Town Teams: Business and community leaders gather in Bunbury for first event of its kind outside Perth

Community leaders from across WA immersed themselves in all the South West has to offer recently as a conference aiming to bolster cities and towns around the State was held outside Perth for the first time. The annual Town Teams Conference was held in Bunbury this month — the only time the event had been hosted in a regional area. Not only was the conference an opportunity to connect and collaborate, but it exposed Bunbury, Busselton and the rest of the region to an audience of some of the most astute local busi-ness minds in the State. Conference co-ordinator Lisa O’Neill said the event went off without a hitch. “It was a huge success — we had about 200 visitors from local governments, businesses, sponsors and volunteers in attendance,” she said. “We had a great selection of guest speakers who spoke on various topics to help support all the ideas of what we do within Town Teams — how it helps the local shires, the communities and businesses.” Town Team Movement is a non-profit social enterprise which facilitates smaller teams coming together to support the interests of a city, town, or smaller community, by connecting and sharing ideas. As well as the guest speakers, attendees were involved in workshops, break-out groups, and activities around town, including a walking mural tour with artist Andrew Frazer, photography classes, and cupcake decorating sessions. After a laneway afterparty on the Friday night, guests were taken by bus on a surprise tour of the South West, visiting sites and local businesses in Bun-bury, Busselton, Dunsborough and spots in between. The conference also drew praise from one of the guest speakers, Perth MLA John Carey, in Parliament this week.