Antrim Chamber of Commerce recently held its first Annual General Meeting at The Rabbit Hotel and Retreat and there was much cause for celebration, most notably the exceeding of their membership target with 55 businesses now signed up.

At the AGM, Chair Joanna Maxwell, appreciated the support and the guidance of her fellow committee members in carrying out the Chamber’s activities including six highly successful events including the Business Insight Visit to member Golden Popcorn; the Economic Briefing with Bank of Ireland, the inaugural ‘transforming how we do business’ event, which brought together speakers from the world of sport, PR and recruitment and included Ulster Rugby, Honeycomb Jobs and RNN Communications and the first in a series of Lessons in Leadership with Suzanne Wylie, Chief Executive of NI Chamber. These events provided plenty of opportunity for education, upskilling and networking.

The Chamber also made time for more informal networking occasions when they hosted in partnership with The Vintage Wine Merchants an evening of wine tasting and with Starbucks at The Junction they combined a Coffee Synsorium Masterclass with Speed Networking.

Outside of events, it was also a busy year, with Management Committee raising the concerns of members with local, central and UK Government including the Employers National Insurance rise and disparity around town centre car parking. Antrim Chamber co-presented the UK Government with businesses concerns around the incoming General Product Safety Regulations as well as joining forces with other chambers to lobby for town centre rates relief.

The Chair welcomed the newest committee members Sean McLaughlin of Stone Hound Pub & Kitchen /The Boathouse and Alan Stewart of Mivan.

Wrapping up the AGM, Joanna highlighted the benefits of joining the Chamber of Commerce; the cornerstone of the business community in Antrim, here to advocate for members interest, promote pro-business initiatives, provide networking opportunities and valuable business connections, as well as helping to address challenges faced by the community.