What a stormy reception! My first few weeks working with FBA have been filled with warmth and friendliness, mountains of information and some of the worst weather ever seen in NSW! How did you fare? I am sure that many members have been affected to varying degrees by the cyclonic storms and – as I write- our northern coastal areas are preparing for more of the same punishment. We would love to hear your war-stories, so please let us know how you suffered in these storms, how they affected your business and how you recovered – or are still recovering! I’m sure there will be lessons to be learnt from this experience and there could be benefit in sharing tales. An email or a phone call – whatever works best for you.

Meanwhile, last night I met with the NSW Committee for our first official meeting. This was exciting for me – not only because I got to meet the people who have been so influential in the growth and development of FBA NSW over many years now – but also because I gained some clarity around what we plan to do for the rest of this calendar year. Now I can really get stuck into organising our program of activities, which is where I hope and trust that I will meet many more of you members. That after all is the reward for those of us working in membership associations – we work for you as our members and the better we know you, the better we can serve you.

Shortly we will release a full program of activities, but we would also like to hear from you as to things you would like to do, topics about which you would like to learn more and people you would like to hear speak. Again – feel free to flick us an email anytime it occurs to you that – “FBA could do that!” One thing that we are considering are Member meet Member “Site Visits” – we think you might like to learn more about each other’s businesses by visiting and seeing with your own eyes. We have a lot of fascinating member businesses, so if you think that you might be willing to host a group of members on your premises for a cuppa and a chat, please contact me soonest.

Take care of each other and we hope that you weather this next bout of storms with as little damage as possible.

Wendy Foster

0418 901 521

wfoster@fambiz.org.au