Ballina Chamber hosted its very successful B2B Networking morning, with invited guest speakers and panel discussion in the Great National Hotel Ballina on Friday 26th May.
Businesspeople from across the county attended the networking event and business showcase, giving them the opportunity to meet the Chamber, business network and recruit, exhibit their wares and listen to the fantastic guest speakers on the day as well as engage with a Q&A session afterwards.
Tracey McCann Glacken , President of Ballina Chamber welcomed attendees and guest speakers and flagged upcoming Chamber events and town events, such as the ‘Pop Up Shop Initiative’ running throughout the summer in Ballina, the Connacht Fleadh 2023 Ballina taking place in Ballina in June, followed by the The Mary Robinson Centre Climate Conference as part of Ballina 2023 and the Ballina Salmon Festival – Mayo running from the 8th – 15th July.
Tracey McCann Glacken, President of Ballina Chamber; John Magee, Head of Enterprise at Local Enterprise Office Mayo; Minister Dara Calleary , TD, Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment ,
Mags Downey Martin, CEO Ballina Chamber of Commerce 📷 Ballina Chamber Facebook
Tracey added ‘business networking is a valuable way to expand your knowledge, learn from the success of others, attain new clients, tell others about your business, and recruit new staff.’
Invited guest speakers
Mairead Melody Carr, Manager of Mayo North Tourism, was invited to speak about the importance of tourism to Ballina and north Mayo, specifically focusing on the value of international tourism and the impact of recent visit of US President Joe Biden. She also spoke about the potential “Biden Bounce” expected in North Mayo over the next eighteen months.
Mairéad said “I was honoured to join Ballina Chamber of Commerce for their highly successful Ballina Chamber Annual Business Networking event which took place last Friday morning at the Great National Hotel Ballina. Representing Mayo North Tourism, I was delighted to join a wonderful panel of invited speakers”
John Magee, Head of Enterprise at Local Enterprise Office Mayo and Chair of Network of Local Enterprise Offices, spoke about Global Trends: Mayo 2040.
Allan Mulrooney, Interim Chief Executive Officer at Western Development Commission, spoke about building an innovation Ecosystem and overview of the significant work the Western Development Commission (WDC) has undertaken for Mayo and the West of Ireland and
Minister Dara Calleary TD, Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, spoke about the opportunities and threats afforded to the business communities in the west of Ireland.
📷 Ballina Chamber Facebook
Maria Staunton panel discussion moderator, (iHub Manager ATU Mayo / Coordinator of EMPOWER) lead discussion and debate over a variety of relevant topics during the morning.
Ballina Chamber CEO Mags Downey Martin reiterated the point that events like this is an opportunity for the business community to make new connections and copper-fasten existing relationships. Mags stated ‘You never know what can come from a conversation!’
The next upcoming event before the busy summer period is scheduled for mid June, with more details to follow.
