President’s Welcome – September 2025
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I’ll reiterate that I love Spring on the Sunshine Coast. For me it all starts with the weather warming up as well as the annual Wishlist fundraising event, which is one of my favourites. It’s such a great day where the ‘whose who’ of the coast come together to support such an important cause, this year’s event raised over $327,000 which is a phenomenal effort. On behalf of our executive team and all our members we congratulate Wishlist on another amazing event.
AGM update
We undertook our AGM at Ten Toes Brewery on September 25 and I am pleased to report that our executive committee will largely remain the same over the next year apart from the departure of Anita Piers and Richard Turnbull. Both Anita and Richard have been long term members of our committee and they have both made an incredible contribution to our success.
Anita is taking a year off to travel across the country with her family while Richard is reducing his commitments to take time out with his wife Liz. We are thrilled to welcome some new faces to the committee including Maree Machin from Mortgage Choice and Matt Thornton from Telstra.
I am also honoured to continue my role as President for the 8th year, our chamber has grown significantly over the past decade, but there is much more to do and I am fully committed to continue this important work with my fellow executive team members. Many thanks also to Cr Taylor Bunnag who helped officiate our AGM and a special thanks to those members and friends who turned up to celebrate another successful year for our chamber.
Janine Allis event
Our Chamber’s major breakfast event which is held in February each year has become a ‘must attend’ activity on the local business calendar. In the past few years we’ve had some incredible speakers including former Wallaby captain John Eales, AFL premiership hero Tom Boyd and this year’s event was packed to the rafters with business identity Mark Bouris.
We are pleased to announce that the founder of Boost Juice Bars Janine Allis will be our guest speaker on February 19 next year.
Janine is among Australia’s most respected business women and in 2015, she was named by business magazine BRW as one of fifteen people that changed the way Australia does business in the last 35 years.
Tickets are available to Maroochydore Chamber Members at www.maroochy.org
Non-Member tickets will be available from Saturday 1st November.
Major Maroochydore development update
Our chamber is blessed to be located in Maroochydore where so much is taking place from a development point of view. Within the Maroochydore CBD, our major sponsor Walker Corporation has recently topped out its first commercial building at 50 First Avenue with Unitywater announced as its anchor tenant. Meanwhile construction is powering on at Walker Corporation’s SOL residential project in the CBD. The first 19 storey tower will include 112 high end residences with sweeping views of the coast and hinterland along with luxury amenities and direct access to local parks, eateries and retail centres.
The state Government has also recently announced it would fast-track the delivery of more than 1800 homes in Maroochydore through the construction of trunk infrastructure under the $2-billion Residential Activation Fund. The fund is providing $82.9 million towards the development of the Maroochydore CBD precinct, which includes the extension of First Avenue to Dalton Drive and an upgrade to Maud Street.
Meanwhile on Ocean Street, Felix Capital have announced plans for a 180 room Crowne Plaza Hotel featuring extensive event spaces including a ballroom, dining, and wellness facilities such as a pool and spa. Developed by IHG Hotels & Resorts and Felix Capital, the project is designed to address the region’s growing demand for hospitality and conference infrastructure. Construction is expected to begin in early 2026, with a targeted opening in 2028.
Chambercast with the President and Pep
We’ve relocated our podcast to the new Storyteller’s Suite which is located in the Mix and Sea FM building at Kon Tiki Maroochydore. Mix FM have been a long term supporter of our Chamber and we were quick to snap up the opportunity to undertake our podcast at this magnificent new facility. Our first guest is Mix and Sea FM’s new Managing Director Carla Vella who took us through her career progression in the media and outlined some of her plans for the future. Both Mix and Sea FM have recently come off some sensational radio survey results and this augurs well for the future. To listen to all the latest Chambercast’s with the President and Pep, please click here: https://maroochy.org/chambercast
MWP Member profile
Our fortnightly Maroochy Chamber member profiles in My Weekly Preview are proving to be a real hit with members and readers. We undertook this partnership with our Chamber sponsor My Weekly Preview as a value add for our members to help raise their profiles via a prominent local media publication. To view all the profiles, please click this link: MWP Member Profiles
If you are a Chamber member and would like to participate in the profile series please email admin@maroochy.org
2025 Sunshine Coast Business Awards finalists
The 2025 Sunshine Coast Business Awards Gala will take place on Saturday, November 8 at the Sunshine Coast Convention Centre Twin Waters. The judging panel recently released the names of the finalists for the year which included a number of Maroochydore based businesses. To view the full list of finalists, click here.
Thanks for your support
As we move into the final quarter of the year, we want to thank our sponsors and members for all you do to make our Chamber so successful. Building a strong, resilient and sustainable chamber would not be possible without the hard work of our executive team as well as Min Swan’s Whitehouse team and our membership officer Sharon Dryden. As always, if you have any ideas for news, events or activities we could promote or undertake please let us know. I look forward to seeing you at our next Chamber event.
Brendan Bathersby
President
