloadable brochures to help visitors plan their trips and events
Assist our business members with applications for the Regional and State Business Awards
Help our members to improve their business branding and online presence Collaborate
Working to include and promote our satellite hubs including Deepwater, Glencoe and Emmaville.
Collaborate with local organisations to run exciting events that attract both tourists and locals
Host inspiring member meet-ups with local guest speakers
Joining with GISC and Business NSW to provide exciting Small Business Month workshops and seminars
Begin planning for the 2025 Glen Innes Business Awards
As we all know, change takes time. We thank our members, affiliate organisations and Glen Innes Council for the unwavering support during our first year. Together we will continue to create a vibrant and thriving Glen Innes Highlands.