Michael Mowle said : "I am delighted to report that Chamber membership and networking event attendance increased substantially during the year. In citing this growth, the solid groundwork achieved by past Board and staff members must be acknowledged, as they provided a perfect foundation from which to build on and allow Chamber to continue to deliver a high standard of representation to members.

In particular, and on behalf of the Board of Directors and staff, I would like to pay tribute and give thanks to the late Wayne Jackson for his dedication, skill and outstanding contributions to Chamber and the local business community. Wayne was highly respected in his role as Treasurer and warmly regarded as a friend and colleague. His authenticity, honesty and camaraderie will be sorely missed. Many thanks to Alex Glen-Holmes for stepping up and temporarily filling the position under such sudden and tragic circumstances.

We are pleased to see that Alex has also chosen to nominate for the role and wish her all the best in her endeavours. We thank the previous Chamber Executive, Stephanie Baker, for her commitment to the role, her direction in navigating Chamber through a difficult and challenging period and her support, assistance and grace in welcoming the then-newly-elected Executive, Mark Wilson.

His knowledge in management and sales has proved to be a valuable asset and his friendly manner has earned Chamber plenty of new members. Further to this, our gratitude is extended to outgoing Events and Marketing Officer, Letitia Kimmorley, for her hard work and dedication. Letitia resigned in February, which lead to a review of the role and consequently expanded duties to include media and communications.

It is in this capacity we welcome Trisha McIntyre, who brings her vast experience in public relations, events and media communications to Chamber. I would also like to acknowledge the contribution over his 5 year tenure by the recent past President, Hadyn Oriti. His ability to liaise with all levels of government and promote change to benefit the local community has been invaluable in establishing Chamber as an advocate for the business community.

I am very proud of the hard work by the present board & staff during 2018 which has resulted in one of the most successful and enjoyable Business Awards nights ever held in July along with several significant networking events. These included keynote speakers such as NSW Business Chamber CEO, Stephen Cartwright, NSW Chief Planner, Gary White and John McGrath of McGrath Real Estate.

The pinnacle event and speaker of course being a Boardroom Lunch at Sails addressed by Bernard Salt. As a demographer and "futurist" Mr Salt provided an entertaining insight into our evolution as a society along with the dynamics, opportunities and challenges for Port Macquarie to become a Regional City. 'During 2018 Chamber has also undertaken a range of new initiatives designed to better serve our members.

These include: Amalgamation of the HBEN and Port Chamber – this unification has resulted in reducing dual memberships and increased the Chamber's ability to deliver a greater number of focused and relevant events to members, through utilising our resources more efficiently. More frequency and diversity across events - we've listened to our members and offer high quality guest speakers and presentation topics at a range of times to suit the availability of our many members. Expanding on ideas and following through on suggestions - thinking outside the box and taking some calculated risks, such as our Boardroom Lunches and Golf Day events.

Less talk, more action – we have condensed presentation time at our networking events to increase the quality of the content and allow more time for valuable business-to-business connections. Award-winning representation – recognised by the NSW Business Chamber as the winner of the 2018 Regional Chamber of Commerce Award, we are in a great position to represent our members with the highest standard of service available, across the Mid North Coast. Author, speaker and lawyer, Robin Sharma, once said, "Leadership is not about a title or a designation. It's about impact, influence and inspiration. Impact involves getting results, influence is about spreading the passion you have for your work, and you have to inspire team-mates and customers".

As we proceed to elect our Board for 2019, I ask you to keep in mind the values you seek in our business leaders, your aspirations for our town and the commitment of each nominee in shaping the future.