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************** Business News & Events **************
Cobh Catalyst Network held the 4th successful meeting last night November 16th at the Sirius Arts Centre. The Sirius Centre, with its twin galleries, is an ideal location as it is usual to have a business showcase from some of the members in advance of the meeting. On this occasion the registration gallery was adorned with beautiful fashion stands from The Keen House, The Princess Rooms & Ryngs. There was huge interest in the stands in the run up to Christmas especially from those who had travelled from Carrigaline, Cork City, Carrigtwohill etc. who were envious as to what Cobh had to offer. Chairperson of the group, Anne Moroney, opened the meeting and extended a warm welcome to all present. She expressed her delight in having the fashion exhibits to coincide with the Cobh & Harbour Chamber’s campaign of ‘Try Cobh First’ when shopping for Christmas. Sinead Conroy of SECAD, partners with Cobh & Harbour Chamber, in the Catalyst project, was also on hand and explained that the Catalyst Network was established to provide opportunities for women in business to build connections with other business women and aspiring entrepreneurs in their own area and throughout South and East Cork. Anne Moroney introduced the speakers for the night & was delighted to especially welcome Avril Quinn who is also a member of the steering group of Cobh Catalyst. Avril is a HR Consultant who has worked at local, national, European & international level and she has her own business called The CV Doctor. Avril was joined on the night by Sports & Performance Psychologist, Kevin Clancy who specialises in mental conditioning, leadership and team development in business, sport, education and life settings. Avril spoke to the group explaining the importance of setting goals for yourself and how to go about achieving these goals. She gave examples from her own personal experiences and encouraged all present to strive to be working in areas that one is interested in as it is key to being successful. Kevin spoke about positive thinking and also gave examples of achieving this. He had the group on their feet during an interactive session explaining how to increase energy levels and basically clear the mind. What a team Avril & Kevin made and the buzz in the room was just amazing. It is safe to say that everyone left the meeting on a high & with food for thought. On behalf of the group, Mary McCaffrey of Profile Printing made a presentation to Avril & Kevin. These were very kindly sponsored by Mary herself. Following this there was a mini fashion show which had everyone sitting up in their seats as the models displayed leading label fashions from the Keen House who were delighted to announce the opening of a new sports shop shortly in the town centre. Fashions for young and old from Ryngs were up next and finally dazzling ball gowns from The Princess Rooms. Anne Moroney closed the meeting by thanking all concerned for making the night a huge success. Check out our Facebook page for news on coming events or contact using details below. info@cobhharbourchamber.ie
"Catalyst" Network Event Great Success
SECAD and the Cobh and Harbour Chamber held another successful Catalyst meeting recently at the Sirius Arts Centre which focussed on Financial matters. Speaking on behalf of Cobh & Harbour Chamber, the meeting was opened by Anne Moroney, chairperson of the Cobh Catalyst network who convened a minute’s silence as a tribute to local businesswoman, Bridie O’ Sullivan of Ultimate Sports, Cobh, who passed away recently. Anne Moroney thanked Kathleen Geary, former chairperson & founding member of the group, for all her help and dedication to the Catalyst project and the other members of the group who helped organise the event. Sinead Conroy of SECAD, partners in the Catalyst project, was also on hand and explained that the Catalyst Network was established to provide opportunities for women in business to build connections with other business women and aspiring entrepreneurs in their own area and throughout South and East Cork. Guest speaker, for the evening was Mary Power, of Westboro Partners. Mary is a highly experienced business advisor, working with clients on a range of accountancy services including taxation, financial management, audits, accounting and financial reporting. She gave essential tips for any business in today’s economy. An impressive display of selected services and products were available at stalls held by five Catalyst members. A delicious array of sweet and savoury nibbles was on offer from Tania Bourke of Truly Scrumptious. Mary Walsh from Mary's Country Kitchen had a wonderful display of mouth watering gluten free breads and cakes while Bernie Carney demonstrated her “Know thy Place” service. Mary Frahill displayed information on her homeopathic remedies and Sal Tivvy gave information on party packages and indoor entertainment available at Perks in Youghal. The meeting was a great success and, as before, the course of the next meeting will be decided upon based on the results of the feedback forms completed by the members in attendance. Our sponsored prize of dinner for two at The Castle Italian Restaurant in Blackrock was won by Carmel O’ Regan of Carmel O’ Regan Fitness, Congratulations from SECAD and from Cobh & Harbour Chamber, we hope you have a fabulous time! Check out our Facebook page for news on future events or contact using details below.
Chamber
Awards Great Success The Chamber in conjunction with Cobh Town Council, AIB and Conoco Phillips hosted their Annual Face of Business Awards, Sales Person of the Year and Business of the Year Award in the Sirius Arts Centre on 14th September 2011. Launching the evening’s events was Mayor of Cobh, Cllr Jim Quinlan, who spoke of the commitment of Cobh Town Council to the awards and at his honour of being present at the ceremony. Mr. Paraig Lynch, Town Clerk, then gave a brief presentation on the businesses which were shortlisted and the reasons for their nomination. First prize in Owner Occupied Category went to ‘Gilberts’ Restaurant and a delighted Andrew Bird and Charlie Daly were on hand to accept the award. The runners up in this category were Crows Nest Bar & Brasserie and Wilsons Pharmacy. In the best Rented Category the prize went to ‘Gills’ and owners Keith Sparrow and Niamh Joyce graciously accepted the award. Runners up in this category were Aunt Nellies Sweet Shop and Cobh Dry Cleaners. The next award of the evening was The Sales Person of the Year which is sponsored by AIB Bank, Cobh. In presenting the award the Manager of AIB, Ms. Liz Burns, congratulated all the nominees on their selection, and stated that their professionalism and excellence in the execution of their duties in the workplace on a daily basis helped show Cobh in a very good light from the perspective of both tourists and locals alike. The calibre of the nominees was extremely high and the judges had a very hard job to select an overall winner. However, it was Lily Keegan of Irish Wheelchair Shop who was selected as the Sales Person of the Year 2011. The Business of the Year award went to Keatings Londis Plus which was presented by Mr. Neil O’Carroll of Conoco Phillips and accepted by Ray and Maura Keating. Maura and Ray are in business since 1984. They began with a small convenience store (Villa Stores) and built it to a thriving business over the next years until further expansion was not possible in the immediate area. Having sold this store (then under the Centra Brand), they purchased a green field site in Newtown, being well aware that the booming Celtic Tiger called for commuter housing in Cobh. Since opening the store in 2005 they have ran a very successful business, winning several National Londis awards along the way. At the conclusion of the evenings events John Sweeney, President of the Cobh & Harbour Chamber thanked the Cobh Town Council, AIB and Conoco Phillips for their continuing support without which he said the awards would not be possible. He stated “These award are a long established tradition within the Chamber calendar and are very important from the perspective of acknowledging the real efforts made by the businesses and employees alike”.
Chief Executive Retires Kathleen
Geary, Chief Executive of the Chamber, is to retire after 16 years of
service. Kathleen in her role as Chief Executive became a focal point
and the principle driver of many of the positive activities undertaken
by Cobh & Harbour Chamber during her tenure of office. She is turning
her attention to a broader field of work with the provision of FAS Community
Employment Schemes. Kathleen has been a prolific advocate of Cobh &
Harbour Chamber activities and was instrumental in many of the initiatives
undertaken by them in the last number of years, in particular her input
into tourism community projects
Top 10 Tips for Marketing Your Business
The Chamber wish to announce the next meeting of their Women’s Business Networking Group ‘Catalyst’ will take place on Wednesday 29th June 2011 in the Commodore Hotel at 6 p.m. Guest Speaker on the night will be Renate Murphy Co-Founder of Profile Communications. Renate has over fifteen years experience in the marketing and advertising sector and has worked both in Ireland and the U.S. With her wide experience working both at home and abroad Renate has developed a number of marketing campaigns in various media forms i.e. radio, print and online advertising. In 2010 Renate was recognised as Network Business Woman Of The Year by her peers. Kathleen Geary, CE of the Chamber, is delighted that Renate has agreed to be the speaker for the June meeting of ‘Catalyst’. She stated that having a speaker of the calibre of Renate was what was needed for the group to give them all the help and “tips” she can, to enable them to better their respective businesses by learning all the new techniques available to them for marketing and advertising. The Chamber are grateful to SECAD for their support with these events. For further details please contact the Chamber on (021) 4813612 or email: info@cobharbourchamber.ie.
Chamber Lunch held recently
The Cobh & Harbour Chamber held its Summer Lunch at the Commodore Hotel on Friday 27th May with guest speaker Mark Henry, Central Marketing Director, Tourism Ireland. Mr. John Sweeney, President of the Cobh & Harbour Chamber, welcomed Mr. Henry to Cobh and expressed his delighted at having the Central Marketing Director of Tourism Ireland in Cobh to see all the wonderful amenities on offer on the Great Island. In his address Mr. Henry spoke of the challenges ahead in relation to attracting tourism numbers to Ireland and how important it was to change the current perception of Ireland overseas. On a positive note he confirmed that for the first time in three years there has been an increase of 9% in tourism numbers and said “Tourism Ireland were making a major effort in relation to the Internet and e-marketing with over 360,000 friends logging onto our Tourism Ireland Facebook site. In conclusion he stated “Cobh is feidir linn - Cobh has a lot of potential in particularly in relation to Spike Island and the story of the Titanic was is important to develop. You can do it! As a memento of his visit to Cobh Chamber President, John Sweeney, presented Mr. Henry with a framed bronze sculpture of Annie Moore by Jean Rynhart.
Catalyst
The Cobh and Harbour Chamber are delighted to announce the inaugural meeting of their Women’s Business Networking Group ‘Catalyst’. The meeting will take place on Wednesday 20th April in the Commodore Hotel at 6.00 p.m. Guest Speaker on the night will be Deirdre Waldron of Fuzion Communications. Deirdre is a PR and Marketing Professional with over 20 years industry experience in the UK and Ireland in a variety of sectors including hospitality, media, fashion and IT. Deirdre found her own company in 2000, Fuzion Communications which is an Award Winning PR and Marketing Consultancy and has become one of the success stories in recent times, taking on additional personnel to add to the range of services while many similar businesses are downsizing. Kathleen Geary CEO of the Cobh and Harbour Chamber has expressed her delight at having Deirdre Waldron as the first speaker of this group. She stated “Deirdre is an ongoing success story in times which are difficult for all businesses. We believe her address will be most beneficial to all those in attendance and we look forward to welcoming her.” The aim of ‘Catalyst’ is to provide information, tools, networking and learning opportunities, and advice to women who are starting out or want to grow their business. It will provide opportunities for members to build connections with other businesswomen and aspiring entrepreneurs in their own area and throughout South and East Cork. For further details please contact the Chamber on (021) 4813612 or email: info@cobharbourchamber.ie.
New President Elected
The
Chamber held its annual general meeting recently at which Michael Martin
officially ended his term in office and passed on the mantle to incoming
President elect John Sweeney. In his address Michael Martin congratulated
the incoming President and thanked the Chamber Executive, Members and
staff for their support over the past two years. Also elected on the night were Brian Curtis as Vice President, Liz Burns as Hon. Secretary and Sandra O'Shea as Hon. Treasurer.
Up-coming Training
The Chamber are currently taking bookings for Social/Business Networking Training. This course will cover Facebook, Twitter and blogs which can be used for business and social networking.
The cost of the course will be €50 per person. For
those members paid up to date by 15th March a discounted price of
€40 per person will apply. Two courses are currently being run the
duration of the course will be 3.5 hours in total. Training dates
include Wednesday 16th March and Wednesday 30th March.
If you are interested please contact Kathleen asap - early booking is advised and bookings will be taken on a first come first served basis.
Schools Excel at Language Competition
Over 30 students from 6 schools in the Cork area took part in the recent Cobh and Harbour Chamber Language Competition which was sponsored by Bank of Ireland. This competition is running over 20 years and is held to encourage students to use European Languages, our own native Irish Language and to assist them with their oral examinations. Schools from Midleton, Carrigaline, Carrigtwohill, and of course Cobh took part. Chamber President, Michael Martin, congratulated the winners and said “In today’s globalisation an additional language is vital to increase employment options, for example, working abroad, working for our National Broadcasting Agency or bringing business to Ireland. The Cobh and Harbour Chamber are delighted to host this competition and judging from the feedback from teachers and students each year the competition is a continuing success. The standard of students was excellent and I know the judges had a very hard time choosing the winners. I would like to thank UCC for providing the Irish language judge, Ms. Claire Ní Mhuirthile, also the Chamber would like to thank the French language judge Ms. Ger Thomas and the German language judge, Mr. Manfred Volki for giving so generously of their time today.” The
Chamber is very grateful to the Bank of Ireland for their sponsorship
of the competition, as it would not be possible to run this competition
without sponsorship. Representing the Bank of Ireland on the day was
Tina Sheehan, who congratulated everyone for taking part and said the
bank was honoured to be sponsors of such a worthwhile event. The
Prizewinners in the Irish Language Competition were: The
Prizewinners in the French Language Competition were: All
prizewinners were presented with Gift Tokens and Certificates.
President Presents Cheque to Cope Foundation
The Cobh & Harbour Chamber President, Michael Martin presented a cheque to Head of Fundraising and Public Relations, John Clifford of Cope Foundation on Tuesday 11th January at the Cobh & Harbour Chamber Office. The cheque was a result of funds raised at the Chamber’s Winter Ball held recently. Michael Martin stated “The Cobh & Harbour Chamber are delighted to support Cope as they are an integral part of our community, not only in Cobh but also the surrounding areas. They run a day programme in their facility in the Great Island Community Centre from Monday to Friday i.e. a young adult social and educational programme for ambulent clients with special needs and are also at the Park Road Centre where there is an Overnight Respite House which is open every second week.” This facility caters for young ambulent adults with special needs giving an excellent service to both clients and their Parent/Parents in the Cobh and surrounding areas. John Clifford in accepting the cheque, thanked the Chamber most sincerely for the funds raised and stated “in the current economic climate it was a most welcome gesture.”
“Try Cobh First this Christmas”
The Cobh & Harbour Chamber had visits from Spiderman, Santa’s Helper and Princess Sorcha when it was time to host the draw for the Chamber’s shop local initiative for 2010. The “Try Cobh First this Christmas” was a big success with tens of thousands of entries for the top prize. It was Spiderman who pulled the winning ticket of 1000 euro worth of vouchers which went to Christine Irwin O’Flaherty. Santa’s Helper produced the second receipt which belonged to Mike O’Connor of Stacks Tce while Princess Sorcha selected the third prize receipt which was Liz Collins of Harbour View. Over 60 businesses contributed to the prize fund of over 3000 euro worth of vouchers and there were 8 prizes in all. The Cobh & Harbour Chamber would like to thank those businesses who have participated and to you, the locals, who are “Trying Cobh First”. This should go someway to ensure local work for local people in the future. 1st Prize Christine Irwin- O’Flaherty, Russell Heights, Cobh 2nd Prize Mike O’Connor, Stacks Tce, Cobh 3rd Prize Liz Collins, Harbour View, Cobh 4th Prize Elizabeth Forrest, Victoria Estate, Cobh 5th Prize Marianne Byrne, Belmont Place, Cobh 6th Prize Cathy Lowry, Pat O’Brien Close, Cobh 7th Prize Michael Walsh, Ballynoe Road, Cobh 8th Prize Gavin Hurley, Springfield, Cobh
Maria Kidney named Cobh Person of the Year at Chamber Ball
A champagne and strawberries reception greeted the attendees last Friday 26th November for the Cobh People’s Winter Ball in the Commodore Hotel, Cobh, which was hosted by the Cobh & Harbour Chamber. Style and sophistication was the order of the night with the ladies dressed in all their finery accompanied by well tailored gentlemen! After an excellent meal the Betty Moynihan Memorial Award for the Cobh Person of the Year was announced. To rousing applause, Vice President of the Chamber, John Sweeney announced the 2010 winner – Maria Kidney. Maria was nominated for her outstanding voluntary work. Maria founded the Friends of Londiani a now registered Charity organisation, set up to bring healthcare, education and clean water to the people of Londiani. The Moynihan family were represented by Frank Moynihan on the night. Special guest of the Cobh & Harbour Chamber on the night, was Michael and Margaret (Peg) O’Connell who celebrated over 50 years in business in Cobh. A delighted Margaret O’Connell won the top prize of two tickets to a Manchester United game, which were kindly sponsored by Suit Distributors, in the fundraising raffle on the night. With
the official acts of the evening over, The Big Band took to the stage
and entertained the crowd with their wonderful performance keeping everyone
dancing long into the night. The Chamber would like to thank those businesses
who attended the event and those who donated prizes. Your support is
very much appreciated.
Harbour Flights Ireland Planning Announcement
The Cobh & Harbour Chamber are delighted with the announcement, John Sweeeney, Vice President stated “We look forward to seeing the establishment of this new venture in Cobh which will be a welcome addition to the existing tourism attractions in the Cobh and Harbour area. We wish Harbour Flights every success in the future”.
Free Networking Event
Cork
Regional Chambers will host a business breakfast on ESB Networks in
the Cork Metropolitan and Regional area which is Free to Regional Chamber
members.
Face of Business/Salesperson of the Year Awards
The Cobh & Harbour Chamber in conjunction with Cobh Town Council and AIB hosted their Annual Sales Person of the Year / Face of Business Awards in the Commodore Hotel recently. Launching the evening’s events was Deputy Mayor of Cobh, Cllr Jim Quinlan, who spoke of the commitment of Cobh Town Council to the awards and at his honour of being present at the ceremony. Mr. Paraig Lynch, Town Clerk, then gave a brief presentation on the businesses which were shortlisted and the reasons for their nomination. First prize in Owner Occupied Category went to ‘Eleven West’ Restaurant and a delighted Alan Murphy was on hand to accept the award. The runner up in this category went to O’Grady Mahony Auctioneers and the award was presented to Mary O’Grady who was representing the business on the night. In the best Rented Category the prize went to ‘Taste’ Cafe, and co-owner Edita Valskyte graciously accepted the award. The next award of the evening was The Sales Person of the Year which is sponsored by AIB bank, Cobh. In presenting the award the Manager of AIB, Ms. Liz Burns, congratulated all the nominees on their selection, and stated that their professionalism and excellence in the execution of their duties in the workplace on a daily basis helped show Cobh in a very good light from the perspective of both tourists and locals alike. The calibre of the nominees was extremely high and the judges had a very hard job to select an overall winner. However, it was Mariae Russell of Ryngs Drapery who was selected as the Sales Person of the Year 2010. At
the conclusion of the evening events Michael Martin, President of the
Cobh & Harbour Chamber thanked the Cobh Town Council and AIB for
their continuing support without which he said the awards would not
be possible. He stated “These award are a long established tradition
within the Chamber calendar and are very important from the perspective
of acknowledging the real efforts made by the businesses and employees
alike”.
Networking 'til the Cows came home!
On
Tuesday 6th July the Cobh & Harbour Chamber ran its annual Business
After Hours event at Bird’s Farm in Ballydulea, Cobh. Member’s
were treated to a tour of Bird’s farm which features one of Ireland’s
first State of the Art Computerised Milking Systems. This unique system
enables the farmer to see the milk yield, weight, health etc of each
animal which is recorded by computer and logged for future reference.
Following the tour Jack Ahern gave a presentation on Leegen Ltd which
is a green energy service company that grows, stores, processes and
supplies bio-energy products. The company grows miscanthus which is
used as a alternative fuel to gas or oil and is grown locally.
Senator Norris wows at Chamber Dinner
On Friday night, 21st May, Senator David Norris addressed a capacity audience at the Cobh and Harbour Chamber Annual Dinner in the Commodore Hotel, Cobh. A dynamic and experienced orator, Senator Norris entertained those present with his colourful eloquence and the deep sense of humanitarian responsibility which came across in his address. He also spoke of his delight at being in Cobh and of the warm welcome which he received. President,
Michael Martin stated “Senator Norris was an excellent speaker
and The Annual Dinner also featured the ConocoPhillips Business of Year Award. Michael King, Commercial Development Manager of ConocoPhillips stated “The company which were nominated for the 2010 award were established in 1869 and have been providing a first class service for over 140 years. Employing over 350 staff nationwide this year’s recipient is McKechnies Cleaning Services Ltd”. He presented the award to an elated Edel O’Connell, Businesss Development Director of McKechnies. “We are honoured to receive the award” she stated “ The McKechnie approach is to work in partnership with clients delivering a clean and well maintained environment with minimal disruption and we strive to continually improve our levels of service. We would like to thank ConocoPhillips for the award and the Cobh & Harbour Chamber. At the conclusion of the event, Michael Martin President presented Senator Norris with a Jean Rynhart sculpture of Annie Moore as a memento of his visit to Cobh.
Martin Elected For A Second Term
At the recent AGM of the Cobh & Harbour Chamber Mr. Michael Martin was re elected for a second term as President. In his address Mr. Martin, outlined the multitude of activities which the Chamber were involved in which took place over the past year. “Experiencing as we are, a recession of epic proportions, it stands to reason that new and difficult challenges have to be met and contained, if the business community is to survive” he stated. “However, what we are experiencing in the economy today is difficult but not catastrophic. The majority of the workforce is still at work. Our international credit rating remains credible and agencies such as Tourism Ireland and the Department of Enterprise are still trying to nurture growth in the sectors that create income and employment. It is nevertheless my view that the healthiest way out of recession is through local enterprise and making the best return on what you have. In that respect we in Cobh and the lower harbour are lucky. Few towns have the spatial infrastructure that we have. Access by air, rail, road and sea are important assets. In terms of visitor attractions there are hundreds of towns around Ireland who would envious of what the harbour and the town has to offer. While the local workforce had benefited from the concentration of the pharmaceutical and energy orientated industry around the periphery of the harbour, the town has yet to utilise in full the enormous tourism potential that just hangs there waiting to be realised. We in the Chamber have been at the forefront of trying to realise this potential. We are active contributors to a new review of tourism being facilitated by PLATO that it is hoped will bring numerous bodies to the same table with the same aims. I sincerely
hope that this PLATO facilitated study will iron out some of the issues
and lead to a situation where the industry, the voluntary sector and
the statutory sector can be working together assisting and enhancing
each other’s roles, not diminishing or undermining them”. On the night, John Sweeney was elected Vice President, Liz Burns was re-elected Hon. Secretary while Brian Curtis was elected to the position of Hon. Treasurer.
Spike Island Official Handover to take place in Summer
In his address to a capacity crowd in Trade Winds Restaurant in Cobh, Tuohy confirmed that work would begin on Spike Island in the summer. He said it was his first time officially speaking about the project and it was appropriate that it was in Cobh with Spike Island as his backdrop. “When times are tough” he said “this is a great time to do things and there are many challenges ahead of us including increasing productivity, increasing exports and bringing in tourists from abroad”. He spoke about the vast amount of heritage surrounding Spike Island and stated that the committee were working on bringing people and groups together to get new ideas on the development of the Island. These, he said, can be uploaded to the official Spike Island website at www.spikeislandcork.com. He said it was hoped that the handover of Spike Island would takes place in June and that an official ceremony would be held on the 11th July this year. Cobh & Harbour Chamber President, Michael Martin, welcomed this message and reiterated the importance of the development of spike island as an international heritage attraction for the whole region. He presented Brendan Tuohy with a framed picture of Cobh as a memento of his visit to the town.
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Motivation!
