Sally's 'great honour' at becoming only the fourth lady President of the Chamber

Sally Booker (right) pictured with our new Vice President Kathy Fillingham.

The Chamber's new President, SALLY BOOKER, talks about her role as President, how she came to live and work in the Humber region, and her hopes for her year in office.

AS well as a great honour, to me, it seemed very fitting that I should be appointed President of the Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce on International Women’s Day.

The President’s role is a prestigious one, and even more so in my case, as I’ve become only the fourth woman to hold the position since the Chamber was founded all those years ago in 1837.

I would like to thank my predecessor, Phil Ascough, for all his hard work during his term as President during Hull’s UK City of Culture year which was a great success. I’m very much looking forward to my role in the coming year, working with my Vice President Kathy Fillingham, our Chief Executive Ian Kelly, and the rest of the Chamber team.

I’m also looking forward to meeting many more of our members at our regular speed networking events and lunches, but also at the various Business Awards in Northern Lincolnshire, Goole and Bridlington, and at our other formal events like the Annual Dinner, which are always highlights for me.

In my “day job”, I am responsible for the Port Operations for P&O Ferries as Head of North Sea UK Ports, covering Hull, Teesport and Tilbury. I am originally from Kent, and I’m one of many people who have moved to this area and stayed. I believe our Humber region is a great place to live and work, there’s a lot going on and we have the right people in the Chamber to get our voices heard.

The Chamber has been good to me, giving me the opportunity to meet so many local business people, get involved, and very quickly enabled me to feel truly part of the region.  I really don’t think this would have happened without becoming part of the Chamber. There are many Chamber members that I have come to know, and many that I have worked closely with and who have given me great support in that time.

I was first involved with Chamber Council, and then invited to join the Chamber’s Shipping and Transport Committee. At that time we had some challenging shipping issues at P&O, along with other shipping lines.  Scrubbers was often the talk of the day, and for those not in the know, that relates to the cleaning of fuel to meet new sulphur regulations, nothing more sinister than that, but it always raised a smile.  I say this to make the point that the Chamber is here to represent the interests of its members and through the Chamber we were able to raise the profile of the issues we faced as a business.  The Chamber has the connections and the voice, so I urge you to use this.

Our region is a great place to live and work.  The transformations that are taking place are significant and putting us on the map for the right reasons.  Hull as UK City of Culture, and now the plans for Grimsby to regenerate Alexandra Dock and Victoria Mills to name but a few, it’s fair to say there is a lot going on.  It is exciting to watch the transformation and we have a strong story to tell.  We have the right people in the Chamber to influence the way forward.

That doesn’t mean we don’t have some tough issues to deal with.  As a region we have to work hard to get our voice heard, whether that’s to ensure funding for the region or on transport issues.  Who knows what Brexit will bring? We heard at our AGM from the new Chief Constable of Humberside Police, Lee Freeman and the Police and Crime Commissioner, Keith Hunter, who outlined the challenges they are facing in Humberside Police and how they are working hard to put be the focus back on community policing and to that end, they are undertaking the biggest recruitment drive of any police force in the UK. Their commitment, ambition and enthusiasm was infections and we wish them well in achieving their vision.

In all of our organisations we will have some common issues, as well as unique challenges. We know our members are concerned about the availability of people with relevant skills in the region and we are getting to grips with the impact of the new Apprenticeship Levy. 

Dare I mention the Castle Street Development?  It is somewhat frustrating that some of these items are still on the agenda but we must continue to fight our corner. The Chamber will continue throughout 2018 to ensure effective communication and involve its members in all of these topics and many more besides. 

I am looking forward to seeing how our region develops over the coming year. I urge you all, please, it’s your Chamber.  If there is an issue you would like to highlight then please come and talk to us. 

I would like to thank the Chamber for making me President and I look forward to working with and meeting many more businesses throughout my year in office.