08 March 2007 |
PRESIDENTS REPORT ON THE YEAR 1. I am pleased to report that the membership of the chamber is thriving, with close to a hundred businesses renewing their membership and with 12 new members joining within the last 12 months. 2. At the last AGM, I set out some of my aspirations for the chamber. One of which was to organise social events to encourage chamber members to meet and familiarise themselves with other local businesses. I hope this has been partially achieved by the monthly “Drop ins” held over the past year. These have been held in a number of locations, Arty P’s, the White Horse Hotel, here at the Burford Bridge Hotel, the two to four Restaurant, the Kings Arms, the HSBC Bank, the Dorking Service Centre, Dorking Stationers and the Pump Gallery. I would like to thank these businesses for hosting us and making us feel very welcome. 3. Those of you who have not yet attended a “Drop in”, may I suggest you put a marker in your diaries for the forthcoming year. I am sure you will not only enjoy these occasions, but will find them useful from a business networking perspective. 4. The Chamber has been closely involved in a number of projects over the past twelve months. A) The Mole Valley Parking Study took place in June and Chamber members were encouraged to make their views known and take part in a questionnaire. The Chamber made it very clear to Mole Valley District Council that the business community should not be overlooked when formulating a parking strategy. We will continue to lobby for improved and economical parking in and around Dorking Town Centre. B) In September, I invited our MP Sir Paul Beresford to one of our “Drop ins” to take part in a question and answer session. Some lively debate ensued and Sir Paul was left in no doubt as to the issues which most concerned the business community within Dorking. C) The Chamber was, as usual, involved closely with the organisation and sponsoring of Gala Night. This event takes several months of careful planning and I would like to take this opportunity to thank those members of the Executive Committee who made this event such a success. I would like to express a special thanks to Simon Matthews, Sandra Grant, Nikki Downs and Adele Horton and of course the judges, who led by example, entering into the spirit of the occasion by dressing up as hippies and really looking the part. D) You may have read in the local press, or heard the radio coverage of the Chambers involvement in trying to reduce the impact to the local businesses of the road works currently underway in Dorking. Coupled with pressure from the Town Centre Management Team, we were able to reduce the road closure time by two hours each night. This is an obvious example of how the Chamber can assist local traders by applying pressure to the relevant authorities. 5. I would like to conclude my report by encouraging all Chamber members to attend forthcoming “Drop ins” and other functions which are in the process of being organised, as I believe the essence of expanding local business is by meeting other local business people and letting them know about services that you can offer. Nigel Wright, President at the AGM on 1st March 2006 at the Burford Bridge Hotel |
