Lake Eucumbene Chamber of Commerce (Incorporated)


Postal address: PO Box 14, ADAMINABY, NSW 2629

The LAKE EUCUMBENE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (Inc.)


The Lake Eucumbene Chamber of Commerce (Inc.) was established at a public meeting in December 2002. Since then it has worked hard to foster business and economic development throughout the whole Eucumbene area. It has an active business and social policy and believes that economic development and a healthy community environment are intertwined.


Executive Committee
Jan Leckström Chair, Email: jan@alpinetouristpark.com.au
Bill Sutton, Deputy Chair, Email: bill@internetmarketingsolution.com.au
Brent Haley, Secretary & Public Officer, Email: bghaley@lisp.com.au
Kerry Parrott, Treasurer, Email: info@rainbowpines.com.au


2007 ACTIVITIES: ............View the record of our 2006 Meetings & Activities
MEETINGS:

  • Our December meeting was held on Tues 4th in the Adaminaby Hall.
    On the same day the Board of Directors of Tourism Snowy Mountains (right) held their meeting in Adaminaby. This special event was a direct result from our May meeting with Chairman of the Board, Gary Grant (centre) and Andrea Forsyth, the Executive Officer (second from right). At the beginning of their meeting the Board heard a submission from the local Fishing Club. The Board and Chamber members got together for lunch and at the conclusion of the two meetings for afternoon tea. Throughout their visit the Board was shown highlights that the area has to offer especially the new plans for the Adaminaby Snowy Museum, the magnificent Hall Curtains and handicrafts prepared by the Adaminaby Craft Group.
    At its short general meeting @ 1pm, Chamber members discussed the condition of the sign located on the lawn at the Snowy Mountains Highway-Denison Street corner. A sub-committee of four was set up to examine 3 options and the effect these would have on local businesses. These options are: refurbishment, leaving as is and demolition. The sub-committee was instructed to obtain input from the town's businesses, prepare a submission and report back to the next meeting.

  • The date of our November meeting was moved a week earlier because of Melbourne Cup Day and was held on Tuesday 30thOctober at 7.30 pm in the Adaminaby Hall. Our guest speaker was our Federal member for Eden-Monaro, Gary Nairn, who is also Special Minister of State. A very interesting meeting took place with excellent audience interaction. Gary spoke about the Federal Government's direct and ongoing relationship with smaller regional communities Australia-wide over the last 11½ years. He said this had been achieved by listening attentively to community needs, citing in our area the major work that had been done on our Hall via Federal Regional Partnership Grant and the building of a library at the local school which has just thirty students. This had been achieved with money from a Federal Schools Partnership fund.
    In photo, members chat with Gary (at right).

    Gary indicated his continuing support for the Cooma-Monaro Council's application to AusLink for Strategic Road funding to have their section of the Bobeyan Road sealed. He said this application is currently with the Minister. He also spoke about the Volunteers' Small Equipment Grant from which many organizations in the local area had benefited. Other issues discussed, which Gary considered vital to the Eden-Monaro community over the last few years were water management, the growth of small businesses and low unemployment, roads, the doubling of aged care beds over the last eleven years, hospitals, health and dental treatment for pensioners. Members brought to his attention Telstra's performance in our immediate area, particularly one prolonged poor service delivery issue involving a landline fault. This had been ongoing for twelve months and had recently culminated in misallocation of costs and cancellation of services to other accounts. Full written information was handed over to Gary who promised to investigate. Detailed discussions then followed about broadband and the importance of fast information delivery to everyone, regardless of their place of residence or business. He concluded by re-iterating to members the excellent state of the economy which was particularly beneficial to the many owners of small businesses who lived and worked in Eden-Monaro. His address was delivered in a very relaxed atmosphere and was followed by supper.


  • Our October meeting was held on Tues. 9th at 7.30pm in the meeting room of the Adaminaby Hall. Snowy Hydro's David Hogan, (seated right front) Regional Marketing Manager and Darryl Pead, Area Manager Kosciusko (standing) were our guest speakers. Snowy Hydro's new growth initiative in Victoria, 'Red Energy, was introduced and discussed. Topics at the meeting were wide ranging and covered a varied spectrum of issues. From the beginning members raised issues of concern forthrightly which were analysed comprehensively by the speakers. Water levels, water use, its local implications, the role of Governments, maintenance, price risks, cloud seeding, operational strategies at MoL, drought patterns and recent research were some of the items covered. Of all the issues, cloud seeding provoked the most animated discussion and will be followed up with more technical information in a meeting, early in 2008. The location of a future boat ramp to be built @ MoL for which funding will have to be sourced soon, was discussed with Mick McKenzie of NSW Maritime (seated in picture above, top left at back). Further discussion followed about the optimum location for the Chamber's recently purchased Weather Station (which had received funding assistance from Snowy Hydro) with regard to water levels. Afterwards, supper was enjoyed and the animated discussion continued.


  • Our September meeting was held on Tuesday 4th Sept 2007 @ 7.30pm in the meeting room of the Adaminaby Hall. Our guest speaker was Col. Mike Kelly, the ALP candidate for Eden-Monaro. This was our first meeting after our winter recess.

    • An extremely interested group of members and local people attended. Mike Kelly spoke about the important Federal issues of health, roads, telecommunications, aged care, water, the environment and Federal-State relations. Our members were extremely anxious to discuss with him the matter of the Bobeyan Road. Members explained to him that the completion of this road had been an ongoing issue of economic concern to the residents of Shannons Flat and Adaminaby for the last eighty years. Therefore, in light of the Cooma-Monaro Council's recent unanimous motion to urgently apply for Federal AusLink funding to seal its part of the unsealed section of this road, it was vital that he understood the implications of this issue and would support it if he were elected. Mike confirmed his support for the Federal 'tourist loop' concept saying the Bobeyan Road is an excellent example of this.
    He, along with many people at this meeting, expressed concern about Telstra's rapid introduction of 'Next G' and stated that he was opposed to the removal of CDMA services until 'Next G' was operating as well as the service it was meant to be replacing. Members gave him recent specific examples of poor maintenance and service delivery by Telstra which had adversely affected their livelihoods such as the recent motor accident which 'wiped out' the exchange box for Old Adaminaby and Anglers Reach. He assured them that a future ALP government was aware of the vital role that the equitable provision of telecommunications played in a country as geographically vast as Australia. He also said that this presented challenges which had yet to be addressed. Health was another matter about which there was a lot of discussion. The aged care situation in Adaminaby, Old Adaminaby and Anglers Reach is a matter of great concern to local people. He talked about an integrated concept of aged-care which is being developed at Moruya East and in which he is involved. He suggested this as a possible model for future development in regional areas. Federal health funding, the involvement of State governments and the situation with dental funding also generated animated discussion.
    He said that the issues of water management and care of the environment are of vital concern to a future ALP government, all of which should be addressed and managed Federally. xxxxxxxx

  • Our June meeting was held on Tues. 5th.

    Our guest speaker was Acacia Rose, the independent candidate for our Federal seat of Eden-Monaro. She addressed the the Chamber informally and encourages people to ask questions. She talked about her association with the Snowys, her interest in communicating with local people and her belief that her role as an Independent candidate was listening to, and learning about, people. She expressed interest in hearing about the concerns of local businesses and communities. She strongly supported the Lake Eucumbene area with its campaign to have the remaining sections of the Bobeyan Road sealed. She spoke about water, its importance to the area and to Australia as a whole. She concluded her address by reiterating that she saw her role as an Independent candidate as serving as a reminder to the major parties that elections were principally about people.

  • Our May meeting was held on Tues. 8th May @ 7.30pm. Guest speakers were the Deputy Chairman of the Board of Tourism Snowy Mountains, Gary Grant and Andrea Forsyth, the Executive Officer. Tourism Snowy Mountains operations were discussed then a Q&A session ensued with members exploring ways to enhance the marketability of our area. Ways to take advantage of a very specific market, namely that of the history of the old town and community submerged 50 years ago, were looked at and many positive decisions were reached. Gary informed the meeting that the TSM Board has acknowledged that in order for local tourism operators in the Lake Eucumbene area to become better acquainted with its operations, is is important to hold a meeting in Adaminaby. This may be in August, but the date would be confirmed closer to the event. This was a very positive meeting.


  • Our April meeting was held on on Tues. 3rd April and was a general business meeting. Many important issues were dealt with and a very productive meeting was held.


  • Our well attended AGM and was held on Tues. 6th March in the meeting room of the Adaminaby Hall @ 7.30pm. Our guest speaker was Steve Horsley, Regional Manager South West Slopes Region, Parks and Wildlife Division Department of Environment Conservation. He spoke about the new KNP Plan of Management, its implications for the northern end of the Park and for Selwyn Snowfields in particular. Many other issues were discussed in depth and some of these were the work being done at the Yarrangobilly Caves, the impact of the winter surcharge in 2007 and its expected impact in 2008, the NPWS's 'Centenary Project', Heritage issues especially the Kiandra Courthouse, NPWS bushfire management, feral animals: their impact management and the restoration of Huts. There was an informal atmosphere, questions which had been submitted before the meeting were answered in depth and other others were discussed as they arose. A very positive two way exchange of ideas took place.

    Ken Prendergast (left) & Bill Sutton (centre) chat to
    Steve Horsley (right), our guest speaker

  • Our first meeting for 2007 was held on Tues. 6thFeb. 2007, at 7.30pm in the meeting room of the Adaminaby Hall. The guest speakers from Snowy Hydro were Darryl Pead (Area Manager Kosciusko) and David Hogan (Regional Marketing Manager). At this well attended meeting which was presented informally, members and community members received updated information about water inflows, predictions about future Lake levels, information regarding assets and their management and plans for the future. During the meeting Snowy Hydro announced that it:
    * Would continue working with the Snowy River Shire Council and financially support the maintenance of the boat ramp at Old Adaminaby until April when this would be reviewed. $9,800 has already been spent on this community initiative.
    * Had allocated $2,500 toward the Chamber's project of installing a weather station with webcam near the boat ramp at Old Adaminaby. The Chamber has been working urgently on this project totalling $3,763 as a safety matter because currently there is no reliable or accurate weather information available about the largest body of water in eastern Australia. Snowy Hydro's significant contribution has moved this Project closer to completion.


    Climate change issues from the perspective of our region were discussed comprehensively. Important local concerns such illegal parking on the OA boat ramp, illegal camping and illegal trail and motor bike riding on Snowy Hydro lands were also discussed. Cooperation with the Snowy River Shire Council was seen as essential for these matters to be satisfactorily resolved. Questions which had been submitted in writing prior to the meeting had been fully researched and the answers were dealt with in detail.


    From left are: Darryl Pead, Jan Leckström & David Hogan.

    General Information:
    The CHAMBER'S REGULAR MEETING DAY
    The first Tuesday in each month, (excluding January, July and August).

    REGULAR MEETING PLACE & TIME:
    Adaminaby Community Hall @ 7.30 pm.

    A. MEMBERSHIP:
    We offer two types of Membership:
    1. Business - available to:
    xxxxxa. Owners of Business located in the Lake Eucumbene Region,
    xxxxxb. Local Organizations, Clubs and Associations
    2. Community:
    xxxxxAvailable to local citizens, who are resident in the area and NOT owners of businesses.

    B. Annual Subscriptions:
    • Business: $80
    • Community: $20

      • Currently there are 23 Business Members and 14 Community Members
      To join or make membership enquiries email: jan@alpinetouristpark.com.au
      BUSINESS MEMBERS RECEIVE:
    1. Listing of their business information on this website with links to their own sites.
    2. An annual speaker program which will:
      xxxxxx*Enhance knowledge and understanding of current business practices.
      xxxxxx*Provide opportunities to meet with Federal, State parliamentary representatives, the
      xxxxxxxxMayor, local Councillors, business leaders and decision makers.
    3. Regular email notification of:
      • Workshops/Seminars being organized by SEACC and the BEC in:
        xxxxxx* Snowy River, Cooma-Monaro & Bombala Shires.
        xxxxxx*ACT-'Capital Country.
      • Changes in workplace legislation and conditions.
      • Tourism newsletters, advertising opportunities and information from Tourism NSW and TSM
    4. Voting rights for each owner/partner of their business/organization,
    5. First priority to attend free of charge, locally organized Workshops and Seminars.
    6. On ALL brochures and publications produced by this Chamber:
      • Listing of members' business information
      • Very favourable rates for additional information if required.
      COMMUNITY MEMBERS RECEIVE:
    1. Minutes of meetings, agendas and notifications of special meetings,
    2. Regular email notification of items of community interest.
    3. The entitlement of one vote per membership
    OUR PLANS for 2007:
    1. Completion of our Strategic Plan,
    2. Commencement of a high quality MARKETING CAMPAIGN with the production of a high quality brochure to publicise the northern Lake Eucumbene region and its Businesses,
    3. To continue to run a productive Chamber of Commerce which will benefit its members in all ways.
    4. As a Chamber of Commerce located in an area with a tourism based economy we are working at improving the area's economy via the development and improvement of the 'Tourist Loop' concept via asphalted roads namely, 1. Adaminaby-Tharwa-Canberra, 2. Adaminaby-Tumut-Tumbarumba, 3. Adaminaby-Berridale-Dalgety
    5. See all our Community Projects through to successful completions.




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