Tim Cox and David Burbidge invited me to speak at an event on the 8 May in Coventry. This was joined-up thinking by the Lord-Lieutenants who combined the power of West Midlands with Warwickshire to stage a workshop on behalf of Coventry and Warwickshire Chambers of Commerce.
Some very successful local businesses were invited with the aim of getting them to consider entering or nominating for the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise or for the Queen’s Honours. Introductions were made by David Burbidge (OBE, Deputy Lieutenant) and Louise Bennett (OBE) who then handed over to the charismatic Paul Sabapathy (CBE, Lord-Lieutenant of the West Midlands) to outline the structure of the event.
Richard Tilbrook from the Cabinet Office delivered a superb presentation on behalf on the Queen’s Honours and invited questions. Then it was my turn to face the room, canvas on behalf of the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise and answer a few questions afterwards.
What followed was a brilliant workshop where representatives of 3 previous winners (Jaguar Land Rover, Rhead Group and Alumet) gave lively and punchy testimonies about what winning a Queen’s Award for Enterprise actually means and how it increases trade, prestige as well as boosting team spirit within a successful company.
The event was wrapped up by Tim Cox (Lord-Lieutenant of Warwickshire) and summed up by Paul Sabapathy who demanded everybody stay and network over the summer buffet lunch!
This event demonstrated the engagement potential of the Lord-Lieutenants and is a testament to their networking abilities and creative thinking. On a personal note I would like to thank Tim and Paul for collecting Richard Tillbrook and me and then taking us back to the station. It was a very wet day in Coventry but nothing dampened the spirits or the enthusiasm of everybody involved in this fantastic event.
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