Chamber News

Two Waterford greats to address Chamber dinner

Two of Waterford’s famous sons, Irish Ambassador to the US Dan Mulhall and Sports Council of Ireland CEO John Treacy are the guest speakers at this year’s Waterford Chamber Annual Dinner on Friday, November 8^th in the Tower Hotel.

The Annual Dinner, sponsored by Manguard Plus, is the highlight of Waterford’s business calendar and promises again to be an excellent social event with a great opportunity for networking and client hospitality. The evening will begin at 7:30pm with a drinks reception sponsored by McDonald Dwyer Reddy & Byrne Insurances, followed by speeches and dinner.

As Waterford continues to make its mark on the global stage, Waterford Chamber President Jonathan Earl is delighted to be joined by two influential speakers for the business dinner.

“Waterford is on the cusp on something great right now and no matter the size of your business, we must all be aware that we are now operating in a global environment. Who more fitting to address this than our speakers, Ambassador Dan Mulhall and John Treacy. This year’s annual dinner will celebrate the global successes of our ex-patriots who are still flying the flag for Waterford around the globe.”

Speaking on behalf of sponsors Manguard Plus, Steve Coleman said “Following our acquisition by Manguard Plus, what began as a small local business, now has a far reaching national and international client base. We may be doing it from a hill in Tramore, but we are dealing with world-wide issues and we are to the forefront of security in that regard. Being associated with a prestigious event such as the Waterford Chamber Annual Dinner is the perfect opportunity for us to showcase our corporate offering to the right audience.”

Group tickets and individual tickets are available from Waterford Chamber at a cost of €100 incl VAT, available here. For more information contact Lynda Lawton on 051 311130.

Today, CSNA Skillnet rolled out a topical seminar in Dublin to officially launch their new training network for the Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association (CSNA). The retail-focused event covered a wide range of topics including insurance, security, health and safety, human resources and valuation, rates and rent. The many business owners and managers in attendance enjoyed a series of fast-paced presentations that offered profitable retail training solutions in each area.

JDM Insurance, Pro-Secure, Safety Solutions, Excel Recruitment and the Valuations Office all had representatives delivering expert advice and solutions in their chosen field. Dublin Spar retailer Mary Glennon of The Glennon Group also spoke about her personal and professional development journey which had retailers at the edge of their seats.

Speaking at the launch Dave Flynn, Executive Director at Skillnet Ireland said “The CSNA Skillnet will drive greater levels of productivity, innovation and customer excellence within Ireland’s convenience stores and newspaper retailing sector. As businesses seek to address pressing challenges and new opportunities, it’s essential to ensure that people have the right skills for the business to grow and thrive.”

Insurance insights from Gerry Monks highlighted the simplest way to protect your business from slips and trips claims are to have simple wipe your feet signs clearly visible in line with the CCTV footage to show that customers were advised to take care in your premises.

Safety Solutions representative, Gary Lynch explained that the number one injury-causing activity in the workplace is manual handling.

Maurice Hickey from Pro-Secure Training estimated the cost of a wrongful accusation is €36,500 per incident when you combine the claim cost, private investigator fees, barrister professional costs and expenses etc.

Cillian Byrnes of the Valuations Office took questions from the many retailers in attendance, mainly around the appeals process considering many revaluation notices were received by CSNA members in recent days.

Nikki Murran of Excel Recruitment gave a really interesting presentation on how to recruit and retain retail staff which members are reporting they are finding much harder to source.

Vincent Jennings, CEO of The CSNA said “We are delighted with how today has gone, the speakers were excellent. Essentially, we have all been treated to a showcase of CSNA Skillnet, the types of courses we offer our members and the value that this retail-focused training can offer their businesses. The seminar format was a very appropriate way to officially launch CSNA Skillnet and we are definitely looking forward to rolling out a wide variety of courses to the retail community over the coming months.”