‘Connecting communities’ top priority for new Bristol Junior Chamber president

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Nicky Godding

Emma Carter Bristol Junior Chamber

The newly elected president of the Bristol Junior Chamber has outlined her priorities for the coming year, with her sights set firmly on promoting community and charity.

Emma Carter, head of income generation for Air Ambulances UK, assumed the role of president at the organisation’s AGM on 2 April as the new Council of Management was elected. This follows her year serving as vice president – a position now held by Connor Jones, Senior Workplace Education Consultant for Mercer Private Wealth.

The Bristol Junior Chamber (BJC) has been a strong networking organisation in the city since its inception in 1948 and has been pivotal in the creation of a number of landmark events on the Bristol calendar, most notably the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta.

Having just celebrated its 75^th anniversary, the chamber’s 150-strong membership represents a wide range of sectors across the city – including legal, finance, charity, healthcare, education and engineering – with many of its thousands of alumni now recognisable figures across the city.

The year under Emma’s presidency is set to see a focused effort on building connections between communities and the positive impact the BJC can have on local people and businesses, building on the chamber’s longstanding relationship with charities across the region.

Following her election, Emma called for this proud tradition to continue through the new initiative, the “BJC Big Help Out”. Members will be encouraged to volunteer their time throughout the month of June, including through work volunteering days, in a concerted effort to help good causes across Bristol and the West of England region.

Emma said: “Community is at the heart of everything we do at the BJC and it is a privilege to become its newest president, refreshing its status as a pillar of our organisation which has given me so much over the past five years.

“Our landmark 75^th anniversary was a fantastic reminder to members new and old of the heritage and the strength in depth we have as a community for young professionals, as well as an inspiration on the potential we have to positively impact the city, and I am really excited for the year ahead.”

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.