Have you checked out Omagh Chamber of Commerce’s Facebook. We’d really love to get local businesses involved so please feel free to drop by.
Here’s the link and don’t forget to like us.

Omagh Chamber Facebook

The Adventure Team had several groups out ‘City Centre Treasure Hunting’ in Belfast last Christmas and it was a great way to engage in some team building (with a difference) as well as a good wind down before the Christmas break.  It is also a fun way to get people out and about in the City Centre.

We would love to promote these again in Omagh in the run up to Christmas and are keen to have chamber members involved. By involved, we mean that we would like to be able to direct our treasure hunt participants to local stores etc where photographs would be taken to answer clues which can then be uploaded to our various social media platforms which reach over 7000 followers, enabling promotions etc to be highlighted through us. In return, all we ask in return are some spot prizes (small token gifts or vouchers) from the businesses involved that we can give to participants as part of the treasure hunt experience.

We are keen to hear your thoughts and equally keen to meet with you if you have any additional ideas or indeed any concerns. See below for more information on the treasure hunt format and we have also attached a flyer and some photos from some previous hunts to give you a flavour of the experience for  participants and to see how businesses could get involved.

What is a Treasure Hunt?

During your Treasure Hunt participants will find a series of hidden items and locations via a series of clues, challenges and tasks.

Each Team competes against each other and the clock; scores are tallied at the end by viewing the digital photographs on a big screen.  Bonus points are awarded according to the “creativity” of the solution as well as on the safe return of “valuable” items.

Each Team is provided with a team pack including Top Secret Tools that will enable them to solve the puzzles, find new clues.  They will get to interact with the public as well as local businesses.

Highlights of the City Centre Treasure Hunt programme:

·         Teams compete against each other to find answers to clues or complete tasks throughout the city centre
·         Photographic evidence is used to evidence answers (and provide a great memento of the day)
·         Creative thinking
·         Presentation of all photos to the teams at the end of the hunt
·         Time and time again we are told that it was “the best craic we’ve had in a long time!”
·         Cost effective team building experience (only £20 per person)

Stephen Brown
The Adventure Team | CEAL
8 Meadowbank Road | Carrickfergus | BT38 8YF

Tel: 0845 5213145
Mob: 07513868476
Email: info@theadventureteam.co.uk
Web: www.theadventureteam.co.uk

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TeamBuildingAdventure
Twitter: www.twitter.com/AdventureTeam
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/theadventureteam
Flickr: www.flickr.com/theadventureteam

Make sure to take note our new phone number – 0845 5213145

Alan Egner, Business Sales & Marketing Manager from Power NI, sees this event as an excellent opportunity for Power NI to network with local businesses face to face and promote Power NI (the new name for NIE Energy) to their many existing and potential new customers.

Energy prices have risen recently and with winter looming Power NI are keen to offer Omagh Chamber of Commerce members free expert advice on how to cut costs and save money. They will be joined by a leading local lighting supplier to explain how you can take advantage of energy saving LED lighting, which is the future of lighting in homes and businesses. The short presentation and lighting demonstration will be followed by a question and answer session. Guests will also have the chance to win an energy saving monitor and get a free energy saving lamp.

You will also be presented with information packs from Power NI, outlining the practical ways the local energy provider can help customers save energy in their businesses.

This event is also a great opportunity to network with other local business people in the Omagh area. This event is complimentary to Chamber members and if you would like to promote this event to a business colleague please do.

If you would like to attend please book your place by contacting me on the details below. Omagh Chamber

Omagh Chamber of Commerce and Industry are to host a Business and Networking Lunch, kindly sponsored by PwC, on Wednesday 13th April in the Silverbirch Hotel, Omagh, from 12.30pm to 2.30pm.

The Guest Speaker at the event will be Arlene Foster, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment and Dr Esmond Birnie, PwC’s Chief Economist in Northern Ireland. The topic that will be addressed is “help for local companies.”

Loraine Griffin, President of Omagh Chamber of Commerce and Industry says, “We are delighted to host another Business and Networking Lunch which provides an excellent opportunity for members and guests to network with many other local businesses. It is also a privilege to be able to welcome such distinguished guests as Arlene Foster and Dr Esmond Birnie to speak at this event. Of course none of this would be possible without the very kind support from PwC who have kindly sponsored the event.”

Rodney Hamill, senior manager at PwC’s Omagh office, believes these types of events are of great value to the local business community: “This is a unique opportunity for Omagh business owners to hear presentations from two high profile and influential guest speakers, and to use this type of forum to stimulate debate on opportunities and developments relevant to local companies. PwC is delighted to be supporting the event”.

This event complimentary to Chamber Members, guests and non members can attend for £20 per person. If you would like to attend please contact Elaine Fyffe, Membership Officer at admin@omaghchamber.com or by telephoning 07734389484.

The Irish News Workplace & Employment Awards will this year mark their fifth anniversary – and continue to grow in stature. At the launch the initiative received ministerial endorsement from the Department for Employment and Learning.

Minister Danny Kennedy said: “It is encouraging to see that these awards continue to go from strength to strength.”Thankfully there are many examples of excellent workplace and employment best practice across Northern Ireland and it is important that we recognise and reward the efforts our businesses continue to make in this area. These awards do just that.”

The formal launch in the Waterfront Hall was attended by guests from a number of business organisations, who were welcomed by Irish News chairman James Fitzpatrick and Editor Noel Doran. Among the speakers was Michael Blaney, Managing Director of Autoline Group, two-times previous winners of a Workplace & Employment Award, who extolled the virtue of the initiative and described the “feel good factor” it brought to his business.

The Minister added: “More and more employers in Northern Ireland, especially in these tough economic times, are recognising that people are key to the success of their organisation. The high volume and standard of entries consistently received for the Irish News Workplace & Employment Awards are proof that of the numbers that already reap the benefits of investing in their workforce. “I’m sure that the calibre of entries this year will be excellent and I would encourage all eligible businesses and organisations to submit an entry form and showcase what they do.”

The awards take place in Belfast’s Ramada Hotel on June 16, hosted by the BBC’s Karen Patterson.

Full details at http://www.irishnews.com/wea/

The business briefing and lunch sponsored by the Bank of England was held in the Silverbirch Hotel, Omagh, where Ms Gillian Anderson, the Northern Ireland Agent addressed Chamber Members and guests from a wide spectrum of business interests.

Ms Anderson gave a detailed illustrated presentation on the state of the economy, including-interests rates, employment, house prices, growth and business/consumer spending and presented the Bank’s recently released Inflation Report projections for future economic growth and inflation. She followed this by answering questions on the presentation and wider economic issues from some of those present.

Loraine Griffin, President of Omagh Chamber of Commerce and Industry added, “It has been a great pleasure to welcome Gillian Anderson to address Omagh Chamber of Commerce members and guests on such a very important subject. In today’s economic climate, it is becoming increasingly important for the local businesses to be fully aware of economic trends to assist them in their forward planning. We now trade within a Global economy and timely information is a valuable tool for any business.”

Participants at the event spoke highly of the value of the information received from the presentation and particularly their appreciation for the updates from the Bank and the fantastic opportunity to network with many other businesses who attended.

Elaine Fyffe, Membership Officer, Omagh Chamber of Commerce and Industry thanked the Bank of England for their support in this event and added that Omagh Chamber’s profile has been rising noticeably in recent months and it is encouraging to have such an influential speaker attend one its events.

If you would like further details about Omagh Chamber of Commerce and future events please contact Elaine Fyffe, Membership Officer at admin@omaghchamber.com or by telephoning 07734389484.

Omagh Chamber of Commerce and Industry launched the Facebook Page “Omagh Your Story” back in November and invited the community of Omagh and further a field to share their stories of Christmas, past and present, by posting them on the Facebook page. Omagh Chamber is now continuing to promote Omagh and District through this marketing platform and is now launching an online Valentine’s Day Competition.

A spokesperson from the Chamber explains, “At Christmas we invited viewers of the ‘Omagh Your Story’ page to tell us their Christmas stories and summarise it in five words. We are now inviting the community again to get involved with the page by telling us their Valentine Day Story either in words, video or song. All you need to do is log onto the ‘Omagh Your Story’ Facebook page and get involved. We want to hear your most romantic and entertaining stories of Valentine Day, past and present and there will also be a prize for the best short and sweet story, all which must be received before midnight on Thursday 10th February. Also the last story posted will also be awarded a prize. Just remember to summarise your story at the end into five words. Prize winners will be notified on Friday 11th February via the “Omagh Your Story” Facebook page”

The prizes for the competition have been kindly sponsored by local businesses and include a Hot Diamonds heart pendant donated by Bogues Jewellers, a meal for two on Valentine’s Day evening from the Silverbirch Hotel, a His and Hers Beauty Hamper sponsored by Boots and a bouquet of flowers sponsored by The Daisy Chain.

Loraine Griffin, President of Omagh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says ‘this is indeed a very unique project and we may be the first town in the province to use should a marketing strategy. We intend to promote the “Tell us your story” theme while creating a “community” of people interested in Omagh and in the long term building a strong foundation for Omagh to develop an engaged online presence.’ She continued, “We would like to encourage businesses to get involved by posting their activities onto the page. This could include posting special offers or in store promotions and links to individual business pages or websites.”

If anyone interested in more information you can contact
Omagh Chamber of Commerce at
Omagh Enterprise Centre,
Great Northern Road, Omagh,
Co. Tyrone, BT78 5LU.
Tel: 028 82 249 494. Fax: 028 82 249 451.
Email: admin@omaghchamber.com

22 June 2010
Presidential Address
(Loraine Griffin)

I want to thank Gerard O’Hanlon as the outgoing President of Omagh Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Gerard has worked very hard over the past year. I congratulate and thank him for his achievements and dedication to the Chamber.

The role of President is a very tough one and I hope to do it justice. During this year I intend to continue implementing the current business plan which is primarily focused on building our membership and Lobbying to strengthen the business voice for the area. Omagh Chamber of Commerce and Industry does what it does through lobbying, creating a strong voice for Omagh and developing networks and contacts throughout all levels of government and the business sector. At the heart of this is the Chamber Council which usually meets at 5:30pm on the 2nd Tuesday of every month in Omagh Enterprise Centre.

We also have a range of sub-committees designed to tackle specific issues such as Membership, Lobbying and a new one – Social and Networking. We have been through tough times economically for a while now. It’s very clear that tough times are still ahead and we must not kid ourselves about that. We can’t change the direction of the wind but we can adjust our sails to reach our destination. So its not all negative, in fact we have so much to be positive about. The Review of Public Administration has been delayed but this gives us more time and opportunity to create our future, secure better public services and attract more employment. Better still, on a rough estimate, there is over £2bn worth of investment coming to the Omagh area. I intend to ensure that OCCI not only concentrates on important local issues but also that we are fully prepared to utilise the opportunities and vast potential ahead.
It is my intention to maintain the momentum of several important strategic projects – just a few examples include:

• A5 Western Transport Corridor – a new dual carriageway that will make Omagh a true hub for the South West region;
• Project Kelvin – linking us up to a high speed Broadband highway;
• A new hospital;
• The unique Education Village at Lisanelly;
• Several new interconnected business parks with hotel, retail and leisure facilities;
• A major Town Centre Masterplan.

Each of these brings huge benefit to our District in themselves but when you consider the job creation, inward investment, added value, spin-offs and future possibilities – it really is truly transformational and mind-blowing. Omagh has changed dramatically in the past 5 years alone, just think how our District could look in another 5 or even 10 years time. The Chamber of Commerce is Omagh’s networking and business voice and it will be a key force working for Omagh’s future success. It’s so easy to complain from the outside but if you’re not working as part of the solution, or at least offering possible solutions, then really you’re just another brick in the wall. That is why I want to appeal to all local Traders and business people from all sectors and backgrounds in the District to join Omagh Chamber – together we must work to create a better future for the whole area.

I welcome Elaine Fyffe as our new Membership Officer. Elaine has been actively working to promote and support the Chamber and build on our membership. I have no doubt that Elaine will do an excellent job, its great for the Chamber to have her on board and she will keep us right over the next 12 months and hopefully well beyond. Elaine has Membership Packs with her tonight and she can be contacted at the Chamber Office in Omagh Enterprise Centre. If you are not a member I strongly encourage you to join, and if you are a member why not join the Chamber Council or one of our sub-committees. Membership of Omagh Chamber is open, you do not need to be asked in order join, we are not an elitist organisation and our members come from a truly diverse range of backgrounds. Before I finish, I just want to mention a note of thanks to Elaine for organising this AGM and the staff of Rue who have done a sterling job hosting this event. It must be said that the Main Street Entertainment quarter – which was not here 5 years ago – is one of many excellent examples of local business, trade and enterprise our town has to offer. I want to now leave you with a Barry McGuigan quote that I have been saying a lot to people recently to give them a much needed uplift, and I truly believe this:

“Tough times don’t last, but tough people do.”

Omagh Chamber of Commerce ‘Business Person of the Year 2010

Peter McBride of the Spar Group was thrilled to be the recipient of this year’s Omagh Chamber of Commerce ‘Business Person of the Year’ award.  In a missive to the chamber’s President, Gerard O’Hanlon, the Omagh man described the recognition as ‘fantastic.’ Over 100 members of the local business community and public representatives attended the award ceremony and banquet in Kelly’s Inn, Garvaghey on Friday 21st May.

Amongst the distinguished guests were the Chairman of Omagh District Council (ODC), Paddy McGowan, ODC Chief Executive, Danny McSorley and Joe Barbour who is President of Strabane Chamber of Commerce. Guest speaker at the award night was leading entrepreneur, Siobhan McAleer from Dromore who set up The Mortgage Shop in 1992. Today the company has 21 outlets across the North.

On behalf of her husband, Julie McBride accepted Peter’s prestigious award from Dr Nicholas O’Shiel, the Chief Executive of Omagh Enterprise Company Limited, sponsors of the prestigious accolade. The McBride Spar Group currently operates seven stores with two in Omagh, one in Dromore, three in Enniskillen and another in Lurgan. They employ over 240 workers on a full and part time basis and expect to take on a further 40 people by the end of the summer. The group is the largest independent Spar retailer in the North and has been honoured with a number of awards in recent years. These include the NI Retailer of the Year in 2001 and winner of the UK Independent Retailer of the Year award in 2004. Mr McBride was unable to attend the event as he had already committed to travelling to the International Spar Congress in Dongguan in China.

Tribute

Mr O’Hanlon was glowing in his tribute to Mr McBride and the work that is being carried out by businesses throughout Omagh.  He told the gathering, “Peter’s work is a great illustration of a local business that has grown over the years and continues to be successful despite the current economic climate. I wish to congratulate him on this fantastic contribution to the local economy and providing employment for well over 400 people. He is a truly worthy recipient of the award.” In his optimistic address, he added, “In these tough and uncertain economic times it is to be welcomed that there is such interest and potential investment in the Omagh area. There are currently several major developments planned in the residential and public sector for Omagh.” Amongst the enterprises he highlighted were, the A5 Western Transport Corridor and Omagh Riverside Walk as well as a number of commercial developments.

He concluded, “These developments will bring foreign investment to Omagh and give local entrepreneurs the opportunity to develop new business locally. It will also give our young people the opportunity to have highly skilled well paid employment locally. “In these tough and uncertain times it is most important that we stay positive, work hard and always tell people how great Omagh is. We have come through much tougher and more uncertain times than this before. We will come through these times stronger and more determined than ever.”

Anyone who would be interesting in obtaining more information or in becoming a member of Omagh Chamber of Commerce is asked to contact Elaine Fyffe, membership office, on 028 82249494, Ext 259.

Article originally published in the Ulster Herald