There is a lot happening here at the Chamber with our 1on1 Marketing Mentoring Program up and running, a new website in the making, a new community event for Scone and more…
1on1 Marketing Mentoring Program Update
With our initial ‘Welcome Workshops’ now completed, we are so excited to announce we have officially kicked off our Marketing Mentoring Program. We have 11 lucky local businesses taking part and the lovely Lavinia from LivMedia facilitating. Thank you to all the businesses who are participating. We cannot wait to hear all about it!
Thank you to our participants:
Victoria Hall, Scone , Plants on Main , Chocolate and Moss Floristry , Made by B , Melanie’s Matthews Family Jewellers , SPB Enterprises Scone , Airlie House Motor Inn , Dawson Estate Agents , Marsh Carney Saddlery , Sergate Fleet Hire , Were there’s a Will – Upper Hunter
Thank you to our sponsors supporting this wonderful initiative: Local Buying Foundation, BHP and Bengalla Mining Company.
New Website Coming Soon
The Chamber are excited to announce a new website is in the making which will include a Member’s portal, making the Chamber more visible and engaging online as well as give our members better access to their accounts, membership rewards, promotional opportunities and more. The website is due to launch in the next couple of months and we cannot wait to share it with you. Stay tuned more information to come.
New Business Development Officer Position Now Open
Our Business Development Officer position is now open. This is an exciting opportunity for someone who wants to be part of an organisation making a difference in the Scone and Upper Hunter business community.
- Applications open until 12pm Monday, August 21.
- Position commencing September.
- A position description is available by emailing president@sconechamber.com.au
- For more information and to apply please visit: www.seek.com.au/expiredjob/51574311
Please feel free to share with anyone you feel may be interested in the position.
Chamber August Breakfast – Cyber Security
Join us for breakfast to talk Cyber Security and Digital Capacity with Chris Sheppeard from NBN Local.
Cyber security is one of the most prominent risks to businesses today. If your organisation uses the internet – for email, banking, running a website or other activities – it’s vital to know how to keep your information and assets safe. Whether small, medium or large organisations, the impacts of cyber security incidents can be seen across the country each and every day, and those impacts can be devastating.
Come along to learn more about this important issue and how you can protect yourself and your business.
Thursday, September 8, 730am – 900am
The Cottage, Scone
$30 – members and $35 – non-members
Breakfast and coffee included
Tickets on sale until Tuesday 6th September, 5pm
All welcome.
Our breakfasts are a wonderful opportunity to connect with others while hearing from guest speakers and enjoying a delicious breakfast and coffee.
Have a Scone in Scone
A week-long event that highlights the scone (the cake) in Scone (the town) and the chance for businesses to be awarded the title of BEST SCONE IN SCONE.
The event is running from Saturday 22nd October to Saturday 29th October, with the Great Scone Bake Off Finale Judging taking place at St Luke’s Fair on Saturday 29 October.
The event ‘Have a Scone in Scone’ will include 2 main initiatives, the first will be ‘Have a Scone in Scone’, a People’s Choice competition where participating hospitality businesses showcase their scones during the week and are judged by the customers, and the second the finale event where judging will be done by the Scone Branch of the CWA at St Luke’s Fair on Saturday 29 October. This will include categories for Schools, Community and Businesses.
We are also hoping to link in with other organisations an array of tourist and local activities to coincide with the event.
YOUR INVITED
We are inviting businesses to express their interest in taking part in the ‘Have a Scone in Scone’ event.
We would like to hear from hospitality businesses running scone (the cake) initiatives AND also from organisations who might like to run other activities which could occur during the same week, which we can add to our activities calendar for promotion – for example markets, joy rides, stud tours etc etc.
Once we have collected all the expressions of interest, we will then be in touch to coordinate official information and registrations. More information to come!
Sarah Says Farewell
‘I would like to say a big thank you to the Chamber for the wonderful opportunity I have been given to manage Chamber activities over the past 15 months. I feel we have achieved a lot together and I will miss the role greatly. I believe with such an active and competent board, there are great things for the Chamber and I wish the organisation every future success. It is now time for me to take a giant leap into the world of running my own business and I thank you for your never-ending support, even in this difficult decision. To all the businesses and members I have worked with, it has been a pleasure and I look forward to seeing you at the next Chamber event where I will have a different role of Member rather than employee. I look forward to this next phase. Sincerely – Sarah English’
The Great Cattle Dog Muster – Upper Hunter Community Event
The Great Cattle Dog Muster is a three day event being staged in September 2022 by our friends at Muswellbrook Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Dates: 9th – 11th September 2022 (Community Family Fun Day – Saturday 10th)
The event is the first of its kind in Australia and is expected to draw visitors from across the region, around Australia, and from overseas. With the Upper Hunter being the birthplace of the Blue Heeler, this makes the region an ideal location and draw card for cattle dog breeders, exhibitors, enthusiasts and pet owners. It is hoped that this event will become an annual signature event for Muswellbrook and the whole region.
The event will bring significant economic benefit to the region as well as the opportunity to showcase all that the Upper Hunter has to offer. The three-day event has a combination of activities that cater for the serious cattle dog enthusiast, the pet cattle dog owner, and the general public.
With a country vibe, festival feel, and family open day, the event is expected to attract a large number of visitors.
To find out more visit: The Great Cattle Dog Muster Website
or follow the event at: The Great Cattle Dog Muster Facebook Page
Important Website Announcement for Upper Hunter Businesses
As most of you may be aware, local website company, Total e Solutions, sadly closed their doors in January 2022.
Total e Solutions had in the vicinity of 150 clients and were the local ‘website’ go-to for many businesses including Chamber members for twenty years.
Over the past eight months, Chamber Member, LivMedia ‘s team have been working closely with stakeholders to ensure the continuity of websites and associated services. While the majority were able to initiate a seamless transition when Total e Solutions closed, due to varying circumstances, many local businesses have experienced and are still experiencing impacts including:
- Complete loss of website that we’ve been able to retrieve
- Website hosting lapsing and sites being offline until we could initiate transfers
- Loss of access to multiple email accounts
- Domain names lapsing and being purchased by non-associated businesses, which we’ve also been able to recover
LivMedia has developed a streamlined and ‘no fuss’ process that ensures a seamless transfer to those in need. If you or an organisation you know has been impacted and are looking for support in the areas noted below, please feel free to contact LivMedia directly for assistance.
- Website hosting
- Domain registrations and renewals
- Website updates and upgrades
- SSL certificates
All enquiries can be directed to LivMedia at hello@livmedia.com.au
ACCELERATING REGIONAL INNOVATION FUND
Entrepreneurs in new and emerging industries in regional NSW will be supported by the NSW Government’s new $2 million Accelerating Regional Innovation Fund.
The new fund will assist businesses access the right expertise to improve their capability and competitiveness, drive economic growth and equip regional entrepreneurs with the skills they need to lead change.
Grants of between $300,000 and $700,000 will be provided to accelerator and incubator programs in regional NSW, Newcastle and Wollongong that support regional entrepreneurs and start-ups in emerging sectors and future industries to grow their business, revenues, raise funds and create local jobs.
Applications close on 30 September with program guidelines and eligibility criteria available at: www.nsw.gov.au/ARIF
Until next time…
Scone Chamber of Commerce
The Scone Chamber relies on memberships to exist. By becoming a member, you are helping a local organisation support local business. Chamber memberships also help to build a strong and connected local business community – whereby we are all working together. Membership is only $110 per year and comes with an array of Member benefits, where our members always come first.