The Narooma Chamber of Commerce and Tourism's new president is bubbling over with ideas for the town.
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Keira Marchini is passionate about helping the town's businesses to recover from a few tough years and to help the town regain its vibrancy.
Her parents moved to Narooma shortly after she was born and she went to the pre-school that was just behind the business she now owns, Montague Cafe.
Earlier this year then-president of the chamber Dr Jenny Munro AM suggested to Ms Marchini that she take over as president of the 65-member chamber when it was time for Ms Munro to step down in coming months.
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"At first I was hesitant but as I thought about it and saw how committed and excited they were I thought I can't pass this up," Ms Marchini said.
Having owned Montague Cafe for more than five years and worked in the cafe prior to that, she understands the challenges of being a business owner in a small town.
"The bushfires took a huge toll and so did COVID and we are only getting back on our feet again.
"As a chamber we have talked about local businesses working with each other, supporting each other, sharing what we know and recommending each other," Ms Marchini said.
Signs of development, growth
She comes to the position when there are visible signs of growth and development and a colourful new mural to greet visitors as they cross the bridge into Narooma.
A new seafood shop is about to open on the 'flat', the Narooma Mountain Bike Hub is expected to be completed shortly and two major residential and commercial development applications worth more than $41 million are with council.
"I hope those developments inspire a bit more life and excitement," Ms Marchini said.
She said she and the five other new committee members of the chamber have a common passion for the town.
"We have a brand new committee, very young, very excited and all of us have been here for a long time and want the town to do really well.
"We all had the same stories of things from our childhood we want to bring back so I am really excited about what Narooma could potentially become again," she said.
Her vision is for the town and economy to keep growing, keep succeeding "and for people to see how beautiful the town is like it was when my parents came here".
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