We are pleased to announce that the managing director of Affinity Lawyers, Angus Gordon, has taken up the position of President of the Gold Coast North Chamber of Commerce https://gcncc.org.au/.
Mr Gordon states that “in one of the most uncertain times for the Gold Coast local community, it was a pleasure to be able to assist the Community by leading the Chamber, as it strives to promote the interests of its Members and the wider business community.
With that sentiment, it is probably sensible at this point to describe some of the core characteristics of a Chamber for those who are not members, an overview of the history of Chambers and the role the Gold Coast North Chamber.
WHAT IS A CHAMBER OF COMMERCE?
A chamber of commerce is a not for profit organisation, spearheaded by volunteers that represents the community, with a focus on business and free enterprise, with the goal of marshaling the energies and educational knowledge of its members to achieve better outcomes for the community.
WHAT DOES THE CHAMBER DO?
Chambers are the voice of the local community in regard to campaigning for various matters pertaining to business matters and the free enterprise system. Often, this is undertaken by community events, public relations, business promotions, future economic development opportunities, speaking with local and state government, legislative actions to assist the wants and needs of the local community.
HOW DOES THE CHAMBER WORK?
A chamber operates through its membership and by its constitution, looking for and reviewing issues impacting the business community and developing ideas and solutions to achieve a better ourcome.
HOW IS THE CHAMBER FINANCED?
The operating costs and expenses are generated by membership fees and the active participation of its members, many of whom generate significant time and effort without fee or reward. The investment of time and effort is put forward to generate growth in the community and to achieve tangible outcomes for the benefit of all business operations and the individuals, involved directly or indirectly in business activities.
The main source of income is from fundraising activities, membership and of course time and effort by its members.
History of the Chamber of Commerce
The first use of the term “Chamber of Commerce” occurred in Marseilles, France, where such an organisation was established by the City Council in the late 17th Century. It has been said, that “as long as commerce has existed, traders have banded together. The first purpose of their association was perhaps to seek common protection against enemies. Eventually they established codes to govern trade, and then later they attempted to influence legislation. These early associations of traders have little in common with the Chamber of Commerce of the Millennium”.
The International Chamber of Commerce succinctly describes the history of the Chamber “as Moving beyond individual interests to that of a collective group, the establishment of chambers provided merchants, traders, craftsmen and industrialists a public forum to discuss issues facing them as a business community. This representation of common interests became, and remains, the foundation of chambers of commerce worldwide.
Chambers of commerce today are as diverse in name as the business communities they represent. The word “chamber” is still used in most countries. No longer just chambers of “commerce” and “industry”, chambers also describe themselves as representing “manufacturers”, “entrepreneurship”, “training”, “shipping”, “commodity exchanges”, “agriculture”, investors, individual business entities, online business operations etc, to help reflect the changing shape of business communities they serve.”
The Gold Coast North Chamber of Commerce
The Gold Coast North Chamber of Commerce is the peak representative body for businesses covering Arundel, Parkwood, Biggera Waters, Coombabah, Hollywell, Paradise Point, Runaway Bay, Pacific Pines, Helensvale, Hope Island, Sanctuary Cove, Oxenford, Coomera, Upper Coomera, Pimpama, Ormeau, and their surrounding areas. This is undertaken by fostering a strong business environment and in doing so it is confident that the local community as a whole prospers and develops.
With the advent of the digital economy, Covid, and an explosion of population on the Gold Coast, never has the Northern Gold Coast Chamber faced such a dynamic and interesting opportunity for it to assist its members.
With that in mind, the GCNCC would be pleased to hear your voice, see you at one of our networking events, and or educational webinars, and please feel free to reach out to Mr Gordon or any member of the committee at any time. Membership information is found on the GCNCC website https://gcncc.org.au/.
