Well, yet again, we had another great Networking Night last week!

Vicky Brown and her team at Browns Seafoods put on a brilliant feast of seafood, and everyone agreed that both the calibre and amount of food was absolutely fantastic! Thanks to the staff at Browns, you did yourselves proud!

Russell Mason, CEO of Tourism Sunshine Coast (pictured above with Chris Wells, Colourscan), addressed the group, discussing the current situation of Tourism on the Coast, as well as addressing the restructure of the Tourism Industry on the Sunshine Coast. Issues covered include:

Consumer Confidence and the Global Financial Crisis

Sunshine Coast Visitation

Tourism - The Key Driver for the Sunshine Coast

Russell provided some interesting factual information, so if you were unable to attend and would like to have a read of the information, please let me know, and I will send you a copy.

One of the points that Russell stressed was the importance of supporting local organisations such as Mooloolaba Business and Tourism to ensure that your voice is heard in Council and at higher levels. MB&T is committed to applying as much pressure as possible to Local, State and Federal bodies to provide financial support to the Sunshine Coast as a tourism region. The facts and figures support the input that Tourism in our region has on the GRP - 17%, which is significant.

Vicky Brown (pictured centre, with Lisa Aitken, Aitken Legal and Prue Byrnes, Bundilla Dry Cleaners) provided a run down on what is happening within the Seafood Industry at the moment, including the impact of the Oil Spill, and have the Recovery Program is managing the problems faced by them. The World Famous "Mooloolaba Prawn" is growing in popularity, and supplies of the product at great.

(Winston Hall, Mantra Resorts, Renee, Deyarn and Norm Vitelli)

A big "Thanks" to all of our members, old and new, as well as non-members that attended. We hope you had a great night, and are looking forward to our next event.

Andrew Saunders, Kezzia Taylor and Tennille Wendt (the girls are pictured above) of USM Events, also attended on the night, and Andrew publicly thanked all of the community of Mooloolaba for their ongoing support of the Mooloolaba Triathlon. Without this support, he said, the event would not be possible, or as popular as it is. He hopes that community support for this event will continue, especially as the event continues to grow, with a 40% increase in registrations this year. A big congrats to USM, for doing a brilliant job with a brilliant event!

Bernie Sullivan (Newport Apartments), Trevor Martin (Mooloolaba Yacht Club, Benny Pike).

Speaking of which, our next event will be our June Networking Night, combined with our AGM, to be held on Tuesday 16th June (venue TBC). I will be sending out information in the near future regarding a venue, nominating for the committee, as well as voting procedures etc.

If you would like to host a Networking Event, or you have anything that you would like to say, please contact Sally Hansen at business@mooloolabatourism.com.au .

Linda Stoll (Alexandra on the Pacific), Julie Hunt and David Christie (Coco Mooloolaba) enjoy some yummy seafood at Browns.