President's Column | August 12, 2019

 On Thursday, 15 August three Board members from Dungog Regional Tourism (DRT) took a familiarisation tour of the Chichester State Forest of Dungog Shire with Mike Hill, Partnerships Leader, Forestry Corporation of N.S.W.  I attending the tour in my capacity as a Board Member of DRT and President of the DDCC. Board Chair Dr Cameron Archer, Ivan Skaines from Gresford and myself had the privilege of hearing first hand some of the challenges facing the organisation, including anti-social behaviour, high visitor numbers in certain times of the year such as long weekends and holiday period and a very tight budget which also has to stretch over other contingencies such as the upcoming fire season.

As some of you would know, Chichester State Forest is divided into two distinct areas, the western side centred on the Allyn River and the eastern side centred on the Telegherry River.  Part of the reason for our tour was to inspect camping sites across the two areas and Mike explained the Corporation’s plans for upgrading, including separating campers and cars in some of the sites, improved drainage and a new toilet at Frying Pan Creek.  Most of these works are part of the $1.33 million grant Dungog Regional Tourism Inc secured under the NSW government's Regional Growth - Environment and Tourism Fund to boost camping and outdoor recreation across the Dungog Shire.

Highlights of the day were lookouts on Mt Allyn, which had fantastic views to Muswellbrook and to the north towards Careys Peak and to south, and another along Skimmings Gap Road which had views over the Dungog area towards Kooragang Island, as well as the popular Ladies Well in the Upper Allyn.

We also had the opportunity to inspect sites where work has been performed by The Friends of Chichester, a volunteer group in partnership with Forest NSW is to help redevelop the walks, look outs and points of interest in the Chichester State Forest

So, thanks to Mike for taking us up through the State Forests and it will of enormous value to us and Dungog Regional Tourism into the future.  You are to be commended on the great work you do with limited resources. My fellow board members and I really enjoyed it and appreciated your time and honest commentary on the sites, your challenges and your aspirations.

DDCC firmly believe tourism is everyone’s business and so important to our local economy. Every dollar coming into the tourism industry is directly related to a boost in local spending.

Congratulations to the organisers of the Dungog Tea Party. I have been advised hundreds of entries arrived for the Tea Cosy Challenge and Trivet Competition. Buses full of visitors have booked to come each day to the exhibition so it is going to be wonderful opportunity to showcase your business. It’s not too late to jump on board and plan some special activities for your business or organisation.

The event runs from Tuesday 20th August at 11am until Sunday 25th August. It is shaping up to be a huge event. Tea cosies, trivets, unique teapots and a number of other tea related products will be on display at the James Theatre from 10am to 4pm daily. A student artwork display will be Lovey’s IGA together with a number of other great activities

Presidents Column | July

Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Dungog District Chamber of Commerce will be held at The Settlers Arms Cnr Brown and Lord Streets, Dungog on Thursday 22 August, 2019 at 6.30pm. Dinner will be available following the meeting at a cost of $30.00 per head

In accordance with the Constitution of the Dungog District Chamber of Commerce, to be eligible for nomination to office or to vote in the election process, you must be a current member of the Dungog District Chamber of Commerce. Subscription renewals were recently issued and we request that you attend to payment of your membership subscription at your earliest convenience, if you haven’t already done so. 

If you are a current financial member and feel you would like to contribute your experience, skills and time as a Committee Member to help continue to shape the Dungog District Chamber of Commerce as a valued service for businesses within the District, please contact me on 0432 128 143

Bookings are essential for dinner. To book head to https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/agm-dinner-meeting-tickets-67108588595

Following an initial announcement last year I have now received an update regarding the NSW Government, Easy to Do Business Service. 

In 2018 the NSW Government introduced Easy to do Business, a free service offered across a range of industries, that gives you personalised help and support when starting or expanding a small business .Easy to do Business also provides the support of a dedicated personal Business Concierge to help guide customers through the process, answer their questions, liaise with agencies, and review their applications.

The programme now has a dedicated Relationship Manager for the Hunter North Region, which includes Dungog, Craig Aspinall M 0437 041 194 craig.aspinall@service.nsw.gov.au .Craig has indicated he is happy to speak to anyone requiring assistance. This assistance extends to not only starting a new business but extending an existing business.

There has also been further industries added to the portal which now includes:  cafe, restaurant or small bar, housing construction, clothing retail business, print business and road freight transport business. Head to https://mybusiness.service.nsw.gov.au/ to visit the Easy to Do Business website.

And a reminder … Vote for My Community Project and help support local Dungog Shire projects which will benefit our local community.  There is up to $260,000 is available for every NSW electorate.  More than 1,500 ideas have been put forward including upgraded sports facilities, all-abilities playgrounds and multicultural events.

Voting closes 15 August. Successful projects will be announced in September.  Head to https://mycommunityproject.service.nsw.gov.au/  to cast your vote

Kind Regards,

Jennifer Lewis

President – Dungog District Chamber of Commerce

President's Column | June 21

The Dungog District Chamber of Commerce is an independent voluntary representative organisation for the Dungog Shire Business Community.

We welcome as members, all large and small businesses and individual operators who aim to enhance their own business opportunities and who recognize the value of working collectively through the Chamber to create optimal quality-of-life for the local community as a whole. Each year the Chamber attempts to facilitate a number of events, initiatives and promotions.

We also strive to support and represent our member’s business interests and provide a range of services which includes providing timely and reliable information to our members, promoting Dungog and Districts as a destination for new business and encouraging spending on goods and services available locally.

Our monthly networking evenings and social events, hosted at venues throughout the Dungog Shire and featuring a guest speaker, offer an ideal platform for meeting, discussing and promoting business service and products.

As Chamber Alliance members through the NSW and Hunter Business Chambers, members are also able to receive a number of added benefits free of charge. 

Funding for the DDCC comes almost entirely from membership and to continue to make the Chamber work we ask that you continue to support us by renewing your membership. Membership renewals will be issued shortly. If you are not a member and wish to find our more head to our website www.ddcc.org.au. Or contact me at president@ddcc.org.au

After a break in June our dinner meetings will recommence in July. The July meeting will be held on Thursday 18 July, 2019 at 6.30pm at Stella Bistro, Dowling Street Dungog. Cost will be $30.00 per had and our guest speaker will be Tim Norris from Restart IT. Members and guests are welcome so to book head to dinner@ddcc.org.au.

Kind Regards,

Jennifer Lewis

President – Dungog District Chamber of Commerce

President's Column | June 12

Glorious winter weather saw locals and visitors out and about throughout the Dungog Shire over the long weekend. Businesses throughout the Shire have reported good trade, particularly on Saturday. Businesses from Vacy, Gresford, Paterson, Clarence Town and Dungog have all reported particularly high numbers of visitors, which is great news.

The good weather also helped to attract a good number of people to camp around the Shire.

There are also a number of other events coming up over the next few months and these are listed at visitdungog.com.au.  Or for information contact the Dungog Shire Visitor Information Centre by phoning 4992 2212 or by email at wendyf@dungog.nsw.gov.au.

I had the opportunity to catch up with Michelle Dado-Millynn who is part of the Single Use Plastic Free Dungog Team this week. The team are focused on providing alternatives, best practice recycling and closed loop solutions and are asking the business community to work with them to proactively reduce waste, choose reusable and recycle best practice. There is currently a wonderful opportunity to put a spotlight on the Dungog Shire  in more ways than one by becoming a role model regionally, nationally and beyond. Dungog Shire Council and many local businesses are already on board, with responsible and sustainable best practices. 

The business community is key in their support and involvement to choose to recycle best practice & provide and use alternatives to single use plastics where they can. If we work together we can set a fantastic example for others to follow. Yellow lid recycling bins, Return & Earn drop off, soft plastics and take away coffee cup recycling will all be in place. Council will be installing a water refill station in Dungog with a plan for more to be installed throughout the Shire. These will encourage people to use refillable reusable water bottles rather than disposable plastic water bottles. We are working hard to make choosing reusable as easy as possible for the community to support and practically choose to do. 

One of the most urgent environmental issues for the planet is the enormous amount used (largely just once) of single use plastics; bags, straws, bottles, t/a coffee cups, cutlery & containers

For more information about this initiative and how your business can be involved contact Michelle at boomerangbagsdungog@gmail.com

Jun 10, 2019

President's Column | June 2

Our congratulations and many thanks to all who participated in this year’s Dungog District Chamber of Commerce Business Awards. This year’s programme was an outstanding success with another record year of nominations. It is encouraging to see yet another strong year of nominations, proving local business is thriving in the community.

Once again this year, our nominations reflected a growth in new businesses which is exciting and shows a growth in the diversity of the local business community in response to changing demographics.  We continue to see exceptional growth in the new business category, in particular over the last few years which reflects what’s happening in the Dungog Shire.

There’s such a diverse range of businesses nominated overall, it’s testament to our tightly knit community spirit and strong support for local business. There also appears to be an ongoing trend of decentralized business, work from home etc. etc.  Some real opportunities for small communities like the Dungog Shire to prosper, provided the right infrastructure and services are available.

The awards programme culminated with our awards presentation at the Clarence Town School of Arts Hall when over 150 gathered together to celebrate the achievements of our business community , community organisations and individuals from throughout the Dungog Shire. These awards are a wonderful opportunity to celebrate excellence in the local business and volunteer community and showcase their success.

This year it was our great honour to announce that our Community Sector Award will now be named the Colleen Duffy Community Service Award. This award will now be a tribute to our wonderful, inspiring friend and colleague Colleen Duffy who sadly passed away earlier this year. Colleen’s contribution to the community and work as a volunteer will never be forgotten. This year the award went to Clarence Town Community First Responders. This year we were also pleased to announce Ros Runciman as our 2019 inductee to the Hall of Fame. For a full list of winners and runners up please head to our website www.ddcc.org.au

Finally, these annual awards raise awareness of the contribution local businesses bring to the community and reward those who have provided great service throughout the year. Without our generous sponsors and members they would not be possible. If you would like to find out more about the awards click here.

President's Column | May 7, 2019

Nominations for the 2019 Dungog District Chamber of Commerce Business Awards have now closed. Celebrating 13 years in 2019 these awards offer the community an opportunity to reward business and individuals in the Dungog Shire who have stepped up to the plate, provided good quality service and promoted the Dungog Shire. These awards offer the opportunity for all businesses, not just Dungog District Chamber members, to be nominated and recognised. Our process involves members of the community, such as you, to nominate in 12 categories businesses, individuals and community organisations, which we believe is the essence of the success of these awards.

The awards would not be possible of course without the continued support of our valued sponsors including our major sponsor the Dungog Chronicle. Also, this year we are delighted to announce our major sponsor The Dungog Chronicle, will present to the winner of the Overall Business Excellence category an advertising package with the Dungog Chronicle which is valued in excess of $5,000.00. This is in addition to the winner’s trophy presented at the awards ceremony.

This year 415 separate nominations that converted to 148 discrete business or individual nominations were received. A full list of the nominees is available in this edition of the Dungog Chronicle and is also available on our website www.ddcc.org.au.  Judging will now commence with winners and runners up announced on the 18th May, 2019. The process includes consideration of the comments on the nomination form together with enquires to selected businesses, individuals and organisations. The results are not formulated by how many nominations businesses individuals or organisations receive, but on merit.

Our winners in selected categories, also have the opportunity to proceed to the Hunter Business Chamber Awards and then to the NSW State Business Awards. This offers these business the opportunity to showcase their business and the Dungog Shire to the region and then, possibly the State.

This year, the awards program will culminate in a gala awards presentation evening at the Clarence Town School of Arts Hall on 18th May, 2019 when the winners and runners up will be announced.  This evening brings together members of the community to celebrate their achievements over the last year and everyone is welcome to attend. If you would like to join us, or perhaps make a group booking for your business, tickets are $65.00 per head and can be reserved by going to www.ddcc.org.au or emailing awards@ddcc.org.au.

President's Column | March 20, 2019

Vale- Colleen Duffy

It is with great sadness that Dungog District Chamber of Commerce learned over the weekend of the passing of our long-time committee member, collelague and very close friend Colleen Duffy from Clarance Town.

Not only an instrinsic part of the chamber committee, our wonderful and inspiring Colleen was held in high regards by all who had the pleasure of knowing and working with her. Her many volunteer roles included Executive Committee of the Clarence Town Progess Association and President of the Clarence Town School of Arts Hall committee. Colleen was also pivotal in the establishment of Boomerang Bags, Clarence Town.

Colleen’s effort, time and dedication in all these roles is immeasureable, but together with her husband Michael, her love and care of Clarence Town School Arts Hall will always be truly inspirational in my mind. Colleen, Michael and her committee worked tirelessly to bring the School of Arts Hall to life, improving the facilities and making it a focus of community life in the town. Improvements and develpment of the hall were only due to the commitment of Colleen and the volunteer committee with grant applications and fundraisers.

A very typical example of Colleen’s work is recent highly successful and sold out Small Halls Festival event held at the Clarence Town School of Arts on January 30. Colleen worked with the organisers of the Small Halls Festival to bring the event to Clarence Town, and to work out the actual logistics of staging the event including organising local entertainers to take part in the concert. She also worked with a team of local volunteers to provide refreshments, decorate the hall and take photgraphs of the event.

Colleens’s firm hand and straight talking manner, together with her compassionate and sensible approach, established her as a respected community leader and strong advocate for the town of Clarence Town, which she loved so much. Colleen was also passionate about maintaining the connection between the towns of Clarence Town and Dungog. Her representation for Clarence Town businesses and organisations Shire wide and further afield also did not go unnoticed.

In 2017 Colleen received the Dungog District Chamber of Commerce Volunteer Award.

Our wonderful, beautiful, intelligent and sassy Colleen Duffy: we are going to miss you. You were truly a role model for us all.

Our deepest sympathies to her husband Michael: and her family and friends.

Jennifer Lewis

President- Dungog District Chamber of Commerce

President's Column | March 6, 2019

As reported elsewhere in this edition of the Chronicle the news of the closure of Williams River Holiday Park at Clarence Town came as a shock to not only the Clarence Town community but the Dungog Shire Community.  In essence, the Chamber has written to Dungog Shire Council on behalf of our member businesses seeing clarification on a number of matters. We are keen to hear from Council about the options being considered for the future of the Park given its importance for local businesses, and events held in Clarence Town each year. The Chamber is also keen work with Dungog Regional Tourism to ensure the $93,000 grant for the park, which was part of the overall $1.3million received to improve outdoor tourism can still be used for the park which is an important community asset.

Members and guests recently met at the Dungog Memorial RSL our meet the candidates evening. All candidates for the upcoming State Election attended presenting their policies and addressing our audience on matters that they considered important to the Dungog Shire. The evening was a success with candidates remaining for questions afterwards and some joining us for a meal at the RSL afterwards.

Congratulations to the organising Committee for Sculpture on the Farm who have received funding under the Destination NSW Incubator Event Fund. The Fund is a Destination NSW program that offers seed funding to events in Regional NSW to support their first and second years of activity.   The event will be held over the October Long Weekend 2019.  Unfortunately, the Dungog Tea Party, which will be held 20-25 August 2019, were unsuccessful in their application.

As I have said before, both these events, and almost all other events held across the Shire each year, are organised by volunteer committees and will do much to encourage spending in local businesses, bring visitors to the Shire and promote Dungog Shire to the wider community.  This week the autumn event calendar across the Shire kicks off with the holding of the first major event, the Gresford Show on Friday, 8 March and Sunday, 9 March.

Our next dinner network meeting will be held at the Clarence Town Bowling Sport and Recreation Club on Thursday 21st March,, 2019. Our guest speaker will be Coralie Nichols General Manager of Dungog Shire Council. To book contact Colleen Duffy email dinner@ddcc.org.au or telephone 0400 603403.

President's Column | January 20, 2019

The Chamber is pleased to announce that we will present a "Meet the Candidates" Forum on Thursday 28th February 2019 at the Dungog RSL to allow local voters the opportunity to meet candidates who have enrolled for the upcoming NSW State Election.

All known candidates have been extended an invitation and are expected to attend .The forum will allow each candidate to present their platform, where they stand on key issues and what they hope to achieve for the Dungog Shire.

Members and guests are welcome to attend however you must reserve your seat for the forum by emailing secretary@ddcc.org.au or registering https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/meet-the-candidates-tickets-54957149313

Guest are encouraged to remain after the forum for a meal or drink to catch up the candidates one on one.

I have been very pleased over the last couple weeks to be able to provide letters of support on behalf of the Dungog District Chamber of Commerce to the Committees organising the Sculpture on the Farm and the Dungog Tea Party for their applications for funding under the Incubator Event Fund. The Dungog Tea Party will be held 20-25 August 2019 and the Sculpture on the Farm over the October Long Weekend 2019.

The Fund is a Destination NSW program that offers seed funding to events in Regional NSW to support their first and second years of activity. The fund supports innovative events that demonstrate sound organisational planning, have a unique alignment with the character and culture of the local region and which can demonstrate a broad appeal likely to promote tourism and attract overnight visitation.

Both these events are organised by volunteer committees and will do much to encourage spending in local businesses, bring visitors to the Shire and promote Dungog Shire to the wider community.

These and other events organised by teams of volunteers across the Shire do much to attract visitors to our area, and are also of interest to locals and it was a pleasure to offer these letters of support.

Preparations are also underway for this year’s Business Awards. The awards will take place on Saturday 18th May, 2019 and will once again recognise excellence in business over fourteen categories. Sponsorship opportunities will open soon and we look forward to bringing the awards to the community.

President's Column | January 6, 2019

Happy New Year to everyone and I hope you all enjoyed and continue to enjoy a busy and prosperous holiday season.

It’s been great to see visitors flocking the Dungog Shire over the last couple of weeks, even with extremely high temps there has been a steady stream of holiday makers and day trippers many stopping, shopping, eating and stocking up. All of this contributes to the local economy.

Wendy Farrow from the Dungog Shire Visitor Information Centre has reported solid visitation to the VIC with about 265 people in five day period between Thursday, 26 December and Monday, 31 December 2018. Numbers have also been high in the New Year with enquiries mainly in relation to camping and swimming spots.

Mike Hill, Partnerships Leader, Forestry Corporation of NSW (FCNSW) has provided Dungog Regional Tourism and Dungog Shire Council with estimates of visitation to the Chichester State Forest over the Christmas-New Year period.

Mike and his colleagues conducted a four day blitz in the Upper Allyn precinct from Saturday, 29 December 2018 to Tuesday 1 January 2019. The figures provided by Mike show that there were 668 vehicles entering the forest (previous year comparison 362 vehicles over 3 days), which is 38% increase in vehicle numbers (daily average). This relates to 1,905 individuals entering the forest over this 4 day period (previous year comparison 1,054 individuals over 3 days), which is 36% increase in daily visitor numbers. About 30% of visitors were campers and the balance day visitors, and this proportion is fairly consistent with last year, and the majority were family groups.

FCNSW officers and field staff have been working very hard to address anti-social behaviour in the forests, and in particular in the Upper Allyn with an entry/check point near the Upper Allyn village.

Policing has also been increased including police on trail bikes and some policing paid for by FCNSW. The report from Mike clearly shows that visitor behaviour is improving but of course continued vigilance is no doubt necessary, visitor numbers are increasing and Forestry Corporation of NSW efforts and policies are working.

The Board of Dungog Regional Tourism has supported FCNSW in their endeavours and has applied for funding under the NSW Regional, Growth, Environment and Tourism Fund to further this partnership, along with the improvement in other publicly owned camping facilities across the Shire.

Camping, without a doubt seems to be the preferred method of vacation these days.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge and thank Ivan Skaines for this continued support to the DDCC during his employment with Dungog Shire Council in his role as Economic Development and Tourism Officer. Ivan has contributed regularly to this column together with our many Chamber promotions and initiatives over many years, for which we are very grateful.