By Monique Hepburn, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU
THE ST. ELIZABETH Chamber of Commerce, defunct for over 2 years is being resuscitated by a consortium of business interests in the parish. By lobbying and pointing the way for the government and related agencies, business leaders in the parish are hoping to push for development of attractions and infrastructure.
NEW EXECUTIVE
Mr. Marc Panton, Managing Director of Chester Fried Chicken and Butterfly Dreams in St. Elizabeth, confirmed in a Gleaner interview yesterday that efforts to revive the chamber are being spearheaded by more than sixty businessmen in the parish. He explained that the election of a new executive will be held following an Annual General Meeting slated for June 23. "It is a most opportune time as there are many opportunities for St. Elizabeth and its people," explained Mr. Panton, who is also as candidate for the presidency of the Chamber. "The parish is now poised to achieve tremendous growth, and reviving the Chamber at this time would be beneficial to communities."
The Chamber was originally established in the 1960's, but stopped functioning on several occasions. Mr. Rueben Spencer, former president of the St. Elizabeth Chamber of Commerce told The Gleaner yesterday (Tuesday) that the chamber came under pressure because its members were drawn from the three major towns in the parish - Junction, Black River and Santa Cruz and the distance caused problems.
"The towns are spread far apart so distance has always been a problem for the Chamber," said Mr. Spencer. "I think though that efforts will be made for meetings to be held in the various towns."
NEW CHAMBER
According to Mr. Panton, efforts to revitalize the chamber are timely as the government cannot afford to undertake certain projects at the local level. He contends that part of his vision for the new chamber is the development of a comprehensive business directory for the parish, creating an annual business exposition, and advocating for a police station in the Bull Savannah/Junction area.
"We want the business community to drive the development of the parish and we cannot do this if we do not have a cohesive or unified voice," said Mr. Panton. He believes that the implementation of some of the proposals put forward by the South Coast Development Study could be undertaken in the context of developing St. Elizabeth's tourist attractions. A chamber could be the engine to promote commercial expansion," Mr. Spencer said. " St. Elizabeth is set to grow."
