Since it was formed in 2004 Peterborough SportsAid has awarded grants in excess of £100,000 to more than 200 young sportspeople from over 30 sports from athletics to water skiing, perhaps most notably supporting gymnast Louis Smith and heptathlete Louise Hazel. Chaired by the Chambers’ own President Iain Crighton, Peterborough SportsAid provides financial support to young people aged 12-18 and disabled athletes of all ages and their most recent lunch was an opportunity to hear from someone else who is just as passionate about inspiring young people to achieve sporting success. World champion swimmer Mark Foster demonstrated his own enthusiasm and described how he launched the Mark Foster Swimming Academy in 2013 to help aspiring young swimmers aged 11–17.

Supporting International TradeCambridgeshire Export Club continues to reap great rewards for companies involved in international trade. The monthly networking opportunity brings together exporters of all levels of experience and areas of interest to discuss overseas business opportunities, the support available and crucial access to finance. It’s very important to us that the Export Club continues to be accessible to all businesses, including those not yet trading overseas but are perhaps increasingly aware of the potential that exists for their business. It’s a great pleasure to bring businesses together in such a vibrant environment to build vital relationships not just with the Chambers’ own International Trade team but also our colleagues at organisations like UKTI and EEN.

Promoting the Puglia regionAnd finally, Peterborough has hosted a very special exhibition initiated by Marco Cereste. He was clearly very proud to promote the Puglia region that he has great affection for having left as a young boy with his parents to migrate to Peterborough. With such a strong Italian community across the city it was great to see so many companies from the travel industry attending the exhibition alongside members of the general public to appreciate the region’s qualities and potential as a growingly popular tourist destination. n

John Bridge OBE DLChief Executive, Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce

CONNECTING WITH THE CHAMBER NETWORK

CONNECTED JUNE 2015 5

It was a great pleasure to attend and support the recent Peterborough SportsAid lunch and hear how it continues to inspire aspiring athletes to reach their potential.

MARK FOSTER WITH JOHN BRIDGE

ELISABETTA CAPOBIANCO AND MARCO CERESTE WITH JOHN BRIDGE

DELEGATES RECENTLY ATTENDING EXPORT CLUB