What a great way to start the new year - lots of new faces joined our members at Dunmore Lang College in the spacious and friendly Almgren Centre. Host Dr Lewis Rushbrook welcomed around 70 guests to the facility, which offers conference rooms for groups from 5 to 200. Wireless connectivity and audiovisual equipment to suit your purpose is available, and onsite meeting catering by fellow RBF member Alliance Catering is just superb (as we know from last night).

Adding to the atmosphere was the very cool sound of jazz with the Eamon Dilworth Trio playing at the top of the stairs.

Talking to people at the event, it seems for many of us this year has started with a bang. "Busier than this time last year," was a common comment, so it looks like the economy is finally on the rise.

New City of Ryde General Manager John Neish joined us and spoke for a few minutes on his vision for the City of Ryde and the need for current traffic and transport infrastructure plans to be revised in line with Ryde's growth spurt, particularly in the Macquarie Park area.

Dr Vicki Baard from Macquarie University was another guest speaker. She is running a survey for small businesses which asks business owners how they measure their performance. The aim of the survey is to gather data for a research project into developing a performance measurement tool for small businesses. Most performance measurement tools have been developed as a result of working with large corporates and aren't always appropriate for smaller businesses. If you'd like to complete the survey, which is anonymous and does not ask you any questions about your financials, click here.

We welcomed four new members on the night:

• Michael Mastro of Hort Grade Pty Ltd. Hort Grade provides detailed gardening services to both residential and commercial clients. "We specialise in all aspects of garden care including Garden and Property Maintenance (Mowing, pruning, clenaing, mulching, weeding etc), garden design and Installation, irrigation installation and repairs, pre sale makeovers, plant selection and planting. We have more than 10 years' experience in the horticulture industry and are fully insured," Director Michael Mastro told us. Does your commercial premises need a makeover? Or your own garden at home? Call Michael on 8819 4914 to discuss your needs.
• Adam Hyland and Peter Franke of Franke Hyland Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys. Adam and Peter, after working for several years with a larger corporate legal firm, have struck out on their own and formed a new partnership last December. They are based in the heart of North Ryde and offer personalised service for your patent and trade mark legal needs. Whether it's registering a new patent or trade mark, or a legal battle over an existing one, call them on 8875 7890.
• Lois Hewitt of Impact Career Solutions Lois and her team help people with their career transitions. Impact Career Solutions provides career and interview coaching, and helps you develop a professional resume among other services. Call Lois on 9983 9575.
• Malcolm Harrison of First Contact Relocations, who joined us last night. First Contact Relocations provides discreet, professional and personalised relocation services for individuals and familiies relocating to the north shore and northern suburbs of Sydney. Malcolm works with corporate executives from overseas, interstate, intrastate and returning expats to help them find a home, schools, car and other necessary services in their chosen area, taking the stress out of relocating and making it a smooth transition into a new job. To find out more call Malcolm on 0401 761734.

Photos from the night are available here. These photos will be suitable for printing out at postcard size on your office printer. Photos by Sabrina Ferguson unless otherwise stated. If you would like a high res copy of any of these please contact Sabrina.