St Albans District Chamber of Commerce

The November edition of the Chamber Voice is now out! Lots of exciting updates from our members, growing excitement for the Community Business Awards 2024 Ceremony, and a quick look at some of our upcoming events. Read about it all today! 🌟🏆🙌🏼

We’re delighted to welcome Phoenix Lakes to our growing Chamber community! 🏡🎉 Phoenix Lakes Ltd is helmed by new member Sharon Axcell, who is always on the lookout for tired and unused or unloved commercial buildings so they can be upcycled with elegance, creating inspiring new residences, and helping to regenerate the local community. She also infuses wellbeing into the build, ensuring her team creates homes that are well sought after, with the perfect amount of refinement in the finish. Please feel free to reach out to her for a chat – opportunities abound! 🔗 phoenixlakes.co.uk ✉️ sharon@phoenixlakes.co.uk 📞 07808 078395 #NewMembers #BusinessSuccess #MemberMonday #StAlbansDistrictChamberMembership #StAlbansBusinesses #HertfordshireBusiness #SupportLocalBusinesses

Join us in welcoming our new members MET Medical, here to keep our community safe with private ambulance services. 🚨 MET Medical is a private ambulance service based in St Albans. The company has been going for over a decade and provides a range of healthcare services for individuals, businesses and the NHS. If you dial 999 in Hertfordshire, there's a good chance a MET Medical ambulance might come to your aid as they respond to 999 calls 365 days a year. The company also provides medical teams for sports, cultural and music events and transfers patients to and from hospitals and care homes. This year MET Medical launched Urgent Care at Your Door, a private service for individuals and businesses looking to cut out the need to battle for a GP appointment and to fill in for ambulance and A&E delays. Specialist healthcare professionals lead the service and deliver diagnostics, including blood tests, treatment pathways and prescriptions. The service covers Hertfordshire and the surrounding areas on a pay-per-use or subscription basis. Dave Hawkins, CEO, says, "Some of the businesses we have worked with have called upon our services instead of sending employees home to see their GP or to A&E with a line manager. In almost all cases, employees were treated faster, but in many, they returned to work. For those with insurance, MET Medical can even respond to an urgent problem and, if it can't be treated at home, arrange for transport to private hospitals in London with access to a network of over 150 private intensive care beds. ➡️ Find out more: met-medical.co.uk #NewMembers #BusinessSuccess #MemberMonday #StAlbansDistrictChamberMembership #StAlbansBusinesses #HertfordshireBusiness #SupportLocalBusinesses

🌟 Claire and Alex will be out of the office today and on-site at the Community Business Awards! 🌟 We’re so excited to welcome all the finalists, their guests, and our sponsors for an evening celebrating the incredible achievements of our local business community. 🏆 Follow along on our Instagram Stories ( @stalbanschamber ) for behind-the-scenes updates throughout the night, and we’ll announce the winners at the end of the night. If you’re attending, don’t forget to tag us in your photos and videos using the hashtag #ComBizAwards2024 – we’d love to see your highlights! 📸 Here’s to an amazing evening! #CommunityBusinessAwards #AwardsCeremony #StAlbansDistrictChamber #StAlbansBusinesses

We love seeing our members connect through our events and beyond! 👏🏻

Thank you to everyone who joined us at last week’s AI Lunch & Learn event! 🌟 It was fantastic to see you all connecting and enjoying an insightful session on AI over a delicious seasonal lunch. A big thanks to Dee Overfield from Wagada Digital | HubSpot Partner for the engaging talk on AI’s potential for our businesses, to Lussmanns Sustainable Fish & Grill Restaurants St Albans for the exquisite menu, and to our supporting partner Moonlite Entertainments for helping create the perfect setting. 📸 If you'd like to join one of our future vents, make sure to check out our website listings - we'd love to have you with us next time! #AILunchAndLearn #NetworkingEvent #StAlbansEvents #LunchAndLearn #StAlbansBusiness

📢 The countdown is on—only 3 weeks until our annual Business Breakfast with St Albans City & District Council! 🍽️ Looking to get the latest updates on local business priorities? This is your chance to hear from Leader, Cllr Paul De Kort, and CEO, Amanda Foley, as they share news that matter to you. 🗣️ Highlights include: - Key insights into council priorities - Plans for local infrastructure and business growth - Updates on policies shaping the business landscape - A fantastic networking opportunity with fellow local professionals - And, of course, a hearty breakfast with tea or coffee included ☕🍳 Details: 📅 Date: Wednesday 11 December 🕒 Time: 07:15 – 09:00 📍 Location: Villa 2 Lounge Bar 🎟️ Tickets: Members: £25 + VAT Non-Members: £35 + VAT Don’t miss out—book your spot now via our website: https://heyor.ca/8TViOb #StAlbansDistrictChamberOfCommerce #StAlbansBusinesses #NetworkingEvent #BusinessCommunity #StAlbansDistrict

🎄 Haven’t sorted out your Christmas plans yet? Whether you’re a solopreneur, part of a small team, or just want to celebrate the festive season with other local professionals, we’ve got you covered! 🥂 Join us for a fun-filled afternoon at our Christmas Business Luncheon! Enjoy delicious food, great company, and plenty of laughs with our special guest comedian, Paul Boardman. 🚨 But hurry – there are only 15 seats left, so book now before it’s too late! 🚨 Don’t miss out on this one-of-a-kind afternoon – secure your ticket now for a Christmas Luncheon you’ll remember: https://heyor.ca/lzF9fV 📅 Date: Friday 6 December 📍 Venue: Old Albanian Sports Club, St Albans ⏰ Time: Arrival from 12:00 🎟️Tickets Members: £72.00 + VAT per person Non-Members: £82.00 + VAT per person #StAlbansBusiness #FestiveEntertainment #StAlbansEvents #BusinessNetworking #TeamCelebration #DecemberEvents #StAlbansDistrictChamber

I went to my first St Albans District Chamber of Commerce event last week for a Lunch and Learn about AI. Not only was the lunch and company excellent but the presentation by Dee Overfield from Wagada Digital was just brilliant. Like many I have dabbled with chat GPT and other AI language tools and am ever so slightly obsessed with the potential of AI. In previous jobs I may have been able to give over a lot of thought and time to this but not in this one! Too little time and too much to do. Given the endless possibilities knowing how and where to focus has felt a bit overwhelming. In a whistlestop tour Dee shared a very simple checklist to help you decide if AI could help you in your task, a template for mapping out AI business use cases, customisation tricks and tips and a template for how to prompt AI language tools effectively. She also dove into AI image tools, gave us some key questions to consider when evaluating vendors and touched on the impact AI is already having on SEO. I didn’t know what to expect from this session and I’ve come away brimming with practical ideas and direction some of which I’ve already made the use case for. Thank you St Albans District Chamber of Commerce, Dee Overfield, Cheryl Luzet and Wagada Digital | HubSpot Partner for some great networking and learning! Here's that ultimate AI checklist: ✅ Is the task data driven? ✅ Is the task repetitive? ✅ Is the ask making a prediction? ✅ Is the task generative/creative? Answer 'yes' to one or more of those and theresanaiforthat.com (Disclaimer: Post NOT written by AI!)

We're delighted to welcome The Pioneer Club to our Chamber of Commerce! 👏🏻🎉 The Pioneer Club, a youth charity, has been a cornerstone of St Albans since 1941, originally serving young WWII evacuees. Our history is rooted in supporting youth self-expression—from hosting the vibrant music scene of the 1960s to creating the UK’s oldest indoor skate park in the 1980s. Today, over 80 years on, young people remain central to our mission. We focus on creativity, providing a safe space for self-expression, confidence-building, and well-being. In partnership with local organizations, we offer diverse classes and events in performing arts, music, and skateboarding. Our targeted programs support young people with the greatest needs, including neurodiverse youth and their families, and provide enriching school holiday activities like community cinema, skate, and dance camps for youth from disadvantaged backgrounds. As a cultural hub, we also host an array of events for all ages: Indie and 80s club nights, jazz jams, family festivals, book club quiz battles, and gigs by bands on national and global tours. The Pioneer Club is a place where all generations come together to celebrate creativity and community. ➡️ Find out more: pioneerclub.co.uk #ThePioneerClub #YouthCharity #NewMembers #MemberMonday #StAlbansDistrictChamberMembership #StAlbansBusinesses