Sark Chamber of Commerce welcome new council

At its recent Annual General Meeting, the Sark Chamber of Commerce elected four new Council members excited to move forward with new ideas to promote and propel local business and commerce on the Island of Sark.

This newly elected Chamber Council consists of new members of the Chamber of Commerce and relatively new faces to the Island: Sheree Holly, Chamber President, Scott Sullivan Vice President, Harry Rauser, Secretary and Steve Peter, Treasurer

“We wanted to thank Kevin, Natalie, and Gail for their work in keeping the Chamber of Commerce going for the last two years, a particularly difficult time to navigate during COVID and a challenging economic environment. We are looking forward to working with local businesses and have some exciting plans that we look forward to executing,” said Holly.

The Chamber has already started on its new path with a new website launched this week at Sark Chamber of Commerce, along with a fresh new logo to give a more modern look while still staying true to Sark’s heritage. The new website has also included an updated business members directory featuring all current members.

“We also have an exciting first project underway which we’re looking forward to announcing to Chamber members and the wider Sark community in the next few months,” said Sullivan.

Interestingly, the new site also has the individual emails of all Chamber members:

“We want to foster more communication between the Chamber and all stakeholders on Sark. We’re out among the community all the time as residents, and we’re here to help and promote business and commerce. We’re always open to having a chat. We know that being a small Island, there is a lot of interest in the direction business on the Island takes,” said Holly.

The new Chamber looks forward to working with all interested parties to encourage and assist local businesses, whether members, local government, residents, or partners at the Guernsey and Alderney Chambers of Commerce or further abroad.

“The success of Sark as a whole is directly correlated with the Island’s businesses, so we want to do everything we can to help all succeed,” said Holly.

Since taking up her position, Holly has already attended the first monthly event at the Guernsey Chamber and was encouraged by the reception she received from new Guernsey Chamber of Commerce President Diane de Garis. She also mentioned that several businesses on the Island aren’t yet members of the Chamber and that the Committee would love to hear from them in the coming months, especially as upcoming plans start to be made public.

“Feedback from all businesses in the months ahead will be critical. I understand there have been some legacy issues and difficulties, but we look forward to moving forward with exciting new ideas. We have ideas that we hope everyone will benefit from.”

The Chamber has already had several exciting ideas presented at meetings held earlier this year. The new Chamber confirmed these items remain on the agenda, and they are looking forward to seeing how much can be achieved over the next year.

“It will be a challenge, but we are confident we are up to the task,” said Sullivan.

This article first appeared in the Sark Newspaper : May 6th 2022