This week, This is Haslemere sat down with Inge Dunbar. Many of you may know Inge as the owner of local independent business Sass & Spirit. However, a couple of months ago, Inge was elected President of the Haslemere & District Chamber of Trade & Commerce. And it was this role that Inge was keen to chat to us about!

Inge's passion for the Haslemere Chamber is clear. Prior to opening Sass & Spirit in Haslemere, Inge owned a business in nearby Godalming and had been a member of the Godalming Chamber during her time there. A member of the Haslemere Chamber in the five years since then, Inge knows the benefits that being a member of this type of organisation can bring to an independent business.

The Haslemere Chamber currently has approximately 70 members and it's run and organised via a smaller committee of 10 people. There are already plenty of benefits to being a member. For example, the Chamber has bi-monthly 'Meet the Business' meetings 6 times a year. The last one was earlier this month at the newly opened Hamberley Care Home in Hindhead when members enjoyed a tour of the new facilities along with a delicious breakfast. Alongside this, there are drinks and networking events in the other months of the year. With close links to the Town Council, being a member is also a great way to have your say on issues being debated at local government level. In addition, Haslemere Chamber members enjoy affiliate membership with Surrey Chambers and have access to all the benefits that that also brings.

Looking ahead, there are exciting plans for the future of the Haslemere Chamber. The Chamber is super conscious that Haslemere has an extremely high number of small independent businesses and they want to support these businesses even more going forward. In Inge's words, they want to, 'create a real business community..... to foster a real sense of community and working together. We want to ensure the Chamber truly works for those businesses with a shop front as well those who are working in local offices or are home based.'

Work is already underway on re-vamping the Haslemere Chamber website to make it super user friendly for its members. But, most of all, they are already looking at new ways to bring Haslemere Chamber members new benefits. Some of these are aimed at making a direct impact to their bank balance. For example, the committee are already working hard to see whether they can secure member offers on services such as card machine payments and waste disposal. The Chamber would also love to run regular training sessions for members on relevant topics.

And, with our passion for community and volunteering, we were delighted to hear that the Chamber will continue the fantastic work they already do to support the community each year. Every December, Chamber members serve up the mulled wine and mince pies at the annual Christmas Carols, as well as providing a financial donation for the wonderful Christmas lights. In January, they also run the tree-shredding service with funds donated to the local church and Haslemere Food Bank. And more recently, they raised money for the Royal British Legion during the VE Day celebrations on Lion Green through their coconut shy. 

Membership of Haslemere & District Chamber of Trade & Commerce costs just £60 a year. However, joining now is an ideal time to dip your toe into the water and see whether membership is for you. It's just £30 to join now and membership will last until the end of 2025. Sign up here.

A big thank you to Inge for spending the time with us to keep us updated about the future plans of the Chamber. It's definitely an exciting time ahead for the Haslemere Chamber and for local business!