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The Cairns Chamber of Commerce Management Committee is elected annually in March at our Annual General Meeting. Committee members are representatives of the business community who volunteer their time to contribute to the development of the Cairns Chamber of Commerce.
The Management Committee meets once a month to discuss key management activities of the Chamber as well as meeting at other times for specific purposes.
Management Committee
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President
Mr Jeremy Blockey
Blockey Consulting
Jeremy, director Blockey Consulting, has been working in economics related fields in North Queensland for 20 years.
For ten years Jeremy was in the corporate government sector, working with Cairns Port Authority (CPA), including three years as corporate services manager looking after HR, marketing, environment and administration; four years as assistant to the CEO; and three years as market
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analyst, handling research and economic analysis. Prior to CPA, Jeremy was with economics consultancy, Cummings Economic Research Services, providing economic and market research services to clients. The firm also provided secretariat services to the Cairns Chamber of Commerce, and Jeremy acted as Secretary to the Chamber for three years between 1989 and 1992.
Jeremy's experience includes the preparation of a range of economic studies, research and strategic business plans. Jeremy also has expertise in specialist areas including regional development, indigenous communities, competition policy and pricing issues, experience in dealing with Government at all levels as well as government business enterprises, most particularly in the areas of relationships with government and policy settings. Other areas of interest are corporate governance and education. Jeremy provides advisory services to a range of clients, from small business to large corporations, from Indigenous enterprises to regional development bodies, from tourism to mining.
His passion for economics and regional development issues is also played out in his involvement with the Cairns Chamber of Commerce, which currently includes the position of President (2007-). Jeremy joined the Cairns Chamber's Management Committee in 2004, serving the Chamber in various roles including as Chair of the Cairns Chamber's Resource & Industrial Taskforce, the Marketing sub-committee, and the Young Chamber sub-committee.
Jeremy has a Bachelor of Economics from Leicester University UK (1985), and is a Director of Advance Cairns and of Trinity Anglican School. Jeremy has in the last couple of years taken up Masters swimming, and with the family, has been a member of Ellis Beach Surf Lifesaving Club.
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Past President
Mr Bob Norman
Norman Properties
Bob is the Managing Director of a number of family companies that have diverse interests in the Cairns business community.
Bob has been a member of the Cairns Chamber Management Committee since 1985, Vice President from 1990 to 2001 and President from 2001 to 2007.
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Bob is the Chairman of the Cairns Chamber's Health Taskforce. He was the Business and Industry sector representative on the 2010 Regional Planning Advisory Committee.
Bob holds both fixed wing and helicopter pilots licenses and enjoys flying for business and pleasure.
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Vice President
Sim Hayward
HH 28 Pty Ltd
Sim Hayward is Joint Managing Director of HH28 Pty Ltd.
Sim holds a Bachelor of Business, Hospitality. Her background in the industry, plus her passion for sharing and promoting the Cairns region especially in the areas of food and tourism, have resulted in many years of local
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involvement in various organisations. In 1988, together with her husband, Daryl, established Asian Foods, which they owned and operated successfully for 20 years. It was sold in February 2008.
Sim brings a wealth of international trade and food industry knowledge to the Cairns Chamber from her days as proprietor of Asian Foods. She has also exhibited at national and international food trade shows, promoting her own locally made products as well as others from the Far North. Her products were available nationally and internationally, prior to the sale of Asian Foods. Sim was a guest presenter on Channel Ten and Ergon Energy's cooking show ‘Radiant Living' from 1990-2000, promoting regional produce in Asian recipes.
She was Secretariat of the Cairns Food Group from 1994 - 2010. Sim was awarded Owner/Operator of the Year, Tropical North Queensland, by the Australian Institute of Management in 1999, and a finalist in the National Ethnic Business awards for Small Business in the same year.
In 2006, Asian Foods won the Queensland Multicultural award for Small Business and Sim won the Multicultural Achiever award. Asian Foods was listed in the Queensland Top 400 companies for several years leading up to the sale in 2008.
Sim is a member of the Cairns Sister Cities Advisory Committee (former President from 1990-2000) and believes that exchanges between Cairns and her sister cities will over time bring trade as well as cultural and educational benefits.
In 1994, with the support of other key organizations in Cairns, Sim hosted the very first two Chinese delegations from Beihai, Guangxi Province in China, resulting in the signing of a Friendship Agreement and opening the doors to many more Chinese visits to this region since.
Sim is Chair of the Queensland China Council, a committee appointed by the Premier and Cabinet to advise on all matters relating to Queensland and China relations. She has been a member since 1997.
She is also on the management committee of the Australian Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Brisbane.
Sim's focus is ensure the capabilities of Cairns and Queensland companies are presented to the overseas and Chinese markets while working with Trade Queensland and its overseas Queensland Government Trade and Investment Offices in Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing and Taipei. A direct air link between Mainland China and Cairns, Chinese language to be taught in our schools (to ensure job opportunities in the future for all Queenslanders), investments into the Far North region and other parts of Queensland, continues to be on her agenda.
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Vice President
Elmarie Gebler
Fortis One
As director of Fortis One, Elmarie specialises in business mentoring work; including business coaching, human resources consulting, organisational development and strategic change management. Elmarie works closely with her clients; building trusting, supportive relationships that extend past that of a business consultant, to friend and mentor.
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With a background in organisational psychology, commerce and economics, Elmarie specialises in business growth and coaching, focusing her energies on business diagnostics and performance improvement work with her clients. She has extensive experience with a vast array of businesses in a range of industries and prides herself on a strong knowledge of the Cairns market and building lasting relationships within the Far North business community.
Elmarie has worked with the FNQ Indigenous community for over 12 years and as a Business Consultant for Indigenous Business Australia (IBA), has assisted many Indigenous business owners and organisations in Cairns and the Far North. Elmarie greatly appreciates the significant, valuable relationships she has had the opportunity to establish in this diverse region.
Elmarie thrives on collaborating closely with her clients and offering her energy, ideas and substantial skill base to assist them to identify and achieve their goals. She believes that personal and professional ambitions are strongly interconnected and partners with her clients to identify actions that will enable them to fulfil their work/life aspirations.
With solid experience in human resources, Elmarie is able to assist organisations with human resources related matters to ensure effective and efficient reorganisation of resources to maximise productivity - including undertaking skills audits, developing performance management systems and initiating professional development programs.
Elmarie has a great capacity to view businesses/organisations from a conceptual level; providing objective, practical and invaluable advice to owners/managers to effect real change and beget real outcomes. From the practical, operational needs like developing and implementing cash flow budgets, to delivering employee development programs, Elmarie proposes solutions and initiatives that offer benefits at both a personal and organisational level.
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Treasurer
Michael Ganza
Engineering Testing Services
Michael is the Managing Director of Engineering Testing Services which is a geotechnical engineering and material testing business based in Cairns and Townsville. The business has been operating in Cairns for over 25 years and Michael has been in his own business for over 9 years.
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Michael has an active interest in Engineers Australia and is the immediate past president for Engineers Australia Queensland.
Michael attended James Cook University in Townsville and completed a Bachelor of Engineering with honours in 1988. He has also completed a Graduate Diploma in Municipal Engineering in 1991 and is currently halfway through completing a Masters of Business Administration.
Michael has lived in Cairns for almost 20 years and grew up in the nearby town of Ingham.
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Committee Member
Shelley Evans-Wild
Unique People and NeuroPower Learning & Development
Shelley Evans-Wild is Managing Director of Unique People P/L & Equity Partner & CEO of NeuroPower Learning & Development P/L. Shelley specialises in the leadership & management behaviour of people & the affect this has on organizational & business outcomes. With a background in Behavioural Science, Psychology, Neuroscience & Education she assists business owners & organisations to access best practice in leadership & management strategies.
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With a local team and international team she manages & directs her businesses which span across five states of Australia as well as internationally, across Asia, the South Pacific & more recently Europe. Clients include the likes of Westpac, ANZ, Mirvac, Arup, Airlines Papua New Guinea, BHP, Qld Rail, Western Australia Local Government Authority, Qld Health, Singhealth, Citibank Hong Kong & Motorola, as well as over 300+ local leaders & business owners.
Shelley has a successful track record in the leadership of community organisations. She has recently stepped down after four years as President of the Cairns Business Women's Club where she was an ambassador for 500+ business members, she is current Committee member of the Cairns Chamber of Commerce, is the Chairperson of the Salvation Army Residential Appeal & holds numerous state, local & regional advisory board positions. In 2005 she was awarded the Australian Institute of Management's Business Owner Manager of the Year for her region. In 2008 she presented keynotes internationally in Australasia and North America.
Her passion for business, leadership of the region & her local community interests, as well as her experience & ownership of her own companies & partnership of numerous other small business enterprises as well as over eighteen years of leadership stewardship enables Shelley to relate to many corporate, business & government environments from the sole trader to large company boardrooms.
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Committee Member
Graham Poon
TropLinks Inc
Graham Poon has extensive Australian and International commercial experience through the work he has done for over 30 years throughout Australia, Sth. East Asia, North Asia, Guam, Micronesia and the Pacific, both in the private sector and the Federal Government.
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Graham has recently been appointed the CEO of TropLinks Incorporated, a private, membership-based organisation whose mission is to grow the economy through the promotion and commercialisation of Tropical Expertise across northern Australia. Previously, Graham worked as a business consultant in Cairns assisting businesses in strategic planning, marketing and export activities. He is a member of the Qld Govt's "Mentoring for Growth" panel in Cairns, a member of the Australian Institute of Export and a previous judge for the Telstra Business Awards.
He also brings much knowledge to the Cairns business community from his previous role as Austrade Trade Commissioner based in the Australian Embassy in Manila specialising in helping Australian companies access projects funded by the Asian Development Bank and other development institutions. He has also held positions as CEO of the Chamber of Commerce NT, Austrade Regional Trade Commissioner NT and general manager of a major tourism operation in Guam. Graham was educated at the University of Qld, and is married with 3 children.
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Chamber Team
The Cairns Chamber of Commerce office consists of 4 team members who have a diversity of skills to handle the various enquiries that come through the Chamber office. The Chamber's operations incorporate various services including membership services, Regional Migration programs, lobbying and local/national/overseas enquiries.
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Executive Officer
Mr Sandy Whyte
Sandy Whyte was born and educated in North Queensland and has a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from James Cook University.
Sandy’s experience covers both the public and private sectors with sixteen years experience as a manager of not-for-profit, business and tourism organisations.
He joined the Cairns Chamber 1998 as Executive Officer to
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oversee the operations of both the Cairns Chamber of Commerce and the Cairns International Trade Centre. During his time with the Cairns Chamber, it has modernised and redefined itself as the leading business organisation in Cairns and as one of the largest and most effective Cairns Chambers in Australia. The Cairns Chamber now boasts facilities and services the equal of any Chamber in the Pacific.
Sandy is also a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management (FAIM).
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Events & Marketing
Judy Lloyd
Judy joined the Cairns Chamber in June 2007, bringing with her an extensive sales and marketing and event coordination background.
Judy spent 19 years at the Cairns Colonial Club Resort with the first 9 years in Reception and Reservation, then the last 10 years in conference and event coordination. Quality customer service and time
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management skills were key factors in these roles which are important in her current role.
Judy's role encompasses website administration and email broadcasts, event coordination, membership enhancement, and partcipates in several Cairns Chamber sub committees.
Judy hails from a local cane farming family and loves living in this part of the world with her family.
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Sandy Holmes
Sandy joined the Cairns Chamber in September 2008 and brings with her a wealth of experience in tourism marketing having worked for companies such as Shangri-la Hotel and the Cairns Convention Centre.
Prior to returning to Cairns, Sandy worked in Brisbane and London for companies that included Lloyds Bank of London (Syndicate 1121), Griffith University, Golden
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Casket and Suncorp Metway where she honed her customer service and marketing skill set.
Sandy has also been a Ballet Teacher at a dance school in Smithfield, which is
where she grew up, and brings the discipline and patience of being a dancer and a teacher with her to this role.
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Roxy Voyce
Roxy joined the Cairns Chamber in March 2009 in the role of accounts, administration and assisting with the Regional Migration program.
After completing her schooling in Atherton, Roxy joined a local accounting firm where she spent three valuable years gaining bookkeeping, financial and administration knowledge and experience.
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Roxy has further developed her administrative skills by exposure to working in the construction industry as well as in corporate business services at a leading superannuation company.
Roxy is excited to be working with the Cairns Chamber team and being a part of assisting our Members' and supporting building business in the Cairns region.
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