Clonmel Chamber Annual Report 2011 - 2012

AnnuAl RepoRt 2011/2012

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Contents

Message from Clonmel Chamber President, Tina Mulhearne 3

The National Enterprise Conference 4

Clonmel Chamber showed many positives 6

Clonmel wi-fi service launched by Clonmel Chamber 7

Speed Networking a huge success 8

Chamber Week 2012 9

South East Chambers Regional Event 10

Christmas in Clonmel 12

Shop Local Campaign 14

Increase in exports by local companies in 2011 15

Community and Policy 16

County Tipperary Skillnet 18

Social Media Skillnet 19

About Clonmel Chamber 20

Events 22


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Dear Members,

I have had the great honour and pleasure of being the President of Clonmel Chamber for the last three years. I would like to thank all of the members, directors and staff of the Chamber for all of their help and support during this period.

Over the last three years we as a Chamber have built on the foundations of previous Presidents and I would like to acknowledge the work undertaken by my predecessors in this role. They left an indelible and positive mark on the Chamber during their time, creating what is today a strong, vibrant and positive Chamber benefiting the whole town of Clonmel and our members.

In these turbulent times, where cash flow is vital, we have endeavoured as our priority to make membership of the Chamber a positive benefit to our business members. To this end we have embarked upon a wide range of new and innovative projects that have been delivered free to members. These included the very popular speed networking events, subsidised training funded through Southern Tipperary and Social Media Skillnet which have been widely supported and feedback from members has been incredibly positive.

We launched a regular local advertising campaign aimed at promoting shopping locally and the campaign has received praise from all quarters in its innovation and freshness. This message cannot be underestimated; shopping local directly helps local businesses and supports local jobs.

During the year we have continued to attract new members. This is a testament to the vibrancy and positivity which the Chamber is viewed in the business community generally. While we have of course lost members due to closures of businesses, we hope that these entrepreneurs will in the future be able to begin again and we look forward to supporting them. During the year we launched many additions and strands to the Chamber presence in the town, the first being the launch of our revamped website with the addition of free to members job listing on the website and encouraging member to member business. Further to this the Chamber delivered its highly successful Christmas in Clonmel under the Main Guard. The free public Wi-Fi project went live a short time ago and reflects another delivery of innovative projects by the Chamber for the benefit of the entire town.

We continued with the highly successful “Doing Business in.....” series with the most recent being the visit of delegation from the Chinese embassy. We are also delighted to report that these visits have resulted in Clonmel companies achieving contracts in Canada and Brazil and we are hopeful that exports to China will result shortly.

As we continue into the future, I personally wish only the very best to all of our members who are the very backbone of the town of Clonmel. It is our members who create the jobs and investment into the town, it is our members who pay the rates that fund the town, and it is our members who make our Chamber one of the most vibrant and the most innovative Chambers in the Country.

Once again thank you all for your support personally and your ongoing support of Clonmel Chamber and I wish the incoming President success.

Tina Mulhearne,President,Clonmel Chamber.

Message from Chamber president

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The National Enterprise Conference was a resounding success and attracted a record attendance. The event held in the Clonmel Park Hotel on September 30th 2011 Ten speakers took to the stage at the conference to spell out their recipe for business success and the measures that must be taken to ensure that the country gets back on track. The speakers, including Brian Purcell from TV3’s The Apprentice, local entrepreneurs Ed O’Donnell from O’Donnell’s Crisps and Mike Keating from Metron Nanotech, Jerry Kennelly from Tweak.com and political consultant Andrea Pappin emphasised the benefits of new ways of approaching old issues.

Brian Purcell from The Apprentice opened the conference with his take on what makes entrepreneurs successful and how they can leverage their personal brand to achieve further success. Brian also spoke about his fondness for Clonmel and of how he was a regular visitor to the area.

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the national enterprise

Conference


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Two messages that stood out with almost every speaker were the importance of face to face networking and how Chambers

can benefit businesses in Ireland.

Crisp entrepreneur Ed O’Donnell from Kilsheelan was searingly honest about his path to success and the travails of getting his product to market. Ed attracted praise from fellow speaker John Mullins, CEO of Bord Gais who praised Ed’s willingness to follow an entrepreneurial path.

One of Ireland’s highest profile entrepreneurial success stories, Jerry Kennelly, was frank in his advice. He told attendees to get on planes to meet people and told how he had flown to Boston to attend a networking event two days before our conference simply because he wanted to meet certain potential contacts. Jerry was positive in his praise for the ability of a Chamber to open new opportunities for business through networking and contact building. Another piece of advice that caught the imagination of the audience was to ‘sack the wasters or they will sack you’. Jerry put forward the argument that weak staff members have the potential to drag the entire company down.

Andrea Pappin, well known Newstalk presenter and media contributor, received a hugely positive response to her humorous and informative presentation that highlighted reasons to be cheerful about being Irish and doing business in Ireland.

“An event such as this is a major undertaking and it would not be possible without the kind assistance of our sponsors” said Chamber President Tina Mulhearne. The conference, sponsored by Abbott Vascular and Southern Tipperary Skillnet, is an annual event.

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The publication of the Clonmel: Consumer Perceptions & Spending Pattern in May 2011 report clearly demonstrated the popularity of the town as a shopping destination. The report, also clearly showed that Clonmel consistently attracts shoppers from outside the area, particularly in the grocery and fashion sectors. Speaking at the launch, Chamber CEO Brian Cleary said that, the document independently confirmed what many had already thought; that Clonmel is a strong shopping town with a wide range of choices. “Researchers carried out interviews throughout Clonmel and online, seeking the opinions of over 240 people. These interviews showed that the town has many strengths. It also identified areas for improvement. Opportunities exist for entrepreneurs who would like to open restaurants in the town” he said. The report also showed that, there was room for improvement on parking availability within the town centre, an issue that has been raised by Clonmel Chamber for many years. “An increase in the amount of town centre parking spaces is long overdue. Until Clonmel Borough Council take decisive action on this issue and agree to a timeline to remedy this problem the business community will not be happy” added Cleary. Clonmel Chamber hosted an open event for the business community to analyse the report and discuss the next steps on May 25th. The event was facilitated by Dr. Pat Lynch from WIT, the author of the report.

Clonmel Chamber Report Showed Many positives

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Clonmel Chamber’s long awaited town wide wi-fi service has been successfully rolled out throughout the town centre. This high speed broadband service is aimed at providing quick access to information about the town and also to enable visitors to the town centre to access the internet while sitting outside coffee shops, restaurants and in public spaces.

The project was funded by South Tipperary Development Company, Clonmel Borough Council and Clonmel Chamber.

Recently released statistics show that up to sixty six percent of all internet traffic is now routed through mobile devices. We see this as an area where Clonmel businesses can capitalise on the service to attract potential customers. Geo location services and social media network offer local businesses to attract customers into their premises while they are using the service in the town centre.

The Clonmel initiative is now being copied by other towns throughout the country and our staff have helped other Chambers to implement the service in their towns and cities.

Clonmel Wi-fi service launched

by Clonmel Chamber

Clonmel Chamber acknowledges the support from South Tipperary Development Company, The Department of Environment, Community and Local Government and the EU”

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As part of Clonmel Chamber’s participation in Chamber Week 2011 we hosted a number of events. The most successful of these was our speed networking event at the Brewery Bar, Mulcahy’s in Gladstone Street. Members of business groups throughout the county were invited to attend the event and there was a full house on the night. Over thirty businesses attended on the night and used the event to meet a significant number of new contacts. Following the event we heard of a number of members who had utilised the event to generate new revenue streams for their companies.

The speed networking event proved to be a relaxed, enjoyable and successful event that brought people from across sectors and company size together to meet and discuss new opportunities. Since that event we have hosted another speed networking event and are now investigating the possibility of making these a frequent occurrence.

Speed networkinga huge success

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Chamber Week 2012Chamber Week 2011 was a nationwide undertaking with events taking place in fifty seven Chambers throughout the country. The initiative was the brainchild of Clonmel Chamber CEO Brian Cleary who is also a board member of the national body Chamber Ireland. The aim of the initiative was to promote the importance of businesses working with other local companies.

Clonmel Chamber hosted a speed networking event and a site tour of the new MSD Ireland facility in Ballydine. The tour, part of the Chamber’s ‘Manufacturing Excellence’ programme was facilitated by Darragh Patwell. Attendees went behind the scenes at the new Ballydine plant and took part in a comprehensive Q&A about manufacturing methods used at the plant.

Planning for Chamber Week 2012 started late last year and it will take place in October. Clonmel Chamber, along with other Chambers across the country, will be hosting a number of free events to encourage businesses to work closer together. More information about what will be happening nationally is available on www.chamberweek.ie

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Clonmel Chamber together with South East Chambers held a free half day Social Media Conference on November 16th in Waterford Institute of Technology. The conference brought together a range of social media practitioners, thought leaders and experts to help businesses use social media tools to deliver strategy and tactics leading to greater profitability and better customer engagement. the free half day event featured powerful keynote presentations and insightful case studies from a range of speakers including Marina Quattrociocchi, Facebook Ireland; Donna Spellacy, DoneDeal.ie; Gary Gubbins, Red Nose Wine and Jerry Foley, Propel Media among others. Commenting on the conference Brian Cleary, Chairperson for 2011, South East Chambers said, “The South East Social Media Conference was about helping business owners new and accomplished understand what social media is about and why their business should consider using these tools to achieve greater awareness and profitability. Our panel of speakers have successfully used social media to drive their own businesses and they shared these real and practical experiences. We were delighted to be joined by Marina Quattrociocchi of Facebook who brought some very unique insights to our event.” The South East Social Media Conference was an initiative developed by South East Chambers with the support of Carlow, Clonmel, Dungarvan, Enniscorthy, Gorey, Kilkenny, New Ross, Waterford and Wexford Chambers.

South east Chambers Regional event

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Clonmel Chamber welcomed Santa and his Elves to Clonmel on Saturday, December 10th as part of their Christmas in Clonmel initiative. Santa’s grotto at The Main Guard attracted hundreds of children and adults over the course of the afternoon.

The Chamber hosted the event with some financial assistance from South Tipperary County Council and Clonmel Borough Council.

“We were delighted with the turnout on the day, there was a definite buzz about the town all day” said Clonmel Chamber President, Tina Mulhearne. “ Santa was very popular and over two hundred children got the chance to meet him in his grotto. Each child went away with a gift bag and a certificate from Santa” she added.

While the younger children were awestruck by the grotto and its occupant, there was also plenty of excitement at the arrival of Paul Walsh from Meteor award winning band Royseven. “Paul really went out of his way to make sure that everyone that wanted to meet him and get a photo was accommodated. Both the Mayor and Paul really added to the excitement at the event” said the Chamber President.

Paul Walsh was joined by Santa, Mayor Ryan and the Chamber President in turning on the Christmas lights in the town centre just after half past four. The event was hailed as a major success and the Chamber is now making plans for December 2012.

Christmasin Clonmel

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In November last year the Chamber launched a year round shop local campaign. Over the course of the campaign the Chamber will distribute themed ‘shop local’ posters to retailers to display in their stores to remind consumers of the importance of supporting local business and jobs.

Since the launch last year the Chamber has staged campaigns around themes such as Christmas, St. Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day and Euro 2012.

The St. Valentine’s Day poster encouraged people to show their love for local jobs. The tongue in cheek poster was surprisingly popular with many businesses insisting that they wanted to display the poster year round! While the St. Patrick’s Day campaign centred on promoting the parade and the fact that local shops were open on the day and encouraging people to some to the parade and stay to shop in Clonmel.

Shop localCampaign

Clonmel has a well won reputation as an excellent shopping location. The fact that many new shops in town have moved here ahead of other towns and cities in the region vindicates this. Every person in the town has the ability to help secure the jobs of friends and family by considering the impact of their spending before they travel to another town or city or before they buy online.

Mayor Darren Ryan was on hand to launch the campaign with Clonmel Chamber President Tina Mulhearne. “Anything that encourages people to shop in Clonmel has to be supported and I congratulate the Chamber on the initiative. I do hope that people will stop to consider the impact of their spending decisions and support Clonmel jobs” said the Mayor.

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International trade figures released by Clonmel Chamber in January 2012 showed a sizeable increase in exports by local companies in 2011. The jump of 32% followed a significant rise in exports in 2010.

“2011 was a very strong year for exporters in Co. Tipperary. We worked with companies of all sizes throughout the year to facilitate exports outside of the European Union. I was delighted that we presented a strong set of figures from Clonmel to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade” said Chamber CEO Brian Cleary.

Clonmel Chamber processes trade documentation for companies throughout County Tipperary seeking to export outside of the EU. In the past year they say that the range of products being exported has increased. “We recently became the first Chamber outside of Dublin to be certified to validate trade documentation for food companies for the Brazilian

Increase In exports By local

Companies in 2011

market. We sought this accreditation to enable a local food producer to export their product to the Brazilian market, which has a population of over 200 million people. This is a market with tremendous scope for growth for this local company” said Chamber President Tina Mulhearne.

Since May of 2011 Clonmel Chamber has enabled exporting companies to certify trade documentation online through an Irish designed software system. The Chamber also carried out free training for companies in the area on the new system. The new online system has been a success because of its ability to speed-up the documentation process.

The Chamber also hosted representatives from the Chinese embassy in Clonmel in April of this year to discuss how local businesses could export to one of the world’s largest markets. As part of the discussions the delegates from the Chinese embassy were given a guided tour of the Bulmers / Magners facility by Chamber Director Mark Hanratty. During the meeting with the embassy staff the Chamber representatives outlined some of the other local companies that are seeking to enter the Chinese market. Following these discussions one of the local companies referenced in the discussions is now in advanced talks to enter the Chinese market with a Clonmel produced product.

The ‘Doing Business In..’ series will continue in 2012 and 2013 with another event in the series scheduled for the latter part of 2012.

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Clonmel Chamber has played a significant part in the life of the town for almost ninety years. Last year was no different. Our members, board and staff were involved in a large number of events and initiatives to help make Clonmel a better place to live and work in.

The Chamber has been a key member of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade committee for quite some time and this year our representative was part of the team that brought one of the best parades for many years to the town. The colour of the Shellikybookie floats coupled with a record entry from local groups and associations made the 17th of March a day to remember in the town. We were also delighted to be involved in the presentation of a special award to Frank O’Donoghue from Clonmel Tidy Towns in recognition of his outstanding contribution to local life over many years. The award was presented at the gala event on the night before the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. One of the major issues that arose in the planning of the 2012 parade was that there was some uncertainty regarding businesses opening on the national holiday. The Chamber, through its ‘Shop in Clonmel’ campaign undertook a poster and online campaign to alert consumers that Clonmel was open for business on the day and we believe that this did assist local businesses on Saturday the 17th.

One of the most colourful events that we undertook during the year was ‘County Colours Day’ on the eve of the All Ireland Hurling Final in September. The Chamber encouraged shoppers to come to Clonmel wearing their Tipperary jerseys in order to avail of prizes and discounts at businesses throughout the town. There was a fantastic atmosphere in Clonmel on the day with the blue and gold visible on shoppers of all ages. As part of the initiative shoppers were able to avail of free parking in all Borough Council owned town centre car parks on the day.

“The Tipperary hurlers reached their 3rd final in a row and we wanted to celebrate that by getting people into Clonmel showing off the county colours. The town looked fantastic and local business owners did a great job decorating windows, putting up bunting and flags. Shoppers and businesses really did get behind the team by wearing the Tipperary colours on the 3rd of September” said Tina Mulhearne, President of Clonmel Chamber.

Here’s hoping that we will have another ‘County Colours Day’ in early September 2012!

The selection of Clonmel as the Irish participant in the Entente Florale this year is a cause for much excitement in the town. The judging day will be held on Friday, August 3rd. However work on the event has been ongoing for several months with the Chamber playing a key role in the quest for a gold medal. Buildings throughout Clonmel will be adorned with window boxes and hanging baskets in the coming months as part of the build up to the judging visit. The ‘Will You Help Clonmel Win Gold This Summer?’ campaign, devised by the Chamber, will be rolled out between May and August in an attempt to raise awareness of issues relating to the competition.Clonmel Chamber’s position as the largest business lobbying group in the county has facilitated access to key decision makers on a local and national basis. We are consistently seeking to have commercial rates reduced for business locally. Our rates submission in November 2011 sought to have rates linked with the ability to pay.

Community& policy

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The Chamber presented a range of options to the Mayor all underpinned by the need for the local authority to recognise the difficult trading environment for businesses in the town.

Clonmel Chamber President Tina Mulhearne, pictured with Mayor Darren Ryan at the launch of the rates campaign, in November 2011 said that it was essential that the Borough Council sought efficiencies and new means of funding themselves. “Businesses are willing to pay their fair share. However in the current climate there must be recognition that there is a changed business environment. Clonmel Borough Council need to look at new and innovative ways of raising funds, there needs to be a move away from relying on the commercial rate payers to provide over 30% of the overall budget for the town” she said.

Representatives from the Chamber also took part in discussions with Minister Alan Shatter regarding Kickham Barracks, as part of a delegation comprising public representatives and relations of soldiers based at the Clonmel barracks. The Chamber CEO met with several Ministers from the new government including Minister for Small Business, John Perry TD, on a number of occasions to discuss concerns about bank lending and other issues affecting SME’s in the region. In May 2012 Clonmel Chamber, as a member of the Chambers Ireland network, met with An Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD to discuss the importance of a ‘yes’ vote in the fiscal compact treaty for the business community. Brian Cleary met with the Taoiseach and also spoke to him about a number of local and regional issues of concern to Chamber members.

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County Tipperary Skillnet (formerly Southern Tipperary Skillnet) rebranded in 2012 to enable us to reach out to all of County Tipperary and promote the benefits of involvement in a Skillnet Network.

Our goal is to invite companies to talk to the County Tipperary Skillnet team with a view to assisting them with their specific training needs by sourcing high quality trainers, deliver relevant training at a time and place that suits individual needs with grant aid applied.

In conjunction with Clonmel Chamber, contracting organisation for the Skillnet, we hosted numerous events in 2011 and overachieved on all contractual targets.

County tipperary Skillnet

Typical training programmes delivered throughout 2011 are as follows:

Project Management•Influencer Skills Training•FETAC Train the Trainer•MS Applications•Manual Handling •Instructor

Time Management•Effective Presentation •SkillsVMware•

Below is a photograph showing participants receiving their FETAC awards.

*JOB SEEKERS*

If you are currently unemployed and fit the Skillnets definition of a job seeker (see www.skillnets.ie/jobseeker) you may be eligible to attend training that is offered through County Tipperary Skillnet with no charge or impact on your social welfare payments or benefits. Through training with a Skillnet network, job seekers will be able to access training that is directly relevant to industry needs but there is an added advantage of networking opportunities with companies and their employees.

Contact:To find out more information or to discuss how County Tipperary Skillnet can address your training needs, please contact Sabrina or Jackie.

Sabrina Guida – 052 61 91102 or [email protected] Ryan – 052 61 91105 or [email protected]


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About us: Social Media Skillnet is a National, Enterprise-Led, Training Network committed to the development and delivery of Social Media Training / IT Training / Recruitment Training at a subsidised rate through availing of Government funding. The Network was formed in July 2011 in response to the huge demand for training in Social Media, but has since branched out to include other areas. The Skillnet is hosted and promoted by its contracting organisation, Clonmel Chamber of Commerce. Our mission is to enhance the skills of people in employment in Ireland through relative training that supports efficiency and competitiveness.

Success: Over a period of six months, the Network contributed to the training of nearly 200 employed participants from over 100 different companies and 70 unemployed participants; totalling almost 700 training days, which is quite an achievement for the first phase in existence! The success of the network is due to the following:

Offering subsidised high quality, relevant training identified •by the customerDeveloping the business competence and skills of the •members Creating a forum for the exchange of knowledge and •information on training Tailoring social media content to align with business •priorities and customer interestsUpdating and improving IT Skills across all levels•Improving personal and interpersonal skills across all levels•

Member Companies: The target group for Social Media Skillnet comprises of mainly SMEs with a limited number of larger businesses from various sectors on a National Level. Becoming a member company is free of charge; you simply have to partake in training!

Courses: Our training is specifically organised in response to member company needs, ensuring that all training that we offer is relevant to current business needs. Our contracted training providers have passed through a rigorous tendering process, ensuring that we have selected the most experienced, effective trainers in their subject areas. Typical training programmes include Social Media Courses (including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Etc), Digital Marketing/Internet Marketing Courses, Internet Recruiter Courses, HR Masterclass in Social Media Courses, VM Ware, Project Management Professional and IT Courses.

FREE Training for Jobseekers Whilst our key focus is on the needs of member companies, we also offer a limited number of free places to those who are unemployed and seeking to increase their employment prospects through up-skilling and networking. If you are currently unemployed and fit the Skillnets definition of a jobseeker (see www.skillnets.ie/jobseeker), you may be eligible to attend training with the Network with no charge or impact on your social welfare payments or benefits.

To find out more information or to discuss how Social Media Skillnet can address your training needs, please contact Maggie on details below. Maggie O’ Brien (Network Manager) 052 6191102/086 7776476 or [email protected]

Social Media Skillnet

SKILLNET

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Clonmel Chamber was founded in 1925 and over 86 years on, it represents businesses in Clonmel and beyond. It is the largest business services organisation in County Tipperary and represents the interests of the business community while also promoting economic development in the regions with a range of stakeholders and partners.

The range of member companies is diverse, yet all share the same interest – maintaining Clonmel’s position as the leading location to do business in the region.

Who We Are

The Chamber has a full time staff working on behalf of members every day. They are available at all times to answer queries from members and prospective members.

Chamber Council 2011 / 2012

President Tina Mulhearne HR DirectVice Presidents Dr. Gervase McAleavey Merck, Sharp & Dohme Peter O’Donnell Sinclair PropertyCouncil Members Michael Boyle Clonmel Park Hotel John Cooney Boston Scientific Don Davern New Vision Kevin Finn Abbott Vascular Mark Hanratty Bulmers Walter Heneghan Stada Production Ireland Jim Kavanagh Europlan Aisling Kilroy The Narrow Space George Mordaunt Mordaunt Group Conor Moroney Moroney’s Footwear Valerie O’Reilly Unicorn PR Nominations and elections for the council take place at the time of the AGM each year.

CEO Brian ClearyAdministrators Sabrina GuidaSkillnet Manager s Jackie Ryan Margaret Anne O’Brien

About Clonmel Chamber


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Clonmel Chamber has been at the heart of business and the community for almost ninety years. Today, the organisation is regarded nationally as one of the leading Chambers in Ireland. Initiatives and business practices put in place by Clonmel Chamber have been adopted by other groups around the country.

The range of services and events available to our members is broad and is built to meet the needs of a diverse group of businesses who have chosen to become members.

Here are some of the benefits available to Clonmel Chamber members:

Promote Your Business

Our weekly newsletter is read by over five hundred business people in County Tipperary each week. It presents members with a fantastic platform to promote their businesses free of charge. ClonmelChamber.com is one of the most popular websites in the county and members can take part in the Member2Member service on the site.

We firmly believe that people will do business with people they know. That is why we offer networking opportunities every month to enable member businesses to promote their services and products to other members. These have proven to be very successful and are well attended each month. The networking events are free to members and are hosted in a range of locations around Clonmel.

Up To The Minute Information

Our range of events throughout the year feature guest speakers and our participation in the Small Business Advice service means that our members can access specialist mentors at any time. Small Business Advice is a free service offering a number of free mentoring sessions on issues of concern for companies. So far in 2012 Clonmel companies have met with finance, business development, marketing, taxation, logistics and human resources consultants. They have been able to avail of free mentoring in these critical business areas.

Have Your Voice Heard

As the largest business representative group in the county we play a significant role in local business life. Our staff and board members work to ensure that our members have an input into issues that concern member businesses. Recently our members worked together to draft the Chamber’s submission to the Clonmel and Environs Development Plan. We are also the only local business group constantly lobbying for a pro-business environment on a local, regional and national basis.

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Clonmel Chamber is well known for the wide range of events

hosted for members every year. In 2011 we hosted twenty

eight free events for members and it looks like there will be

even more in 2012.

Over the course of the year the staff of the Chamber

endeavoured to produce a calendar of events that stimulated

interests, assisted in creating new business relationships and

informed members about the business environment.

Ulster Bank Chief Economist Simon Barry was our guest

speaker in April 2011. His presentation attracted a large

audience for what was a standing room only presentation.

We also teamed up with Abbott Vascular to stage the first

ever Kanchi network event in County Tipperary. The event,

at the Abbott site on the Cashel Road attracted over one

hundred people to hear a range of speakers including the

inspirational Caroline Casey, Kanchi network founder.

events

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We would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff at the many venues that we have visited for our events over the past

year for their assistance.

In September 2011 Clonmel Chamber became one of only three Chambers in Ireland chosen by the Equality Authority to host diversity workshops. Richard McQuillen and Jimmy Ryan from Diversiton presented on the issue for our members.

Our traditional budget breakfast was held this year at Hotel Minella. Audrey Crean from member company O’Gorman, Brannigan, Purtill presented on the finance Minister’s first budget to a packed attendance.

Perhaps one of the best attended and most enjoyable networking events that we have hosted in recent times was our night behind the scenes at Tipp FM. The radio station, officially one of Ireland’s most successful according to recent JNLR figures, opened their doors to our members for a very interactive event. Each attendee stepped into the voiceover booth to record an advert. Attendees also received a guided tour from Station Manager Fran Curry. Finally, the evening ended with Chamber members Eolas Money winning an advertising package worth in excess of €500 –topping off what was a fantastic evening for all.

Contact Details:

Clonmel Chamber,8 Sarsfield Street,Clonmel,Co. Tipperary.

Tel: 052 61 26500e-mail: [email protected]: www.clonmelchamber.com

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Clonmel Chamber Annual Report 2011 - 2012

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