Gerard Pender is a Director at Walker Pender Group and will be presenting the Members Choice Award.

Gerard has represented Ipswich in more ways than one. Gerard has been a Solicitor since 1979, firstly in partnership with his father.

While early on in his career he was a general practitioner providing advice and services in most legal areas, in recent times he has focused on the areas of Wills, Estates and Powers of Attorney, Conveyancing, Commercial and Property matters

The Professional Services Award will be presented by Peter Wilkinson from McNamara Law.

Peter is the Managing Partner and has been with McNamara Law since 1996.

As McNamara Law are committed to assisting community organisations in our region, Peter is heavily involved with the organisation and sponsorship of the Annual Legacy Ipswich Inc Charity Golf Day which raises money for war widows and orphans of defence force personnel.

Peter also has a passion for mentoring the junior staff at McNamara Law and has also been a mentor for the Queensland University of Technology Law School Under Graduate Mentoring Program since 2009 trying to assist students in bridging the gap between university and the real world.

Mayor Teresa Harding will be presenting the Outstanding Small Business Award on behalf of Ipswich City Council.

Mayor Harding was sworn in as the 51st Mayor of Ipswich, our city's first female Mayor, in April 2020.

During her first six months in office, Mayor Harding and the new Council have worked hand-in-hand to deliver an era governance for the great City of Ipswich.

Council's achievements to date include:

Partnering with the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce and other organisations to advocate for fairer investment in the city.

Formally partnering with the Chamber to support local businesses.



Becoming Queensland's first Small Business Friendly Council through a new charter signed with the Chamber presidents and Queensland's Small Business Commissioner.

The President's award is being presented by our fearless leader Neil Coupland.

Neil has been the president of GSCC since 2016 and has was the main driver of our revitalised logo and website.

Always thinking a little differently to the rest of the committee, Neil is always coming up new ways we can collaborate with our members and build a stronger business community.

Neil came up with the idea of a Members Discount Card back in 2017 which encourages our members to use each others services by offering discounts and extra deals. This is a huge part of Neil's passion for our community and to ensure we all shop local where we can.