Executive Director's Blog
Executive Director’s Blog: March 2008
Welcome to Spring – at least it’s supposed to be, so why the snow? Maybe an environmental expert can give us a clear answer on this, but to me it’s just a reminder of what’s going on in the world around us…..yes, you guessed it, CSR is still high on my agenda this year and rightly so in my opinion as it seems a good majority of the industry is still thinking about it as well. We’re really proud of Aileen winning the M&IT personality of the year award; she won this for her work on our One Future programme which focuses on lower carbon event management and is part of our wider CSR initiative at Eventia. If you haven’t heard her version of the gospel yet, Aileen and Hugo (our Carbon consultancy partner) are speaking at the Greening Events Summit next month. Eventia members get a discount and the line up of speakers is quite impressive if you haven’t checked it out yet all details are in the newsletter and on the home page.
Staying with this theme, I’ve been asked to chair the CSR panel discussion at RSVP show next week and in good time as our dedicated website is due to launch later next month. Aileen and her team on the CSR Working party have been busy pulling together some great tips, practical case studies, reference guides and much more on this new section of our website. Plus we have just launched ‘CSR tip of the month’ in the newsletter and a competition. You could win a state of the art recycled solar messenger bag that can be used to carry work kit and recharge computers, iPods and mobiles on the move. Not only is it made from recycled materials, it also reduces carbon based power consumption! To be honest, the answers are pretty easy, but the aim is to get you thinking about the small things you can do each day that all help towards making a difference.
What a busy start to the year it’s been so far, is it just me getting older or is time going much faster these days? We have already packed so much into the first quarter and we are well into our planning for this year’s SummerEventia which is shaping up to be a fantastic programme. The content committee is putting together the speakers and topics based around last year’s feedback. Patrizia and Danny at the Rocco Forte Collection have been fantastic in putting together a great deal at The Lowry Hotel in Manchester. We are using our own private train departing from London, stopping in Milton Keynes and offering a first class service for the entire journey, so I’m pleased that we have this green travel option on offer for delegates. There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but there is free advice from the National Tourist boards - The Oysters are back on board as a key sponsor. You will get the chance to talk to these international destinations during the appointment sessions and learn what they have to offer you. Remember their advice is unbiased and free of charge so do take advantage.
The election nominations are now open so if you want to make a difference in the industry now is your chance to put yourself forward or put your favourite candidate up for the industry vote of the year. As you know we rely heavily on the voluntary work of not only the board, but also the committee and working party members to pull together projects that benefit the entire industry so be a part of it by getting involved.
The talks with BACD are going well and we are planning a member’s breakfast on 18th April to share the proposed way forward. If you’d like to be a part of the discussions and help shape the future of Eventia then come along and have your say. During that meeting we will also hold an EGM,EGM; the purpose of this is nothing to do with the merger discussions. It’s about ensuring our articles of association reflect the way we operate with the Vice-Chair, Chair and Immediate Past Chair structure so we need to make a slight tweak to the articles which requires an EGM, nothing more than that. It won’t take up huge amounts of time on the morning but needs to be done by vote of the members.
There are lots of other things going on but if you feel like getting fit you can join the crew from Gallowglass while they walk 87 miles to raise funds for research into pancreatic cancer and/or join them for a fundraising dinner in May. Jon Bradshaw from Imex is also cycling 3000 miles around Europe to raise funds for the physical and mental rehabilitation of young stroke victims. You can join him at the launch with Visit London on 19th June; details of both charity events are in the newsletter.
Lastly, we have moved our back office support to the BACD team in Birmingham and for those of you who keep asking no, I’m not moving from my London office; I still work from my living room at home. My support team are now the lovely bunch up north rather than the London crew you have been working with over the past year. So please do take note as our phone number and address has changed, email addresses stay the same, see the newsletter for full details and mug-shots of the new Eventia support team.
Yours,
Click here for previous blogs.