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Moving People

Meet your Committee

Re-assessed every 12 months according to our Constitution, the Committee keeps fresh and updated with the latest local and business happenings.

Executive Committee

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Ben Hennessy

President

Principal - Hennessy Real Estate

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Paul O'Donnell

Vice President

Managing Director at Rettie & Vickery

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Sam Bath

Treasurer

Director at SB Accounting

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Keira Gifford

Secretary

Owner/Operator at
Raw Confetti

General Committee

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Michael Broekman

Namoi Valley Bricks

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Hollie Crawford

Community
Representative

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Josh Cameron

Rome Mortgage Services

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Gemma Bunner

Shaw & Bunner Legal

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Darren Swain

Whitehaven Coal

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Craig Neale

Wholegrain Milling

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Tracie Finlay

Dragonfly Opal

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Bill Ashford

Cooridoon Health Services

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CJ Baldry

The OBG Co

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Damien Roman

GBP Cranes

Desk

Subcommittees/2023 Projects

An immediate priority is identifying the common pain points for many of our businesses and helping to address them. For many, recruitment and retention remains a significant challenge due to widespread labour shortages. While there is no one silver bullet for this challenge, there are many worthwhile approaches to addressing this and other challenges our businesses are encountering.

 

We need to do more in promoting Gunnedah as a great place to work, live and thrive. We need to promote the positive attributes of living & working in Gunnedah, continue to strengthen the social and economic fabric of our great community and help build strong businesses that remain the lifeblood of our economy.

 

Following is a snapshot of some of the projects for the year ahead.

Recruitment & Retention

Including how to create an outstanding company culture, becoming an employer of choice in the competitive battle for talent and some of the common HR challenges businesses are dealing with today.

Retail Precinct

Renewed focus on delivering meaningful value and support to our Retail Precinct to ensure our retailers benefit from the wider economic prosperity of the region and market our retail precinct as a drawcard shopping experience for the wider region.

Business Awards

Annual Gunnedah Chamber of Commerce Awards & Gala Ball help put our many faceted successful businesses under the spotlight, bringing well-deserved kudos and wider public recognition, as well as building team morale.

Business Development Manager

Engage a full time Business Development Manager. This person will be entrusted with delivering the vision, by managing projects and finding new ways to help business. We believe the right person will be able to assist with grants and funding applications, as well as be a first point of call for businesses looking to engage with Gunnedah.

Music Festival

We will be actively seeking grants and sponsorships to host a significant music event, designed to bring a welcomed kick to our retail and hospitality industries, engage our Youth in this exciting project and further put Gunnedah on the map.

Networking

To bring together our local business community frequently, allowing this sharing and pooling of ideas and resources and business collaboration.

Health Industry Partnership

Partnering with Gunnedah Health Connect to support our existing health professionals in growing their businesses, networking to find opportunities to grow their businesses and bring further health care providers to our region.

Marketing Gunnedah

Creating a region-wide cohesive plan for selling the benefits of living in our great part of the world, including the economic, social, environmental, educational, and cultural benefits of life in the Gunnedah District.

Government Lobbying

Lobbying Local and State Governments for an overhaul of the DA approval process to improve speed to market for expansions to existing businesses and encourage a greater uptake of new business development in our region.

Mastermind Sub-Group

Creating a “Mastermind’ type sub-group, sharing management and marketing strategies to catapult business growth.

2023 Projects
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