We Have a New Chamber of Commerce

Prince Albert’s business community and enterprising individuals will have a united and stronger voice after the inaugural meeting of the new Prince Albert Chamber of Commerce on 19 March at the Swartberg Hotel.

At the meeting, which was attended by around 30 interested people, Jo Long and Sally Arnold briefly outlined the Chamber's objectives and services which aim to represent business interests and the economic well-being of the entire Prince Albert community.

Judging from the questions and discussion the presentation clearly aroused the interest of many in the room.

An interim steering committee presented a draft constitution which was approved and ratified by the meeting.
The meeting agreed on a number of basic services:

• A website was successfully applied for and will soon be operational (www.princealbertchamber.org) ;
• The offer of the Swartberg Hotel to provide its conference facilities and services for the Chamber was agreed to with thanks;
• The contact phone number is(Yolande Singery) and the official address will be: Prince Albert Chamber of Commerce, Swartberg Hotel, PO Box 53 Church Street Prince Albert 6930
• An A-Z Directory of Services is currently being prepared by the Chamber and will soon become available in various outlets.
• A number of affordable membership categories and fee structures are being prepared that will enable as inclusive a membership profile as possible;
• A membership recruitment drive. This is off to a good start, with a number of businesses and individuals registering right away
• Regular meetings will be held on a quarterly basis throughout the year at the Swartberg Hotel. . An Annual General Meeting is also set for 18 March 2010

For more information contact Yolande Singery at 0713799983.

Local Chamber of Commerce Established

- Linda Jaquet -

On 19 March, the formation of Prince Albert’s first ever Chamber of Commerce will be formally confirmed. The Chamber was inaugurated at a meeting of residents of different backgrounds and interests on 12 February, which gave the go-ahead to the Chamber’s interim management committee to recruit members and officially establish the organisation.

“This is an exciting development that could profoundly affect our town. I am fully behind it,” Eric Ahrens of Pam Golding Properties told the Friend.

The same meeting had earlier approved the voluntary dissolution of the successful Prince Albert Women in Action and the transfer of the organisation’s projects and funds to the proposed Prince Albert Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber’s constitution has been drafted and a website address registered. Its management and membership structures and proposed objectives and the services it could offer members were discussed at the February meeting. The interim management committee intends in due course to affiliate the Chamber with the Afrikaanse Handelsinstituut and the South African Chamber of Business, amongst others.

The new body sees itself as a broad-based, apolitical and non-discriminatory group to develop and promote business enterprise in Prince Albert.

In being an effective voice of the town’s business community, the Chamber envisages having several roles, including lobbying, creating a skills database, identifying marketing opportunities for members and training and employment prospects for the town. It hopes to source interesting and appropriate guest speakers and identify funding for members locally and nationally, as well as keep members informed of Municipal meetings and decisions and local data that could assist in business decisions.

Proposed membership fees start at R200.00 per annum depending on the number of people in the permanent employ of an individual or enterprise.

All individuals and existing businesses and organisations would be most welcome to attend the meeting at 13h00 at the Swartberg Hotel on 19 March.

Enquiries about membership of the Chamber should be addressed to:
Jo Long at longs@billybeth.co.uk or on 0824007374 or
Sally Arnold at info@sallyarnold.com or on 0827105909.