Meet Our President
JOHN DUNNING
PRESIDENT OF SOUTH CHESHIRE CHAMBER
John is President of South Cheshire Chamber of Commerce and a Director of Nantwich Town Football Club. John also Chairs the South Cheshire Chamber Business Council.
As a key stakeholder in the area, the Chamber works in partnership with many organisations and John is therefore often involved in discussions with other key stakeholders such as Bentley Motors, MMU, Cheshire East Council, The LEP, Crewe and Nantwich Town Councils and of course other Chambers as well as maintaining regular contact with our Patrons and MP. Together we are committed to helping this area achieve its maximum potential while ensuring our members benefit from the resulting economic growth.
A message from our president
As usual, it is a busy time of the year for me as President with a few events taking place that require me to wear the “gong” or Jewel to give it its proper name, which I always wear with great pride.
Although some may feel it a bit “antiquated” it is an important symbol to show that the Chamber is a significant and well-established organisation in the area and puts us on a par with other public and private sector bodies, when attending important functions and ceremonies.
For background, when the South Cheshire Chamber was established in 1993 the existing Crewe & District Chamber of Trade and the Nantwich Chamber of Trade were subsumed into the new organisation and at that time the “gong” which belonged to the Crewe & District Chamber of Trade was handed over at a special ceremony in the Mayors Parlour in Crewe.
There is no date on the face of the gong but I have been told that the hallmark on the back suggests it originated in the 1920’s.
The events that I mentioned are the Annual Business Awards held at Crewe Hall which was again a highly successful occasion, the Annual Remembrance Day Services in both Crewe and Nantwich and the Chamber’s Annual General Meeting.
Looking to the future, members of the Chamber’s Business Council have recently met with leading Councillors and senior officials of Cheshire East Council to raise the urgent need for the development of a Vision and Master Plan for the future development of Crewe and in particular Crewe Town Centre which the Business Council sees as the top priority.
Over the coming months, the Business Council will be working closely with Cheshire East and the Crewe Town Board to develop ideas for moving this forward.
I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome our new Chairman Robert Parton into his new role and to thank our out-going Chair Diane Wright for the excellent work that she has done over the past several years.
Finally I would like to wish all our members a very Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year.
- Extract from South Cheshire Chamber Business magazine Q3 2024. Read here.