Apologies

Keith Peacock, Nigel Mace, David Rice, Dan Laniewski, Alex Smale, Paula Barber were unable to attend

Present

Andrew Briggs
Steve Garrett
Simon Allen
Trevor Horne
Michelle Marsland
Stella Goodman

Topics Discussed

• Breakfast Club
• Subscriptions
• Chamber Discounts
• Working Smart
• Future Events inc Xmas Lights
• Any other Business
• Date of next Meeting

Breakfast Club

The format of the Breakfast Club was discussed and a more structured agenda was felt needed. A Chair and a Coordinator would oversee the club ensuring it was run efficiently and for the benefit of the members. We want our members to use this club and not think it was just a social event but a way of growing their businesses.

Subscriptions

We had previously agreed that if at annual renewal, our members elected to pay by direct debit they would be offered a 25 percent discount. However, there has been some confusion and not all the members have been notified of this. Therefore it has been agreed that David will send out an email to all the members requesting their renewal fees and it was suggested that Nigel would follow these up with a courtesy call.

Chamber Discounts

Steve has suggested that we put this idea into motion and would put something on our website advising our members that there may be discounts available between members.

Working Smart

We are all busy people and do not want to duplicate or even more importantly neglect certain processes so a New Member Workflow has been devised. This is to deal with all new member applications and is a simple structure so that all committee members know who is doing which task and will be aware of all new members joining the Chamber. A copy of this worksheet is attached to this email.

Future Events inc Xmas Lights

It was decided that the lights would be installed on 20th November with Phil Johns assistance. This will allow plenty of time prior to the Switch On for any teething problems. Switch On would be Wednesday 30th Nov and we need to look at funding and entertainment for that evening. Ridgeway Methodists had said they could provide a choir; please get thinking caps on for the evening events. It was decided that after the Switch on we could have a Chamber Social; perhaps a meal at the Shapla or similar venue and an invite would be sent to all members well in advance. Alex had previously mentioned knowing someone for the cherry pickers; await your thoughts Alex. Sponsorship will be needed so please have a think and let Keith or Andrew know.

Any Other Business

Nigel has offered to contact members previously so in his absence it was felt that he could take on this role with enquiries and new members.

Andrew has been looking at the cost of a Plym Chamber badge and will gather quotes.

Events for the rest of the year was discussed; Michelle is happy to put on a tax workshop but felt this should be offered on a first come first served basis for aprox 12 members. I have also offered to put on a seminar informing our members about the NEST Pension Scheme that will be impacting on businesses from 2012. Dates to be advised.

Trevor wants info for the newsletter. Have we got any news about our businesses i.e. new staff, new products etc that we could email him so that it can be added.

Steve suggested that the businesses could display other members business cards if appropriate in their offices. This could be offered to our members to participate in.

Date of next Meeting

The Date for the next meeting has been revised. It was suggested that the last Wednesday of each month would be better as it would be prior to the Breakfast Club and therefore allow us an opportunity to announce any forthcoming events. The date has been agreed for Wed 31st August at the Excaliber office. It would be appreciated if anyone unable to attend could email their apologies in advance please.