INDEX Business News Compiled by Keith Lewis & Sarah Hamilton-Walker
DAME KELLY GETS DOWN TO BUSINESS AT B2B IN TONBRIDGE
T
he opening salvo from Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce to woo West Kent’s business community can be marked
down as an emphatic hit. More than 500 delegates passed through the doors of Tonbridge’s River Centre to attend the Chamber’s first B2B Exhibition to be held in this part of the county. Local hero, double Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes – who recently entered the business arena herself with a new cafe shortly to be opened in Hildenborough – welcomed visitors to the event that boasted 58 local exhibitors spread over two floors. Dame Kelly, who has encountered some well-publicised ‘local difficulties’ in getting her own project off the ground, urged the audience to “discover your dream or vision and strive to be the best
Photograph by Julia Stockwell-Hamid BUSINESS
PROFILE OF THE MONTH
INDEX talks to Mike Bax, the former High Sheriff of Kent and the new Chairman of Kent Wildlife Trust, who is also a chartered surveyor and senior partner at land and property agency BTF Partnership, which he has run for 30 years
you can be. To get there will not always be easy, but I am looking for a perfect diamond – I want business brilliance,” she said. And added: “What I have learned from both my career in athletics and more recently in business is that things definitely won’t work out if you don’t communicate,” – a thinly veiled reference to her dealings with the local council.
Chief Executive of Kent Invicta Jo James commented: “We were very pleased with the event – we have had great feedback. The workshops were really well attended and the social media session from keynote speaker Katie King of Zoodikers was considered particularly informative and well delivered. The West Kent B2B Show will definitely become a fixture in our annual calendar.”
How did your appointment come about and what are your aims during your term? I replace Fidelity Weston who has stepped down from the role after eight active years supporting the Trust and the national Wildlife Trusts movement. I am delighted to have been chosen by the trustees and I look forward to working closely with an organisation I admire and have been involved with for a number of years. Kent Wildlife Trust does a fantastic role in not just protecting, but promoting the preservation of wildlife and habitats in the county. Wildlife and habitat protection and farming go hand in hand and many farmers and landowners play a key role in working with the Trust, but I am keen to extend this.
BALDWINS TRAVEL VOTED UK’S BEST
TRAVEL AGENCY The Baldwins Travel Group is in celebratory mood after being voted National Travel Agent of the Year 2014. The group, which has stores in Maidstone, Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge, Uckfield, Sevenoaks Travel and Travelux of Tenterden, also walked away with the Travel Agent of the Year – London & the South East prize at the recent Agent Achievement Awards, held at a glitzy ceremony in London. The prestigious annual Agent Achievement Awards are recognised as the travel
industry’s top accolade, recognising excellence and achievement in the UK’s travel agency community. Baldwins Travel Business Development Director Nick Marks said the agency’s success at this year’s awards could be put down to the hard work of its experienced and knowledgeable staff. “You could say we’re on top of the world – in more ways than one! Winning these awards is a spectacular achievement and being recognised by our peers in the travel industry is a real honour,” he said. Baldwins Travel is no stranger to awards success, having won the National
Award in 2010 and 2012, and London & South East prize nine times before (in 1997, 2004 and 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013).
The INDEX magazine
www.indexmagazine.co.uk
How did you first get involved with the countryside/conservation/wildlife? My work in farming and I have had a lifelong commitment to Kent and its wildlife and rural landscape. I also have several other roles in the county representing farming and countryside groups, including Chairman of Rural Plc Kent, Crime Rural Action Group, (CRAG) and the Weald of Kent Protection Society. I am a member, supporter and volunteer of Kent Wildlife Trust. One major volunteering contribution is being the Honorary Warden of the Stone Wood reserve.
Explain the work of Kent Wildlife Trust? The Trust is the leading conservation charity for Kent and Medway, founded in 1958 and supported by 31,000 members. Kent Wildlife Trust is one of 47 wildlife trusts in the UK dedicated to protecting wildlife and wild habitats. Its Reserves Team takes care of 60 strategically important nature reserves covering some 3,000 hectares of land. The People and Wildlife Team reaches out to children and adults across the county. More than 900 volunteers support every area of the Trust’s work.
• Visit
www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk 139
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