POTTED HISTORY OF THE CHAMBER

The Chamber of Commerce was formed more than 400 years ago by a group of
English merchants to protect their businesses from piracy and smuggling. They later
used their combined strength to lobby parliament for fairer taxes.

Despite tremendous changes in trading and internationalisation of the Chamber, the
basic intent is still as relevant as ever – to combat commercial piracy and illegal
importations and to minimise government interference in the affairs of business.

In New Zealand most cities and towns sported their own Chamber of Commerce.
They were required to pay affiliation levies to the national body but many felt they
received little benefit from those dues so cancelled their charters and operated
instead as local business associations.

In the 1980s in response to the downturn in membership the New Zealand Chambers
of Commerce reformed to better serve the needs of local business communities.
This model is based on the four main centres of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch
and Dunedin acting as hubs and providing technical and financial support for the
provincial chambers. The Northern Hub centred on Auckland takes in the nine
provincial chambers from Taupo to Northland.

EASTERN BAY CHAMBER of
COMMERCE CONSTITUTED

The Eastern Bay of Plenty Chamber of Commerce was constituted in the early 1990s
and covers the three local body districts of Opotiki, Whakatane and Kawerau under
the presidency of Peter Patterson. When Peter retired about 1996, Graeme
Steenson filled the position for two years, followed by Nelson Rangi who resigned
because of ill health in 2004.

At this point Helen Stewart stepped in to the vacancy resigning in July 2007, followed by
Bronwen Foxx who resigned in July 2008.  Gerard Casey took over as Chamber President in July 2008.

Over the past three years, there has been an increased need for a widening to the role of the Executive Officer, with more project based responsibilities and high level of Membership interactions.

The Chamber Executive Committee have spent considerable time and energy determining the best strategy for delivering good value to its Members, meeting our current and future commitments and ensuring that we are lobbying Local, Regional and Central Government on issues that are facing businesses in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

Our existing Executive Officer role was not able to fulfill this need; so the Executive Committee has made the decision to appoint a Chief Executive Officer.  It is our great pleasure to announce that Gerard Casey is appointed as the Chamber Chief Executive Officer.

The Chamber Executive Committee believes that Gerard has the strength, drive and commitment to lead the Chamber forward and we are already seeing significant gains in networking, membership numbers and our ability to speak on behalf of our members.

This appointment is a significant step in the development of the Eastern Bay of Plenty Chamber of Commerce and we believe that it will  lead to further exciting projects and member benefits.  Gerard will remain the key contact for all media. 

Bronwen Foxx, CEO of Disabilities Resource Centre Trust steps back into the role of president for 2011/12. Bronwen is looking forward to the role again and working with the current board.  Bronwen will chair the executive meetings and ensure the new strategic plan is implemented.  

2011/12 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Gerard Casey - CEO
The Big Company

Bronwen Foxx - President
Disabilities Resource Centre 

Ajay Anand - Immediate Past President
Horizon Energy Distribution Limited

Chris Power
Bay of Plenty Energy

Colin Leonard
Focus Chartered Accountants

Jeremy Gardiner
Te Runanga o Ngati Awa

Julie Jukes
Rosita's

Peter Wilmot
ANZ Bank

Rosemary Johnson
Waiariki Institute of Technology

Stewart McLeod
TradeSkills

Yvonne Blanch
3P Learning

Kirsten Ashcroft
Office Administrator
Eastern Bay Chamber of Commerce