President’s Welcome – September 2023

I’m writing this quarter’s Welcome from interstate, it’s also on the same day that many locals come out to support the annual Wishlist Gala Ball. That only means one thing to me. It’s springtime.

Every year seems to go quicker than the last and 2023 is no different. Maybe I’m being nostalgic as I celebrate a milestone birthday this month?

Either way it’s been a busy year with so much to report on in this newsletter.

From a business perspective we’ve seen the multi-million-dollar re-build announcement of the Maroochydore Surf Club, along with the commencement of construction of Walker Corporation’s first Premium A-Grade commercial office tower in the Maroochydore City Centre. 50 First Avenue by Walker is already on the radar for many big Australian companies looking to tap into local talent with over 800 jobs earmarked for the 15-storey building. Meanwhile, one of the world’s leading professional services companies Genpact has announced it will establish a presence on the Sunshine Coast with up to 250 jobs to be created over the next 5 years. More details on these announcements have been included in this newsletter.

As they say, it’s all happening, and we haven’t even scratched the surface as to what the Olympics will bring to our community as we lead into 2032.

From a membership perspective, we recently clocked up 320 chamber members which is a fantastic achievement as it wasn’t that long ago, we were really struggling for engagement with the local business community. With a renewed focus on providing a greater number of networking and advocacy opportunities for our members along with the appointment of Min Swan and her Whitehouse Team and the appointment of our first membership officer in Sharon Dryden, the chamber is now in a very enviable position, and I thank all our members for their ongoing support.

I continue to lavish praise on our executive committee members for their ongoing support and commitment to make our chamber the best of the Coast. I believe our committee members have the skill and expertise to run a privately owned company of any size and we are in a very fortunate position to have access to this high level of expertise.

I want to congratulate executive member Will Thompson who has recently sold his 20-year-old family business to international firm Gallagher Insurance. Meanwhile our treasurer Lachlan Ballinger’s firm Yield Advisory took out the prestigious title of “Boutique Firm of the Year (20+ Employees)” at the recent Australian Accounting Awards in Sydney.

Our AGM is due on Thursday October 6 this year and we are always looking for new faces to join our leadership team. A number of the executive team have chosen to stay on for another year which is great for stability and a couple have indicated their time is due. We encourage you to reach out for a chat if you are interested in joining us or register here.

Finally, we are always on the lookout for ideas on how the Chamber can continue to grow and add value for our members. Please reach out to Min Swan and her team at our events or via phone/email as we’d love to hear from you.

I look forward to seeing you at our next Chamber event.

Brendan Bathersby

President