Odgers in the Community

So many of our Odgers staff do great work for the Community! Here are some examples.  What a wonderful team!

Congratulations to Ian Macleod on completing a two-week voyage to the Arctic with Ocean Youth Trust Scotland. Ian, with others, helped raise more than £40,000 for the trust, which trains disadvantage Scots to sail as a means to help build their confidence. His success was published in an article in the Sunday Times on 26^th July.

From Ian - "Back at work after a gruelling 1,925 nautical miles from Wick – Reine(Lofoten Islands) -  Maloy(mainland Norway) – Peterhead in 12 days. We had 3 watches, therefore had 3 hours on deck sailing the 72 feet Challenge yacht and 6 hours to eat, sleep, prepare meals, bake bread and scones and clean the boat. We got around 3hrs sleep every 9 hrs.

It was a real physical and mental challenge crashing through the waves in as much as force 7 winds with the yacht doing up to 14 knots. Not for the faint-hearted."

Michael Barrington-Hibbert, Consultant in our London office, has been elected as a REACH National Role Model.   

REACH is one of a series of project groups set up as successor’s to the Stephen Lawrence Steering Group and the Race Equliasty Advisory Panel. It was established in February 2006 and chaired by Clive Lewis, its focus has been on raising the aspirations and achievements among Black Boys and young Black men, enabling them to achieve their potential.

Odgers Berndtson conducted a search for 20 REACH National Role Models in 2008.  The REACH Panel – Tim Campbell, Simon Woolley, Leroy Logan and Ozwald Boateng – together with a group of exceptional young men from around the country, selected the final 20 national role models in November 2008. 

These role models go into schools and youth projects to talk about their personal journeys. They encourage young people to set their sights high and will offer advice and support. They help to build a much larger and wider programme of mentoring work in their regions and communities and work with national and local media to support young men in raising their levels of ambition.

Jemma Terry, Head of Wales, is on the committee for fundraising for her local village shop in Oxfordshire.

Simon Walton, Head of Consumer, Odgers Select, Simon Cummins, Head of the International Sports Practice and Nick Claridge, Principal in our Retail and Consumer Practice, have successfully completed and jointly won the 'Hannibal Marathon' - by retracing the footsteps of Hannibal and his band of 40 elephants as they crossed the Alps for their attack on Rome in the 3rd century.  This was at the end of June 2008, raising over £50,000 for Greenhouse Schools Project.  A charity that aims to improve the lives of disadvantaged and special needs children aged between 11-16 years old through sports and performing arts activities during and outside the school day.

Leon Ayo, Partner and Head of the Select Public Practice joined Simon Walton and Nick Claridge to raise funds for the Greenhouse Schools Project in May 2009 and won the HSBC Private Bank Hadrian’s Double Marathon.  Leon, Nick and Simon completed two marathons over two days along the National Trail stretching from coast to coast taking in the highlights of Hadrian’s Wall.

Leon Ayo also completed the Arctic Team Challenge in 2008 raising £10,000 for BLESMA (British Limbless Ex-Servicemens Association). This took place within the Arctic Circle in Greenland and involved, trekking, climbing, cycling, kayaking 250km over 5 days.

Simon Walton also ran the 'Great North Run' in October 2008 for the 3rd year in succession for Cancer Research UK & raising over £1,000.

Ian MacLeod, Managing Partner for Odgers Berndtson in Scotland and our Glasgow Office and the Glasgow Office raised £50,000 at the Great Wilderness Challenge Ball in 2008 for 5 Scottish Cancer charities.  He continues to be an Ambassador for the Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice in Glasgow.  He has also recently been appointed as Ambassador of the Ocean Youth Trust (OYT) who provide sail training for 12-25 year olds.  He sailed to the Arctic Circle in July 2009 to raise funds for the OYT.

Lucy Webb, Researcher, Board Practice is Secretary of the Friends of Whiston Junior and Infants School, Rotherham and will be entering the 2009 Race for Life organised by Cancer Research UK.  

Gill Carrick, Head of Information, Communication & Entertainment Practice and Partner, Corporate Communications is Chair of Women of the Year Lunch, which honours 500 women each year who have achieved and made a difference in all walks of life.  In November 2008 she completed the New York Marathon, raising over £26,000 for the Women of the Year Foundation, which offers women financial and practical support, giving them a chance to fulfill their dreams and ambitions.

Gill ran the 2009 London Marathon to raise funds for the British Lung Foundation, and will be entering the 2009 New York Marathon once again to raise further funds for the Women of the Year Foundation.

As one of the non-executive members of the Veterinary School Development Committee at the University of Glasgow, Douglas Hutchinson, Partner in the Glasgow Office , has funded a “cat waiting area” at the University of Glasgow Veterinary School’s new hospital.  This is a special area within reception which is particularly attractive to cats and their owners.   It includes many innovative design features that have set the standard for making visits to the vet much more pleasant for cats!   It is a major project and is in memory of Douglas’ cat, Bruiser, who died in 2006.  

As well as this, Douglas is a Business Mentor for the Scottish Chambers of Commerce and is aligned with MDs of SMEs requiring support and guidance.  But that’s not all! He is a member of Globalscot, a group of 800 Scots around the world who are personally invited by the First Minister of Scotland to join the organization.  This network of some of the most senior Scots in business provides a valuable resource to many companies seeking to expand their business globally, or indeed overseas companies trying to access the Scottish market. 

Douglas has also became a Member of the Fellowship Advisory Board of the Saltire Foundation in 2008.  The Saltire Foundation was founded to promote and develop Scotland’s rich pool of up-and-coming business talent and aims to create a steady stream of confident, globally-minded business leaders determined to enhance Scotland’s economic prospects.

Douglas has recently joined the Development Board of the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at the University of Edinburgh.

Douglas has recently stepped down as a director of the VETAID which trains farmers in Africa about better animal health and welfare.  As farmers may be forced to move due to drought, floods, war etc, they have to leave their crops in the ground but can take their animals.  Therefore if they keep their animals healthy and productive, we get healthy people!  It is a very successful charity with major projects running for EU, Comic Relief etc.

Joanna Smith, a Researcher, Wales and Charlotte Jones, PA to Simon Jones and Kate McIntyre are entering the 2009 Cardiff 5km Race for Life for Cancer Research UK.  Apparently the route is runs past the office so Joanna and Charlotte say they have no excuse not to take part!

Christelle Bourgois, PA in the Board Practice in our London Office hosts three tea parties a year for members of her local Retirement and Care home.  She welcomes up to 8 guests at each part who are mostly without family. They have tea and cake and sometimes a little drop of sherry!

Louise Beaton, PA in our Oil and Gas Practice, is going to be taking part in the 2009 Race for Life Life in aid of Cancer Research UK in Aberdeen having successfully completed the race in 2006 where she raised just over £300.

Daniella Lynch, Team Leader in our Central Government Research team, is going to be running the Race for Life in aid of Cancer Research UK for the fourth time in a row having completed it successfully 2006, 2007 and 2008.  Daniella raised over £500 in 2008!

Sophie Webber, Researcher in the Financial Services Practice, is on the Young Norwood Finance Committee, which organises financial events to raise money for Norwood.  Norwood is a leading UK charity supporting children, adults and families living with learning disabilities or coping with social difficulties. Norwood believes that regardless of disadvantage or disability, everyone should receive the support they need to reach their potential and enjoy life to the full. Every year it provides thousands of children and their families with vital, specialised care.

They recently held an event at which Theo Paphitis from Dragon's Den was the guest speaker and raised £19,000:

Diana Ellis, Partner and Head of Higher, and Independent School, Education, fundraises for The Rosemary Foundation - a charity of palliatively trained nurses whose motto is 'hospice at home'.  They care for the dying in their own homes and are quite wonderful.  She has organised a number of events to raise money for them.  The last large event Diana has organised was in November 2008 when she raised almost £28,000.  Most recently Diana organised two operas evenings for the Foundation. 

Nicky Oppenheimer’s charitable activities all focus on the arts world. She is a trustee of The English Concert and The Early Opera Company and also on the Development Board of the Royal Academy of Music. In addition she is on the Board of the Grove Park Music Festival, a community based festival which takes place every other year.

Alex Hamilton-Baily, Consultant in the Not-for-Profit Practice, has recently been invited to join the Board of one of our clients, Penny Brohn Cancer Care. 

Alex has spent the last two years working with the charity, helping to recruit a new CEO and all of the senior team. The Board is chaired by Francesca Barnes, a recently retired Main Board Director of UBS and Managing Director of UBS AG. The Board has also recently included other interesting names from the public and private sectors, such as Nick Hood, Chairman of a number of Investment Trusts. This is a great privilege for Alex and is testament to his building strong and respected client relationships.

The charity provides personal support to people learning to live with cancer. Where other charities focus on the medical aspects, Penny Brohn focuses on the person, providing residential care, counselling and complementary therapeutic support to people with cancer and their families. This is a national charity, and any of you who have seen the tens of thousands of women who walk a marathon around London in their bras might have heard of the charity – it is one of the predominant recipients of funding from the Playtex Moonwalk.

I know Alex has been through a fairly rigorous recruitment process for this role and was utterly thrilled on hearing the good news yesterday. It is an opportunity for Alex to make a real difference in a sector he cares passionately about. This also brings additional credibility to our not-for-profit team and should provide some good opportunities to spread the word of Odgers excellent work in the not-for-profit sector.

Paul Botting, Partner and Managing Director of the Commercial Sector Interim Practice, completed his 8th annual London to Brighton Bike Ride in June 2009 in aid of the British Heart Foundation.

Marcus Beale, Partner in the Chief Financial Officer Practice completed the 2008 Sydney Triathlon raising funds for Cancer Research UK.  Marcus is planning to take part in the 2009 London Triathlon.

Ian Odgers, Partner of our Board Practice, is a Trustee of The Classical Opera Company has regularly hosts a series of in house lunches in support of the organisation.  Friends and supporters are invited alongside some world class classical musicians, for example, conductor Sir Charles Mackerras.   

He is also a Governor of Canterbury College, a further education college, a member of the Enterprise Task Force of the Kent Economic Board, a Board Member of Technology Enterprise Kent and Deputy Chairman of the New Marlowe Theatre Development Trust which is raising the charitable fund for building of the new theatre in Canterbury

Odgers sponsored a table at The Royal Arsenal Ball in July 2006.  This event, at The Royal Artillery Firepower Museum in Woolwich, was supported by Berkeley Homes to raise funds for Demelza - Hospice Care for Children, an organisation providing hospice care for over 450 children with life-limiting illnesses and their families. The ball was held in the presence of The Worshipful The Mayor of Greenwich, Councillor Harpinder Singh and began with a champagne reception at The Academy in the Old Royal Arsenal. Dinner was followed by a fundraising auction, fireworks and dancing.

As an Advisory Council member of Atlantic College, where she was Vice Chair of the Governors from 2003 - 2007, Victoria Provis provides experience in the areas of corporate governance and senior staff recruitment and appraisal. She is also a member of the College’s Fundraising and Communications committee, which has already raised over £10 million.

Since 2006, Victoria has been a member of the Council of the Prince’s Trust Cymru.

Also, The Board of Glas Cymru, the not-for-profit company which owns Welsh Water, have appointed Victoria as one of 40 members who, as representatives of all the company’s stakeholders, play an important role in ensuring that the company retains its primary focus and maintains a high level of corporate governance.

Joanna Green is an Advanced First Aid and brigade member with St. John Ambulance covering all sports and public events at Twickenham as well as attending Wimbledon, West End theatre productions, the Notting Hill Carnival, the London Marathon, small school fetes and Putney town events.  Jo is a qualified Advanced Driver Training Assessor with St John and attends weekly meetings to keep her first aid skills fresh for frequent duties.

Angela McDermottroe is a member of the Sunflower Ball Fundraising Committee for St Leonard’s Hospice in York.  The small Committee organise a Ball to be held at York Racecourse every two years to raise much needed funds for the Hospice.  The 2006 Sunflower Ball raised just over £50,000 whilst the 2008 Sunflower Ball raised over £65,000 on the night.  All proceeds go directly to the Hospice.  Work has already started in preparation for the next Sunflower Ball which will be held on Saturday 24 April 2010 again at York Racecourse.  The Committee is in the process of contacting local companies for offers of sponsorship, taking tables on the night and for donations of prizes. Odgers support the fundraising activity by providing the administration support for the Ball as well as taking a couple of corporate tables on the night.