Forth Valley Chamber of Commerce

⭐️December Member Spotlight: An Dárna⭐️ We are thrilled to shine the spotlight on An Dárna this month, a Stirling based restaurant that is redefining culinary experience! Long time friends and owners Ally Eccles and Iain Whiteley designed an ever changing tasting menu to celebrate the seasons, and utilise fresh, locally sourced ingredients. With Head Chef Ally and his talented team at the helm, An Dárna offers a dining experience that’s as playful as it is unforgettable. Dive into this Q&A with Iain Whiteley! https://lnkd.in/evpMMhCw #ForthValleyChamber #GetConnected #StayConnected

🎄What a way to wrap up 2024!🎄 A huge thank you to everyone who joined us at our Christmas themed Hub Club this morning. A great final opportunity to connect before the end of the year. It was fantastic to close out the year with our Christmas quiz, festive treats and as always - great converstion! We are grateful to our amazing members who made our 2024 Hub Clubs such a success - almost every one this year sold out! We were delighted to trial a new way for you all to connect, thanks to Craig Somerville, WITR - Who’s In The Room? Thanks Craig for introducing Who’s in The Room to your fellow chamber members. We are excited to start to utilising this in the New Year - keep your eyes peeled for more information! Special mention goes to our winners of the quiz- Claire Kennedy and Steve Jelfs! Here’s to new connections, collaborations and opportunities in the year ahead! #ForthValleyChamber #GetConnected #StayConnected Abidah Hussain David Cunningham Craig Somerville Fiona Taylor Sean Skelly Brian McGregor Keith Docherty Morag Shaw Steven Downie James Greer Neil Munday Simon Hosannah Jo Macdonald Maggie Roderick David Bowmaker Andrew McKellar Ami McKnight Claire Kennedy Steve Jelfs Elaine Morgan Machray Alison Bell Raymond Setchfield Craig Clinton Hugh McGarry Jennie Reed Pete Thomson Paul Murray Lynn Harris Megan Anderson Abbie Graham

Huge thanks to the brilliant Scottish Enterprise Innovation Specialist Support Team for sharing their knowledge and expertise at our session this morning at Stirling University Innovation Park Ltd. An extremely informative session with a focus on Innvovation Support, IP and Sustainability. Team Forth Valley is made up of Gemma Lee and Charles Broadfoot - please reach out to them if you’re looking for support. Our dialogue is continuing with Gemma and the team, more follow up events in 2025 which will delve deeper into all the subject matter touched on today. Delighted to be partnering with Scottish Enterprise and Stirling University Innovation Park Ltd on these events. #forthvalleychamber Lynn Harris Abbie Graham Megan Anderson Olivia Mount Ross Ballantyne Mandy Campbell Pete Thomson Dan Faichnie Philip Harris Lynn Dickson Josie Saunders Emma Paul Helen J Lewis Charles Broadfoot Brian McGregor Cally Macdonald Bill Andrew David Newitt Chen Li Fiona Taylor Nathan Evans Amir Azadi Stephen Moore

🎄 Recently we've hosted a Giving Tree for Start Up Stirling in the run up to the festive season. 🎄 We want to extend our warmest thanks to everyone at Stirling University Innovation Park for supporting our Giving Tree initiative this year. The generous donations of toys and gifts will help bring joy to children this Christmas through the incredible work of Start Up Stirling. We're overwhelmed with the response and it's truly inspiring to see how our community comes together to make a real difference. Start Up Stirling are a local charity dedicated to supporting families in need and facing hardship. For more information on the incredible work they do please visit www.startupstirling.org.uk #CommunitySupport #GivingTree #StartUpStirling

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us at this year’s Festive Fling at the BawBee! Your energy, enthusiasm, and support created an amazing atmosphere filled with connections, storytelling, and plenty of laughter. It’s always a joy to see our community come together so warmly! A special shout-out to our incredible sponsors – Creegan Talent, John Pryde and Ochil Fudge We are so grateful for your generous support and ongoing encouragement. The team at The BawBee did a phenomenal job hosting the event! A huge thank you to everyone who elevated the evening with their delicious food, delightful drinks, and warm, friendly attitudes. Thanks to your generosity, our raffle raised an impressive £700 for our charity partners, SSAFA and Strathcarron Hospice. And the good news doesn’t stop there! This morning, one of our chamber members who couldn’t attend last night pledged an additional £300, bringing our total to an amazing £1,000 for these two wonderful local charities -AMAZING! We are so fortunate to have such a vibrant and supportive community to celebrate the success of another year with. And the year isn’t over yet – we’ve got two more events lined up next week! #ForthValleyChamber #GetConnected #StayConnected Lynn Harris Abbie Graham Megan Anderson

What an incredible evening at the Scottish Chambers of Commerce Annual Business Address! A true celebration of innovation, collaboration and resilience within Scotland’s dynamic business community. We were lucky enough to hear from some truly captivating speakers that honoured the entrepreneurial spirit that drives Scotland’s business success: Rowena Bird, Co-Founder and Product Inventor at LUSH took us on an inspiring journey of how LUSH transformed from one small shop in 1995, to a global success story with over 850 stores. Her message was clear “if you are running or starting your own business, I hope you have as much fun as we do, consider your team careful and you too can leave the world lusher than you found it!” Mike Soutar, Founder of Shortlist Media, charmed us with his incredible business journey, from starting his career at 17, to founding a rapidly growing business in 2007. His dynamic insights (and ‘blast from the past’ anecdotes) were much appreciated! He left us with some actionable take always to fuel our business growth! The wonderful Dr Liz Cameron CBE, Chief Executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, closed the evening by sharing her unwavering passion for driving meaniful change in business. We were delighted to invite our amazing group of Forth Valley Chamber members along to this standout event of the Chamber calendar! Ross McMillan michael holmes Kenny MacInnes Scott Henderson - Crunchy Carrots Lee Hunter John W Brown Laura Irvine Philip Harris Elaine Watterson As we look ahead, we are energised and ready to continue supporting our Scottish businesses to grow and succeed. #SCCBusinessAddress24 #ForthValleyChamber Lynn Harris Abbie Graham Megan Anderson

📢 Exciting News! Applications for the next GreenLaunch pre-accelerator cohort are now open! Introducing: ‘GreenLaunch | Career Changers’, our fully funded 7-week skills and #training programme, aimed at supporting those over 30 years old who are considering self-employment with #sustainable or green business ideas. Career Changers is a mix of hybrid workshops, peer to peer learning, and individual mentoring, which will cover all the key components that need to be considered when planning a business. Applications are now open and will close midnight Sunday 5th January, 2025. To be eligible, applicants must be developing a green business idea that will be based in the Stirling & Clackmannanshire region. You do not have to be a student or staff member of the University, but you can be! Interested? Find our more or apply below 👇 https://lnkd.in/eZ2R4erp The Enterprise Programme - University of Stirling

⭐ The Countdown to our Festive Fling is on!⭐ We can't wait to see so many of you next Thursday for our annual Chamber Christmas Celebration! Join us for an evening of: 🍾 Drinks & Festive nibbles 🎵 Music from John Pryde 🎁 A fantastic charity raffle 🤝 Networking and good cheer! There is still time to get your tickets: https://lnkd.in/grUYezK5 A big thank you to our sponsors this year Creegan Talent! #ForthValleyChamber #GetConnected #StayConnected

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for the last ‘Let’s Network’ event of the year! The biggest applause goes to the incredible team at Back Onside who made the morning unforgettable. From personalised Christmas cards, thoughtfully curated programmes and the AMAZING live singing from Natalie James every detailed showcased the heart and dedication of this amazing charity! For those who haven’t heard of Back Onside the charity is committed to supporting young people and adults facing mental health challenges. Last year alone, they received 5,500 calls to their crisis line, undertook 4,800 professional 1 to 1 counselling sessions and attended 720 emergency call outs. Mental health is no easy subject, but the awareness Back Onside raises makes a difference for those in need. We encourage everyone to help spread the word about their work across Forth Valley- the more people who know about their services, the more lives they can positively impact💛 #ForthValleyChamber #GetConnected #StayConnected Lynn Harris Megan Anderson Abbie Graham Libby Emmerson Christopher Wakefield Cally Macdonald Katherine McGill Craig Bradley Billie M. Andrew McKellar Claire Kennedy Brian McGregor Philip Harris Iain McDonald Adam Reynolds Megan O’Neill Raymond Setchfield Blair Cremin Dan Faichnie Sandy Gillone

Unlock Innovation with Scottish Enterprise ⭐️An Introduction to Scottish Enterprise Innovation Support 📍 Scion House 🕒 09:30-11:30 Are you a business leader looking to drive growth, increase productivity, and maximize profits? Join us for this informative event to discover how Scottish Enterprise can support your innovation journey. What to Expect: Learn how innovation can transform your business. Explore tailored support to turn ideas into impactful solutions. Get guidance on protecting your key business assets. Sign up now: https://lnkd.in/ezPSKz2R #ForthValleyChamber #GetConnected #StayConnected