BMA Executive Officer Update – Welcome to our first newsletter of 2017. The BMA Committee is gearing up for another great year of networking and engagement. We’re due to meet up to discuss the BMA survey results to help plan how we can best work within the needs of the business community.
In August 2017 BMA will be partnering with the Council to run the Mt Alexander Business Awards. Building on the success of the 2015 Awards, the aim of the program is to showcase and encourage business excellence within the Shire, and publicly acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of our local businesses. More information about this will be announced at our upcoming Social Drinks night on 2 March at the Taproom.
We welcome our newest member – Donna Greenway and the team at Castlemaine Boutique Accommodation
Stay tuned for our next Women in Business Morning Tea on Tuesday 14 March!
Small Business Workshops – Mount Alexander Shire Council is launching the 2017 calendar of small business workshops aimed at building skills and expertise of small business operators in the shire.
The Shire has partnered again with the State Government – Small Business Victoria to deliver the workshops. They are heavily subsidised by the State which means that we can offer them at a really low cost. The workshops are a great opportunity to not only develop your skills but also to meet other small business owners in the shire.
The success of the workshops held in 2016 and the feedback received has informed the workshop topics for this year, with the first workshop Starting your Business Right set for 6 March from 5 pm at the Civic Centre in Castlemaine.
NBN now in The Shire – About 5500 homes and businesses in the Castlemaine area can now connect to fast broadband via the nbn™ network. Covering Castlemaine, McKenzie Hill, Chewton and Campbells Creek, the fibre service was switched on late last year.
Making the switch to the nbn™ network is not automatic. People can find out whether you they are eligible to connect to the network by visiting www.nbnco.com.au/switch Once eligible to connect, people should contact their phone or internet provider to discuss their needs and make the switch.
The nbn™ network will eventually replace most of the existing landline phone and internet networks. It also involves new technologies, which some existing devices may not be compatible with. Businesses that have an EFTPOS terminal, fax or alarm system, are advised to call the provider of that service to ask what internet or landline phone services over the nbn network will support the device.
For further information about the nbn network, contact your internet service provider, or visit www.nbnco.com.au
News and Events Around Town
Castlemaine’s newest cafe – The Local – Castlemaine’s first Social Enterprise café is set to open in early March at The Hub Building, where the Good Table was located. The new café will be called ‘The Local’ and run by Growing Abundance with the aim to run as a not-for-profit with the profits going back into the community as well as other Growing Abundance projects. BMA wishes café Manager Nikki Valentini and her team all the best with this exciting venture!
Harcourt Applefest – 11 March – What started 26 years ago as a celebration of the apple harvest, the modern Harcourt Applefest celebrates all local produce and community endeavour.
Taradale Food & Wine Festival – 12 March – Celebrating the Taradale festival’s 10th year, come and sample some of the best wine, food and produce the region has to offer, find a unique handmade gift for someone special, relax under the majestic trees on the grassy reserve with a picnic and enjoy the entertainment!
Castlemaine State Festival – 17 to 26 March – Established in 1976, the Castlemaine State Festival is a biennial ten-day multi-arts event that draws on the distinctive culture of the central Victorian goldfields region – of old and new, of the artistic and the industrial and its dynamic community strengths.
Castlemaine Fringe Festival – 11 to 26 March