MONTEGO BAY: As part of its thrust to attract new members and keep the current ones interested, the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry is now making an effort to make its meetings and seminars more interesting.

Next Wednesday’s quarterly luncheon, for example, will be held aboard the 855 foot Carnival Cruise Line vessel, Inspiration. And the city’s cruise shipping and tourism interests should be pleased to know that Carnival’s senior vice president of operations, Brendan Corrigan, will be the guest speaker.

“It’s part of the Chamber’s new thrust to have some new and interesting features for luncheons and upcoming seminars,” said manager Makeda Solomon. “We’re looking, overall, at functions we put on and events we plan for the wider community. We’re looking towards putting on things that are a little bit different and of interest to members and prospective members.”

In years past, the Chamber has been a force to be reckoned with, particularly when it came to pressuring the government to implement and complete infrastructural projects in the western city. But this year, there has been a noticeable decrease in interest in the organisation, with a lack of quorum leading to some meetings being cancelled.

A few months ago, Solomon was hired as part of the directors’ attempt to get the Chamber back on track.

According to her, the luncheon aboard Inspiration is just one of the tricks they have up their sleeve.

“We are to have a membership launch shortly. And we’re looking at a new (members’) benefits package,” she explained. “It’s a concerted effort by the directors and administrators to make us more relevant to the membership that we serve. We want to open the doors of the Chamber. We are going to focus on small to medium sized businesses as well as ensure that we are covering the full spectrum of business persons in Montego Bay.”