A busy week for yours truly. On Wednesday I, and two of my colleagues, travelled to the Birmingham NEC to attend the Resource Management and Waste Management Solutions Expo 2013 (RWM).
As the Chamber organises the Eco-Fair, the north of England’s biggest environment event, it was an excellent opportunity to see what tips and ideas we could pick for the Eco-Fair 2014 in May. A relatively smooth journey listening to the restful sounds of SAGA FM saw us arrive just after 10am. After a quick strategic meeting we hit the exhibition. This was my first visit to the NEC and I was suitably impressed with the size of the venue and the quality of the stands on display. My main objectives were to a) speak to potential sponsors and exhibitors for Eco Fair and b) pick up as many freebies as possible to take back to the kids.
I am happy to report that both objectives were achieved and my children now have an ample supply of pens, post-it notes, stress balls, mints and solar-powered torch key rings (many thanks npower). We returned home in good spirits and despite a short delay just outside Sheffield it was a day well spent.
As they say, there is no rest for the wicked or Chamber employees and so it was that the next day saw Bradford Chamber exhibiting at the Bradford Business Conference. Smaller in scale than the RWM 2013, but with just as big a heart, the conference provides a great platform for the District’s businesses to exhibit, network and debate.
As well as being one of the main sponsors of the event, Bradford Chamber was heavily involved during the day. Chamber President Paul Mackie chaired a Q&A session called the ‘The Bradford Blueprint’ and, with over 50 people in attendance, it is fair to say the session could have easily exceeded its one hour time slot. As it was, Paul and many of the attendees at the session were keen to finish as they were all due to attend our ‘Meet the Chamber’ event. With over 70 people joining us, our supply of sandwiches was pushed to breaking point and Chamber staff member Kiri Richardson nobly abstained from lunch. (I personally enjoyed a small nibble but perhaps, on reflection, that fifth sandwich was excessive.)
To sum it all up - the day was a great success. The Chamber team spoke to a lot of businesses about the benefits of membership and it certainly seemed to generate a feel-good factor. Many who we saw have already let the Chamber know that they would like to become members.
And so ends another busy but very productive week. Attending the two events has really shown the value of getting out there and speaking to people (shameless plug alert ahead). To ensure you do the same, make sure you book onto one of the upcoming Chamber events. Click here!