BOONAH District Chamber of Commerce members have elected Kate Creasey as president.
Ms Creasey takes over from Joe Worley who was president for the past two years.
Presidency came as a “bit of a surprise”, Ms Creasey said, although she’d had it “in her mind for a little bit” and didn’t realise during a recent dinner on her farm that a president would be elected that night.
“When they asked me if I wanted the role, I said ‘yeah, why not’,” she explained.
Perhaps it was meant to be because that night it was discovered she wasn’t even a member, she’d been sent the wrong form, had filled it out and didn’t see an email containing the right one.
“They said ‘you’re not a member’, I said ‘yes, I am’ and then found out I’d been sent the wrong form,” she laughed.
“They found the email that night and we sorted it out.
“So, this whole time I thought I was a member but I wasn’t ... and well, I sure am one now.”
She was given a three hour handover from the former president and went on to read every chamber document between 2015 and now.
“I think I can help chamber with fundraising opportunities that could benefit members as a whole,” she said.
“Members pay to be part of dinners but I’ve worked with grants and sponsorships for various things so I think I can assist them in getting their kitty up a little higher.”
Mr Worley said the highlight of his two year tenure was bringing back the Christmas festival once lockdown restrictions eased.
“We got it back up and running, which was a big effort,” he said.
“We have had a lot of networking events through the course of the two years I was president and I’ve enjoyed that.
“Different guest speakers have attended like Linda and Gary Faulkner of Boonah Carrying Co and the Macarthur family from Plasvacc.”
Being a point of contact and hearing first hand how local businesses started was enjoyable and something he took pride in organising.
“It is very important for a community to have a Chamber of Commerce,” he said.
“It was an enjoyable role and now Kate is taking over, I think it will go ahead in leaps and bounds.                                                                                                            “She has a lot of really good ideas and been a part of numerous organisations.
“This will really complement her role in the organisation.”                                                                                                                                                                                Ms Creasey said she’d been a member of various other chambers within other towns and there’d always been tension within committees.
“Here in Boonah, it’s different, everyone is on the same wavelength and they genuinely want each other to succeed,” she said.
Mr Worley said he was still a member and part of the organisation.
“I think if you’ve ever thought about joining Boonah District Chamber of Commerce, there is no better time than the present.”                                                                “