The Years Fly By
It seems incredible that it is a year since I wrote my last end of year report – how time flies. The year has been another good one for the Central Lancashire Business Club, being a year of consolidation rather than innovation. Following the previous year’s change of name this year as been spent trying to spread the word of the benefits of becoming a member.
Following the issuing of membership cards this year for the first time we hope to be able to provide more member benefits by way of discounts from local businesses. Obviously this may take some time to arrange but we hope to build up a package of offers during the coming months. Don’t worry if you have not received your membership card yet, they will be issued very soon. One card will be issued per organisation once the current year membership fee is paid.

As I approach the end of my third year as Chairman I am able to reflect on an enjoyable, interesting and rewarding time but above all else I value the friendships that have been made along the way. As you are aware I am hoping to pass on the Chair at the AGM to someone who is able to bring fresh ideas to the club, I feel that it is vital, in order to continue the club’s success, to have a regular flow on new ideas. To whoever takes over I am able to say that I have genuinely enjoyed the experience and I will always be grateful for the support given to me by all the committee members, who all work tirelessly to maintain the momentum of the club, and also to the membership in general. Do I have any regrets? Well just one, I never quite managed to reach the 100 member mark that I aimed for.

We have again welcomed new members every month but these are offset by those who do not renew their membership. We will inevitably always have a few members who join, don’t attend many, if any, meetings and at the end of the year are unable to see what they gain from membership. As with all organisations the more you put in, the more you get out.

We have had a steady stream of articles for the newsletter for which we are very grateful. Remember that now the newsletter is produced in an electronic form there is no limit to the number of pages therefore please keep your articles coming.

At the club meetings we are always delighted to see the ‘regulars’ and to welcome visitors. It would, however, be especially nice to be able to welcome those members who do not attend meetings. Again we have had an interesting series of speakers and, as is now tradition, I will briefly rewind the year.

In March we enjoyed a presentation of the major plans to redevelop Leyland town centre, which was of particular interest to those members who live or work in Leyland.

April brought one of the highlights of the year with a presentation on the working of Job Spec, a division of the Brothers of Charity. Lee Morris, with his two able assistants, gave an interesting, humorous and, above all, an inspiring presentation.

The speaker for May was Mike Holman, the regional director of BNI who talked about effective networking.

In June we were educated to the human resource problems facing small businesses by Ian Langford and Stephen Balfe of Peninsula Business Services. This was certainly valuable information and gave many of us points to ponder on.

In July we were entertained by Mike Furness who gave an illustrated talk on the history and current day operation of the steam yacht Gondola on Lake Coniston, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all those present.

After the summer break our September meeting saw a double header of Mike Reece from Ology who gave us an insight into people’s behavioural styles and David Coates, business reporter from the Lancashire Evening Post, who explained the LEP’s plans for increased business coverage.

A very late cancellation by our planned speaker for October led to a hasty rearrangement and I admired Steve Ward’s ability to think on his feet, for which I thank him. Steve, with no pre planning, led us through an interesting debate on a number of subjects.

November means Brian and our biggest turnout of the year! As always Brian Wilding from Chordale Wines gave us all a ‘tasty’ and very enjoyable journey through the wine industry. I never cease to be amazed by Brian’s knowledge and I know that we all hope we will be enjoying Brian’s presentations for many, many more years.

December brought our annual members’ presentation evening. As always we had a very wide variety of presentations, highlighting the broad cross section of businesses our membership covers. Thanks go to The IT Department, Resolution Opportunities, Changeability, Chiropractic Associates and Pin Point GPS for their excellent presentations.
Also in December we enjoyed our Christmas Dinner at Leyland Golf Club and a most enjoyable night was had by all. My thanks yet again to Steve and Ann for the hard work in again making this event much more than a Christmas meal, although it might be better not to get everyone singing next year!!!

In January friendships were put aside at our competitive annual ten pin bowling competition. This year brought a change of champions with the Thomas Cole team being victorious. However I am not sure that splitting up the winning team for the last two years was entirely ethical Mr Lancaster! Thanks once again to Philip Lancaster for organising this event and to Steve Ward for providing the prizes and organising the presentation ceremony.

February saw us taking to the high seas in the form of a very interesting presentation on ‘The Unusual Side of Cruising’ by Mike Ridley from Resolution Opportunities. Mike gave is an insight to the ‘behind the scenes’ operation of a cruise liner.

So the end of another successful year for Central Lancashire Business Club. Thanking people always runs the risk of omitting someone deserving of thanks but I do feel that there are a number of people I must thank for their support during the last year. In addition to those mentioned above I would like to thank Lisa Thomason for her continued hard work in producing the newsletter and also maintaining our web site, Phil Lancaster for maintaining the membership database, Paul Ainsworth for maintaining our financial records in a very professional manner, Jon Neal and John Thompson for taking the minutes at committee meetings, a thankless task, Rachel Gill for turning visitors into members, Steve Ward for always being prepared to step in when I could not attend meetings, Brian Wilding for making sure we had our raffle prizes each month and Dea Parkin for helping achieve press coverage for the club. If I have forgotten anyone please accept my apologies.
As I prepare to hand over the reins I have one more thank you. I would like to thank Keith Ellison for ‘persuading’ me to become Chairman three years ago.

So what of the coming year. I hope we can reach the magic 100 members and I am determined that we will hold a satellite meeting in Preston, which due to circumstances beyond our control could not take place during this last year.
2009 also brings the club’s 25th anniversary. The fact that the club has remained such a strong organisation for so long is testament to those with the foresight to launch the organisation and to all those who have had the enthusiasm to continue to run and develop the club since. Keep reading your newsletter for details of celebratory events later in the year.

Last, but certainly not least, I would like to thank all of you, our members, for your support throughout the last three years, a period that has seen some major changes including a change of name for the club and the move to distributing the newsletter in an electronic format. Without your support the club would not be as successful as it is. Please do continue your support, it really is appreciated.