Bank of Ireland and local business community announce Kells Enterprise Town programme of activity

Bank of Ireland and local business community announce Kells Enterprise Town programme of activity

Business & Jobs Expo, Sports and Community Expo, an exciting Transition Year Schools Project or a visit to Santa’s Christmas Party
Bank of Ireland, in partnership with the Kells business community, today (Monday 11 November 2013) announces its comprehensive programme of activities for Enterprise Town, which aims to promote and drive business activity in the town. The Enterprise Town concept is a new initiative by Bank of Ireland that aims to support both the local business and wider community in coming together to make a positive impact on the local economy and community spirit.  The Bank invested €25,000 in this project.

A comprehensive programme of activities has been organised by a committee which includes members of the Kells & District Chamber, local businesses, Meath County Council and members of the local community.  This programme will be posted to all homes in Kells and the nearby hinterland this week.

Commenting on the announcement, Mary Rohan, Branch Manager, Bank of Ireland, Kells: “I am privileged to be involved in this initiative.  From the outset the response to our initial approach to the local businesses and community was over-whelmingly positive.  It is fair to say that tremendous work and commitment has gone into making this programme of activities a reality.  I would encourage everyone in Kells and the surrounding areas to get involved. I am very proud to work in a town like Kells with such an engaged business community.
“We did some fantastic work with the transition year students of St Ciaran’s Community School and Eureka Secondary School when we arranged for the Bank’s creative agency, Irish International to visit the schools.  They brought the students through the process of developing a promotional video from taking a brief, researching the project, right through to producing the final work.  We got an amazing reaction with 80 students participating. They have now been asked to submit their proposals for making a video showcasing Kells and the winning entry will get to film in Kells at the start of Enterprise Week. The video will feature on the Bank?’s web site and at various events throughout the programme of activity“.
Committee member Geraldine Gaughran said:  “This initiative has really galvanised the community in Kells and brought us all together.  One of the first things that we did was to call a town hall meeting and we invited business people and the general public to come along and be part of it.  The impact of this has been very positive in that both the business and wider community took ownership of the initiative in that this is their town and their project.  That level of commitment has allowed us to achieve an awful lot in a very short time.”

An outline of the key events include;
There will be two main events around the Enterprise Town initiative: “Kells  A great place to live sports and community expo and Kells  A great place to do business” business and jobs expo.

Sports & Community Expo
Taking place in the Headfort Arms Hotel on Wednesday 20 November from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., the sports and community expo will showcase the wonderful variety of sports, clubs, societies and recreational amenities available in Kells and the surrounding area.  Players from Leinster Rugby will put in an appearance as will some GAA personalities, including local all-star Micky Newman.  A great opportunity to find a new hobby or sport.

Business & Jobs Expo
Taking place in Kells Enterprise Centre, Kells Business Park on the Cavan Road on Thursday 21 November from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m.  Approximately 40 exhibitors are expected from the area to display their products and services to the local community.  Amongst the exhibitions will be recruitment agencies who will be hosting a job recruitment fair and artisan food producers to name a few.  A number of keynote speakers will present to include John Bruton (Chair, Meath Economic Forum), Tom Mooney (CEO : Smurfit Kappa), Ian Maguire (Plant Manager : Mafic Ireland) and Gerry O’Reilly (Founder of itrade.com).  Gabriel Bannigan, Regional Manager, Bank of Ireland Dublin North East will also be attending.
“Other activities include the launch of a Kells gift voucher which will take place in Bank of Ireland Branch on Monday 18th November when the LMFM roadcaster will be in attendance, a local craft fair, Kells local radio, Fiver Friday with great promotions in businesses around Kells, Silver surfer event in the Bank of Ireland, Kells.  Santa arrives to turn on the Christmas lights on Sunday 1 December at 4 p.m. and he is having a party in Kells People’s Resource Centre on Saturday 7 December at 1.30 p.m.  The old cinema on Suffolk Street will show “Miracle on 34th Street” and “Polar Express” for the little ones.  We would encourage everyone to participate in these activities“, concluded Mary Rohan.

The Enterprise Town initiative is launching in conjunction with Bank of Ireland’s ninth National Enterprise Week, which is focused on building business momentum within the Irish SME sector. The well-established bi-annual event will run from Friday 15 November until Friday 22 November 2013 across the Bank’s extensive branch network. Enterprise Week provides local businesses across the country with a unique opportunity to show and sell their products or services, through the “Show Your Business” element as well as offering new business opportunities through our speed networking events.

Ends