Lynne Mowbray |

The Yamba Chamber of Commerce first breakfast meeting of the year was held last Thursday at the Yamba Golf and Country Club.

The meeting began with Yaegl Elder Uncle Ron Heron, giving the ‘Welcome to Country’.

The breakfast meeting took on the format of a workshop, which was facilitated by successful business owner and dirtgirlworld creator/producer Cate McQuillen.

Several ideas were suggested throughout the workshop to help businesses think outside the square and tap into a bigger picture.

One of the suggestions that was put to the meeting, was the creation of a business calendar (of local events), to enable businesses to tap in and connect with those special events.

Numerous ideas came to the fore including: the promotion of our local Yaegl Indigenous community’s history, food, tours and culture; creating ‘experiences’ for tourists; local food producers creating ‘pop-up food stalls’ for food truck events – to keep it local; sustainability of our music festivals and sporting events and offering something for people to do, after weddings and other events.

The meeting also addressed the many different types of businesses within Yamba and looked at ways of connecting them, to build the business community.

Those who attended the breakfast were impressed with the meeting and were inspired by the knowledge and information, shared by Cate.

The Yamba Chamber of Commerce will use the input from the local businesses and surveys, to create a blueprint for how it can best serve its members.