By JESSE GRAHAM
YARRA Glen Chamber of Commerce president Alex Lagerwey has taken out another title, becoming president of the Healesville Chamber at its AGM last night.
Mr Lagerwey was elected unopposed to the position of president at the AGM, which was held at the newly-opened Four Pillars Gin distillery, on Wednesday 18 November.
Yarra Valley Railway’s Brett Whelan was elected to the vice-president’s role, while Kendra Donkin was elected treasurer and Caroline Evans was elected secretary.
The meeting began with former-president Ben Duff making his last speech before stepping down, where he described the last year as “challenging” for the group.
“We faced a lot of ups and downs over the last 12 months,” he said.
“To be completely honest with you, our downs have probably outweighed our ups, (but) tonight I’d really like to focus on what we have been able to achieve over the last 12 months, and see what we can do going forward.”
Mr Duff paid tribute to the Healesville Railway Walk project, spear-headed by Robyn Johnson and assisted by the chamber and the Yarra Ranges Council.
He said the Christmas Festival was also well-supported, with $15,000 raised to run last year’s event, and that security cameras were being installed around town as part of an election commitment from Casey MP Tony Smith.
Yarra Ranges Council’s Economic, Youth and Community Development manager James Collins then took over the meeting to formally run the election.
Mr Lagerwey, in his acceptance speech, said it was an “honour” to serve as the chamber’s president.
“The philosophy that I would like to bring to the chamber is that if we all work together, we grow stronger,” he said.
His election follows a HCC meeting on 14 October, where the proposal of merging the Healesville and Yarra Glen Chambers was raised with members.
Mr Lagerwey and Mr Duff said at the time that merging the chambers would create a larger body to advocate for businesses in the lower Yarra Valley, similar to that of Warburton Valley CEDA (Community Economic Development Association).
Mr Whelan echoed these sentiments in his acceptance speech, and said the towns were moving closer, and should look at “working as a team”.
“We’re living in a global economy, and at the least we should be dealing with the Yarra Valley as a whole,” he said.
“We’re hoping everyone will provide input, and look at the way we can produce a better outcome for all members.”
Lisa Hennessy and Mark Gunther were elected to executive positions, with another six executive members yet to be nominated.
Four Pillars’ Elton Pinkster also spoke on the evening, giving the business representatives an introduction to the distillery, which officially opened on the Melbourne Cup weekend.
He said the distillery opened in Healesville after running for about two years at Rob Dolan wines in Warrandyte.
“In October, this building became available for sale and we saw an opportunity to bring some life into this old girl,” he said.
“This is our spiritual home – sorry for the pun.”
The chamber also passed a resolution on the night to keep its membership fee at $120 for the coming year.
