By Kerry Trewin, President
It is my pleasure to present the President’s Report for the Portarlington Business Development Association for 2026.
This has been a positive and productive year for the Association, with a few important achievements that will help strengthen our organisation and support the local business community into the future. One very exciting award for Portarlington this year was that we were crowned Victoria’s Top Small Tourism Town. Thank you to everyone who voted.
One of our key achievements this year has been the completion of our Strategic Plan. A big thank you to our member Paul Synnott from Dovo Coaching for donating his time over 3 sessions to help us get to this stage. He kept us focused and on track to be able to deliver this document which focuses on Advocacy, Collaboration, Education and Community. This has been an important piece of work for the Association and provides us with a clear direction and framework for the years ahead. It has given the committee an opportunity to consider where we are as an organisation, where we want to go, and how we can continue to add value for our members and the broader Portarlington business community.
I am also pleased to report that we have doubled our new member numbers up from last year. This is a strong endorsement of the work being undertaken by the Executive and demonstrates that local businesses on the North Bellarine see value in being part of a collective voice for the area. Growing our membership also gives us greater capacity to advocate for local businesses and to build stronger connections throughout our business community. We also welcomed businesses from further afield from Queenscliff, Point Lonsdale, Curlewis as our reputation grows as a strong business networking group.
We included several questions in this year’s renewal form to better understand the economic impact PBDA members have across our region. These insights will help strengthen our advocacy and ensure we can clearly demonstrate the contribution our members make to the local economy.
Our diverse membership spans more than 15 industries. Almost two-thirds are family-owned businesses, while nearly 70% are sole traders or employ fewer than five people.
Collectively, respondents represent at least 258 workers, with our broader membership having the potential to reach up to 1,900 employees.
Members who shared turnover data collectively generate at least $48.9 million in annual revenue. This provides a strong indication of our membership’s economic contribution, with the true impact likely to be considerably higher.
Education and professional development have also been an important focus during the year. We held three educational evenings focused on digital marketing, providing members with practical information and ideas to help them promote their businesses in an increasingly digital marketplace. These evenings have been well received and demonstrate the value of providing opportunities for our members to learn, share experiences and improve their businesses. A special thank you to Fraser Baker from Propeld Digital Marketing who is also on our executive committee for running 2 sessions for us and Casey Bryant from Grand Cru Digital Marketing another member for running our last session and also thanks to Staple Deli & Café for opening and catering for us during the week to enable us to run these smaller focus-based group sessions.
Sadly, this year we also lost John Rae OAM who had been our past President for 14 years, a long-standing and highly respected member of our community. John made an enormous contribution to Portarlington over many years, and his commitment to the town and its community will be greatly missed. His biggest achievement along with the help of his best friend Geoff Henderson was the passenger ferry service running between Melbourne to Portarlington finally coming to fruition after 10 years, hundreds of hours of work and hard lobbying. On behalf of the Association, I extend our deepest sympathies to Lainey, family and friends. His contribution and legacy will remain an important part of the Portarlington community.
I would like to sincerely thank our 5 executive committee members for their commitment and contribution throughout the year. I greatly appreciate the time they volunteer to help support myself and so generously give to make our Association stronger.
We also sincerely thank Community Bank Bellarine for its continued support. This year, its generous grant enabled us to purchase a new PA and projector system, supporting our digital marketing seminars throughout 2026 and into 2027. Its ongoing support also helps us deliver our networking dinners and create valuable opportunities for local businesses to connect.
I also thank all our members for their continued support. The strength of the Portarlington Business Development Association comes from the businesses that choose to be involved, and our record membership growth this year is something we can all be proud of.
Finally, I look forward to building on the progress we have made this year and working together to ensure that the North Bellarine remains a vibrant, connected and prosperous place to do business.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the Association during 2026.
Kerry Trewin
President of the PBDA
