The AGM of County Kildare Chamber was held on Monday evening ( 14th October) in the Chamber HQ in Naas. Luke Hanahoe of Hanahoe and Hanahoe Solicitors in Naas was elected President. Luke who is a long serving member of the Chamber and committee member for the past 4 years. County Kildare Chamber can now announce they have reached the significant milestone of a membership of 400 companies employing 37,000 people in the county which in turn has necessitated the appointment of a new Business Development Manager for the organisation. The Chamber recently won Chamber of the Year at the National Chamber of the Year awards and a Chamber delegation returned earlier this month from Boston where businesses won new contracts and made new contacts which will benefit business in Kildare in the medium term.
The newly elected President Luke Hanahoe said, “ It is an incredible honour and privilege to be elected President of Kildare Chamber. I am really looking forward to working with and on behalf of the membership to ensure Kildare businesses continue to thrive. The membership of Kildare Chamber is incredibly well served by Allan Shine and his team and I will work tirelessly with them to ensure the Chamber continue to provide the services that our members require and deserve”.
Allan Shine, CEO of the Chamber said today, “ Maureen Bergin served as President of the Chamber for 2 years and in that time the membership has grown to 400 businesses, we have embarked on two very successful trade missions this year and I believe that our complete offering to businesses in Kildare has evolved and that this Chamber is on a strong footing going forward. I look forward to working with our new President Luke Hanahoe in his term in office and also with the newly elected committee members, Brian Purcell and Clodagh Hughes. The appointment this month of Rachel Cooke as Business Development Manger is due to the continued growth in membership of the organisation and this is a significant addition to the organisation as we continue to grow and support the business community in Kildare”.
Luke Hanahoe has a vision for business over the next 2 years in Kildare which will see the Chamber offerings increase. “ We will launch a new Chamber Advisory Panel later this year. We are asking 15 key stakeholders in Kildare, who are at the pinnacle of their different industries to support, advise and mentor many of the exciting and emerging SME’s based throughout the county. We are lucky that Kildare has an amazing array of business leaders, who are thankfully eager to support our many SME’s. I look forward to launching this initiative later this year. High on my agenda will also be a meeting with Peter Carey, CEO of Kildare County Council later this month. Peter is a passionate supporter of the Chamber and business in Kildare. I look forward to our continued co-operation with Peter and his team and I will be strongly encouraging him to endorse business in the county by obviating any potential rate increase. We require our Local Government to be pro-business and we need Kildare to be an attractive place to do business. We in the Chamber will work alongside our County Council to ensure that Kildare remains the location of choice for business.
This, like any year, will present new challenges and opportunities for business throughout the county. A strong business voice is essential so that we can meet the challenges and maximise the opportunities. For business in Kildare, that voice is the Chamber. However, the Chamber is only as strong as its membership so I would urge all businesses in Kildare to join our Chamber, so we can become one voice, to serve, promote and grow business throughout the county”.
Allan Shine concluded by saying, “ Our voice is heard in Government departments, we engage on a continuous basis with Kildare County Council, our TD’s and all key stakeholders in Kildare and the Mid-East Region. In 2020 we embark on several trade missions with our members that include the UK, Brussels and we will also return to Boston in October. We are setting up a Kildare Boston Business Association and are hosting a trade delegation from Boston in Kildare in March 2020 which is an excellent opportunity for us to showcase Kildare as the ideal location for businesses entering the EU from the US to locate to”.
Elected at the County Kildare Chamber AGM were:
Chamber President: Luke Hanahoe (Hanahoe and Hanahoe Solicitors)
Vice President: Mairead Hennessey (Taxkey)
Treasurer: Keith Traynor (KT Accountants)
Secretary: Ronan Twohig (Gannon Office Solutions)
Executive Committee
Brian Purcell (BP Communications)
Clodagh Hughes (Bank of Ireland)
John Hurley (Fiach Financial)
Maureen Bergin (Kildare Village
Noel Dempsey (The Dooley Insurance Group)
Mary Fenin Byrne (The Clanard Court Hotel)
Evan Arkwright (The Curragh Racecourse)
Lloyd O’Rourke (VEI Global)
Pat Sutton (O’Kelly Sutton Chartered Accountants)