Executive Director of the Anguilla Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Calvin Barlett, says his organisation is working very hard to end the year with its second Christmas Fair which will be held on December 16 at the Caribbean Commercial Complex.

Stephenie Brooks and Mr. Bartlett accepting award

“The registrations are going very well,” he reported. “It is going to be very interesting because we also have interest from retailers from all over Anguilla. In addition, we have an international group coming in from Statia and Saba but they are actually from New Jersey and work in jewellery and glass. We are very happy that they will be participating this year.

“We are going to highlight our local entrepreneurs, and members of the Chamber, because this is one opportunity that they get to promote and sell their products to a collective audience in one spot, the week before everybody goes to St. Martin to do their shopping. It is fantastic to have that opportunity open and we have a lot of new things we are going to present. One of the things we are going to have is the wheel of fortune giving persons opportunities to win prizes.

“Cable and Wireless, Digicel and Caribbean Cable Communications will be part of it. Everybody has now come on board seeing that the Chamber can mean a lot for local businesses.”

Bartlett stated that there would be over fifty members of the Chamber of Commerce participating in the Christmas Fair, this year, along with the other businesses. “If they are included, then we have exceeded more than fifty stores you can shop at, and that is a lot. The number is way above that of last year, when we had some twenty-four.”

The Chamber’s Executive Director was delighted that the concept of a business project sent to the Anguilla Government had resulted in the organisation becoming one of the winners of the 2005 competition held by the World Chambers Congress comprising twelve thousand Chambers. The concept was that a portion of the Business Licence Fees should be given to the Anguilla Chamber and then the organisation would contribute to business and online education. In the competition, the Chamber was adjudged a finalist in the category of Best Management and Financing Project. A photograph of Mr. Barlett and Stephenie Brooks receiving the award has been published in the World Congress brochures to highlight the international Chamber event in Istanbul, Turkey, in July 2007.

Mr. Bartlett described the award as a major achievement for Anguilla. “We have to thank the Government of Anguilla that they have now lived up to their promise to support the Chamber of Commerce and we are trying to reach a new dimension,” he stated. “We will be entering the new competition to be held by the World Chamber in 2007 in Turkey.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Barlett has acknowledged the support of Stephenie Brooks (now Manager of Digicel, Anguilla) and Vida Lloyd who both contributed a great deal to the Chamber’s presence in Durban last year. They were able to establish valuable contacts and business relationships for the Chamber.

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