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FDA Educational Foundation Dinner and Awards16 September 2004 On 16 September 2004, the FDA held its first ever Educational Foundation dinner in recognition of the efforts of the students and lecturers who had worked so hard throughout the year. As I had travelled up in casual attire to dress on arrival I turned up half an hour early to allow for a few dummy runs at the bow tie. Normally at such events the guests trickle in from about 15 minutes after the start, right up to the very last second before the meal. The FDA’s reputation for throwing a party had clearly gone before it as I was joined in the lift, in my shabby attire, by three immaculate looking guests eager to get to the bar. One of them was David Robertson, but his early arrival was purely through professional duty. The tie took on a reasonable shape, after only the ninth attempt, and I joined the growing numbers enjoying free-flowing bubbly and conversation. The bubbly continued to flow freely after I had introduced myself to a few of the guests but the conversation trickled off into guarded pools. Perhaps the notepad and pencil was a mistake. The evening’s opening speaker was Adrian Sainsbury, chairman of the governors of the FDA Educational Foundation, vice chairman of the FDA and head of Barclays Sales Financing. He outlined the programme for the evening and said a few words on what a great industry it is that we all work in. He then moved on to the subject of the Educational Foundation. He explained that the foundation provides high quality training via the suite of day courses and the distance learning courses: the Foundation Course, Certificate and Diploma. Adrian sees these as a key part of continuous professional development and stated that the FDA is constantly looking to develop new and relevant courses. He invited feedback from guests and if anyone has ideas on areas they would like to see covered they should get in touch with Sadia Malick at the FDA or their company’s training manager. Adrian continued his lively presentation to offer to the evening’s nominated students his five tips, or ingredients, for personal success:
He also mentioned an unwritten number six – that, of course, it does no harm to buy your boss a drink on an evening like the one we were all attending! He finished off by thanking the FDA secretariat and the sponsors before introducing Edward Wilde of Hammonds to say grace. Overall, the delivery was excellent and I am sure that everyone is looking forward to seeing and hearing a lot more from Adrian in the future. The meal followed, and then a very entertaining speech from the evening’s host, Garry Richardson, who once famously upset Anna Kournikova in a post-game interview. A natural talent, honed by years behind the microphone and enriched by his experiences in the world of sport, he was an excellent choice. There were eight awards in total: six student awards and two for the lecturers. Garry’s mix of humour and professionalism ensured that things kept moving apace but without seeming rushed. After the final presentation and a quick summing up, it was time to unwind and have a dance. The music was provided by a band called Jumpin’ who beat out cover versions to an increasingly enthusiastic collection of revellers. Ties were off and hair was down as the music played on into the early hours. All the guests I spoke to had a great time and the 2.30am close seemed to come around all too soon. I must make a special mention of the efforts made by Lynn Doughty of Bibby Invoice Discounting who raised £85 for the Jeans for Genes charity on the night. That wasn’t all she raised. On 1 October 2004 staff at Bibby Invoice Discounting donated if they wore jeans. They donated if they didn’t wear jeans. In fact, Lynn was charging colleagues for everything from a cup of water to a mobile phone going off. Good for her. Bibby has agreed to match her efforts pound for pound. Good for Bibby. I am sure that guests who donated on the evening will be pledging even more after reading this article. We haven’t published all the photos and true generosity really shouldn’t know any bounds! The evening was a time for relaxation and enjoyment after a lot of hard work. The event’s organisers, Sadia, Kristina and Nicola, brought everything together perfectly. I would like to thank them alll for their efforts and for inviting me to share in what was a truly memorable occasion. Ben Lefroy
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