Shannon Chamber president Eoin Gavin and CEO Helen Downes (centre) pictured with Chamber board directors at the launch of the Chamber’s Strategic Plan 2023 -2026 in Dromoland Castle (from left): Ray O’Driscoll, The Shannon Airport Group; David Brown; Stephen Keogh, MHP Sellors; Siobhan Roche, PTG (Precision Tool Group); Mark Nolan, Dromoland Castle Hotel; Kevin Thompstone, the Thompstone Group; and Ian Barrett, Care About You Ltd. Photograph by Eamon Ward
SHANNON CHAMBER has launched its first strategic plan which aims to strengthen the town’s reputation as a forceful business hub.
Six key objectives underpin the plan, they include promotion of sustainable renewable energy, positioning the Chamber as a leader on issues affecting Shannon and the region, promoting the Shannon brand to grow the region’s economy and connectivity, to champion the delivery of the Shannon Town Centre masterplan, to grow and deliver value to its membership and also to be voice and lobbyist for business in Shannon.
A total of 23 actions back up the six key objectives. The actions have been given a hierarchy ranging from level one to five based on what Shannon Chamber can deliver on its own and what it needs to collaborate on with key stakeholders. The actions will be monitored at every board meeting to ensure the implementation is completed within the three year window.
Speaking at the strategy’s launch in Dromoland Castle, Shannon Chamber President, Eoin Gavin noted that it was the first time since it was founded in 1995 that the Chamber has published such a plan. He said Shannon Chamber was set up “by several pioneering executives who saw the need for an organisation that would be a voice for everything synonymous with Shannon. The Chamber has grown considerably in the intervening twenty-eight years. It has become more than the voice of business. Representing over 330 companies with an extended reach to their 15,000 plus employees, it now offers a diverse range of services to its members and the wider business community.
Chief Executive of Shannon Chamber, Helen Downes stated, “Plans are but words on paper if they are not implemented or measurable against attainment in a defined timeline. At the end of 2026, we want to know that, through delivering on every aspect of this Plan, we will have initiated and influenced change that will have positively adjusted the conditions for business and the environment in which our members operate.
“We want to have increased our membership so that every business sector and companies of all sizes can benefit from the collaborative benefits that membership offers. We want to have played an active role in ensuring that the plan to enhance the ‘living town’ aspects of Shannon, contained in the new Shannon Town Centre Masterplan, has been successfully delivered and that housing stock in Shannon will have been aligned to the needs of business. We will have worked to publicise and promote the expansiveness of Shannon’s offering: the benefits accruing to using Shannon Airport; the amazing work and output from enterprise in Shannon; the talent available to business; and the education being provided by our third-level colleges,” Helen added.
She concluded, “Shannon Chamber’s Strategic Plan 2023 – 2026 has been framed to perpetuate Shannon’s unique reputation as a powerful business hub and to ensure that its sphere of influence continues to permeate throughout the region,” Ms Downes added
