7 Year Anniversary Meeting

Another meeting with 27 people present, 26 Members and one visitor.  It was EBF’s birthday and it was also Alan Moller’s birthday, and the meeting was duly adapted to enable the presentation of an annual review and also results of the best 60 seconds, 10 minutes and overall Member of the Year.

No annual event would be complete without a contribution from Alan Shaw.

Education Presentation

And so Alan Shaw delivered the Ed Slot.  It was thoughtful and philosophic.  As business owners dealing with other business owners we all principally fall into four types; A, B, C and D, from the competitive and optimistic to the negative.  You can change your categorisation from time to time but assessment of your opposite number in negotiating a business deal into one of these caricatures can help.

Not only was it an interesting insight but there was not a brick in the cistern to be seen…

The 60 Second Round

The room was abuzz.  Before the 60 second round commenced we inducted new member Anne-Marie Cooper.  She was also first up in the 60 second round and showed a series of photographs together with poetic commentary. The Bard of Hadleigh would have approved but he was unfortunately detained by stomach problems.

Marcelle Saad was all ethical gold and blood diamonds. She explained the Kimberly process and declared her compliance with all humanitarian standards in the supply of her products.

Ben Golding talked about a lady called Joan, her neighbours Dean and Tanya and some other nameless neighbours, all of whom were typical potential clients that Ben can sell to.  He really wants us all to “love thy neighbour”.

Jo Jones finally got everyone on side in prescribing butter to be used and consumed in conjunction with losing weight.  If she could squeeze alcohol and chocolate in we will be queuing up to see her.  Of course, she was followed by Jo Eastwood who introduced us all to Rocky and Ginger and the Mendoza Vineyard that grows its vines in concrete egg shape vats.

The first up for the School of Whimsey was Alan Shaw.  This week he has been drawing which he likes much more than going outside in the wet and cold. Nick Cooke, by contrast, read out a testimonial proving that amongst his many admirers was a lady that he did some work for.  When Brian Painter rose we were all braced for gore and unpleasant substances being mentioned and indeed their respective effects.  Instead, he talked about a man from Felixstowe who smoked 60 cigarettes a day, thus far has been cured by our Pilgrim.

Vince Goode paraded his company’s longevity; trading in Gants Hill since 1983 and expensive business cards that were “foiled”.  Quote of the week “there are six sides to a business card”

Stuart Smallcombe’s pitch was that if you are losing signal and you are relying on ISDN you should consult him.  Dean Caldon was one of the people having difficulty getting hold of Stuart during the week.  It was difficult to work out who was at fault or rather whose system was at fault.

Howard Bullock celebrated his return after a serious bout of flu with a George V beard and a shirt that was all French kitchen.  At this stage, he is a shadow of his former self but he is on the mend.

With an upbeat meeting Jill Willis was its epitome, talking of successes for a business in Chelmsford that she was assisting and helping them assault the Google Search slippery pole…..successfully!

Talking of sickness John Freeman is now back in full flow and was once again indicating his preference for a “quick in and out”.

The birthday boy had a prop which looked suspect,  like a birthday present, but it was, in fact, an extractor fan that was fitted to a ceiling and gave the impression by its dimensions and sturdiness that it could at least suck up small pets who got too close, if not their human masters.

With an array of excellent presentations Anne-Marie deservedly won the Oscar.

This weeks statistics and points of note

• 26 Members present
• 1 visitor
• 28 referrals
• £12,000 worth of business recorded,
• 60 second presenter of the year – Brian Painter
• 10 minute presenter of the year  – Matt Barry
• Member of the year – Jill Willis
• Oscar Winner Anne-Marie Cooper

Annual Review by Aidan Squire

The 10-minute presentation and questions were replaced by the Seventh Annual Review which genuinely reflected the upbeat nature of our group present.  I will not bore you with the details as these are going to be published shortly on the Website.  Please have look at it.

Referrals and Testimonials

As befitting an upbeat occasion and 28 referrals, this was a lively round and as Member of the Year it was Jill Willis’s job to do the running.

Alan Mollers Birthday

Not only did he have a balloon rising from his position but he received a cake to a rousing chorus of happy birthday.  I suggest we give serious consideration to making him the EBF Mascot.

We now set off on another year full of optimism.