THE saga at the Chamber of Commerce has come full circle with a new executive committee being elected in.
During the annual general meeting held last week, Collie Shire deputy president Glyn Yates was voted president of the chamber with Tanya Wutchak as his deputy.
The other members of the executive management committee are Yvonne Drage, Janeen Spencer, Peter Carr, Peter Harms, Clint Swallow, Michelle Smith; and John Borlini as shire representative.
After the majority of the executive committee resigned in June, the remaining members voted to suspend chief executive Richard Jackson.
A special meeting held on July 28 voted to overturn that decision and to hold an annual general meeting to vote in a new executive committee.
Cr Yates said he hoped to bring an end to the recent turmoil that had plagued the chamber.
“It was clear with the recent vote that members were not happy with how things were being run,” he said.
“There was a common theme with voters that due process had not been followed in recent times.
“We hope to bring some stability to the chamber.”
Cr Yates was confident the chamber could move forward.
“The past 10 months have been less than ideal, but the chamber has 73 years of proven success before that,” he said.
“I am one leading nine, with 166 members, but I’m confident we can get back to where we were and more.”
Despite being in a prominent position with the Shire, Cr Yates did not believe his new role was a conflict of interest.
“I was previously president of the chamber ten years ago while being a member of council and it wasn’t an issue then,” he said.
“If anything I will draw on that experience to help focus what we now need to deliver for our community.
“A lot has changed with Collie business in ten years and we are focused on how we can move forward.”
