Brendan Crowley of Wexford Bus was elected President of County Wexford Chamber at the AGM which took place on Thursday 23rd September.
A Wexford native, Brendan has many years of experience in management both in the public and private sectors. With almost 30 years of service with the HSE, Brendan left the post of Chief Ambulance Officer for the South of the Country in 2018 to concentrate on business opportunities in the private sector. He is now the Managing Director of the bus company he set up in 1996 of which he and his wife Lorene are owners. Amongst other qualifications, he holds a BBS Hons Degree awarded by UCD.
Following the meeting the newly appointed President Brendan Crowley said: “I am privileged and honoured to follow in the footsteps of so many people who have worked so hard to support and promote our business community and indeed our model county at every opportunity. The County Wexford Chamber was born out of the coming together of three former town Chambers. The people who worked to make this happen were visionary, realising the potential to be gained by developing one entity that’s big enough to compete for business opportunities against the larger cities. They have given us one of the largest and most progressive Chambers of Commerce in the country.
While a huge amount of important work has been undertaken by the County Chamber throughout the Covid pandemic, the necessary restrictions did hamper our plans to some degree. So now as the economy is returning to normal, it is vital that we hit the ground running, fully focused on our members interests and guided by our own mission statement which proclaims is “to support the growth and development of our member companies through relevant representation, networking and service provision”. Our Chamber represents a very wide variety of business sectors with companies of all size ranging from having a single employee to hundreds. Regardless of magnitude, each business is as important as the next and the lifeblood of our local economy.
Our District Committees play a key role in guiding the work of the Chamber executive at local level while at the same time supporting the development of the key strategic goals and objectives of the County Wexford Chamber.
As a County Chamber we will continue to operate and lobby at every level, whether that be in support of key strategic projects such as the long-promised 3rd level university campus, proper investment and development of Rosslare Port, or at county and district level, for example working to support the development of employment hubs within the main towns and surrounding districts. We will work to support our tourism, retail, leisure and entertainment sectors through active collaboration with all interested stakeholders. Over the past number of months, we have seen how a a little innovation and imagination helped keep businesses and our town centres open for business. It showed us what’s possible when we put our minds to it.
While not wishing to minimise the dreadful impact of Covid on many businesses and the very personal impact for some in our community, we hope that the worst of the pandemic is now something in our rear-view mirror and that we can look forward to better days. There are some big challenges coming down the track especially in relation to the climate and sustainability imperatives. It is vital that companies are supported with a comprehensive transitional process that includes education, advice and training. Some will view these issues as dark clouds ahead, but I prefer to see them as opportunities for Wexford to lead the way.
Through our Board, our District Committees and our Chamber members, we have vast amounts of diversity, knowledge and expertise available to support a range of work streams. So, let’s put that to work to ensure that no opportunity for our county goes untapped. I look forward to working for you and with you in the coming year to ensure that Wexford has a thriving business community that is brimming with opportunities to provide good quality employment and prosperity four our wider communities”.
