Patricia Gill, Denmark Bulletin

Sumer Addy started her job as chief executive at the Denmark Chamber of Commerce in 2020 in what she describes as a baptism of fire.

That was about one month before the Amazing South Coast closed operations and divested itself of the then 13-year-old Denmark Visitor Centre.

And it was two months before COVID19 grounded many local businesses to a halt.

Sumer leaves the Chamber at the end of April to take up a consultancy job with the economic and community development partner consultancy, Rural and Regional Economic Solutions.

The first job will be on a ‘back-bone’ project, Denmark Futures.

“We will address the hard issues in Denmark,” Sumer says.

“The first one is housing.”

Sumer said she had ‘loved’ the hectic pace at the Chamber.

Circumstances had meant the local business landscape changed overnight.

The former Chamber chief executive, Liz Jack, had left after seven years.

“I was replacing a legend; it was about reinventing everything in that everything had changed.

“Nobody compared the two of us.”

Previous to her Chamber job, Sumer organised events and marketing at Rockcliffe Winery and was the marketing person for Denmark Arts. This was apart from a consultancy business for mental skills training and her co-ownership of the Denmark Yoga Centre.

But the woman with a Masters degree in sports psychology took it all in her stride arriving at a point at the Chamber where groundwork had been done.

The ensuing ‘tourism conversation’ had been ‘long and complicated’ but had resolved into an opportunity for the community and the Chamber membership. In June 2020 the Shire of Denmark backed the Chamber’s proposal for a face-to-face and online visitor-servicing model, Discover Denmark.

The model focused on a collaborative network of local businesses and attractions to become ‘touch-points’ whose staff would have been trained to deliver visitor servicing and information to visitors.

This was dropped in favour of the community’s preference of a coordinator overseeing a team of volunteers to re-open the Denmark Visitor Centre.

Sumer is not only proud but ‘ecstatic’ about the outcome of this move.

“It’s one thing when you create a plan but when you start to implement that plan it’s a little bit frightening,” Sumer said.

At the moment the Chamber is adding staff members at the Denmark Visitor Centre and trying to gain momentum with membership.

“There are indicators it’s heading in the right direction but it will take time to grow,” Sumer said.

“It’s a great idea. It’s on its way.

“We need everyone to join in and keep feeding us information, allow us to grow a strong organisation and to rebrand.”

Another proud achievement is the Great Southern Food and Beverage Capability Guide put together with the Great Southern Development Commission and the Department for Primary Industry and Regional Development.

It is among a series of online documents which promote the diversity of fresh and value-added products available in each region of WA.

“We went from 80 producers in the first guide to 100 in the update,” Sumer says.

And the recent Young Women in Business Mentorship program, an initiative with Silver Stream Wines and the GSDC, has been a landmark.

“We hope to continue that and grow it into perhaps a young men’s or young people’s mentorship program,” she said.

“The three women who went through the program loved it and were able to have access to 10 amazing mentors in our community.

“We hope for the capacity to grow the list of mentors to share their knowledge with our youth.”

Never one to be idle, in addition to her consultancy work Rural and Regional Economic Solutions, Sumer will help her husband, Tyson, develop a small bar brewery at Tea House Books on Hollings Road.

The brewery is in the process of being approved by the Shire of Denmark.

Geological engineer and brewer Tyson Addy spent seven years at Boston Brewery before last year taking on Tea House Books.

Sumer expressed her gratitude to Chamber chair Chris Langslow, administrator Anna Boaden and Richard Keeler of Albany Business Centre for all their assistance.

This article appeared in the Denmark Bulletin, 24 March 2022.