Over the past two weeks the young professionals have completed both the Wolf Run and Myton Moonlight Walk in aid of their chosen charity for 2015, Myton Hospice. I’m delighted to announce that this means we’ve now brought our total money raised for 2015 to £1,000!
The Wolf Run team ready to go
On Sunday 6th September committee members Paige, Phil, Rebecca and Carl ditched their suits and took on the 10k off-road Wolf Run. After trekking through freezing cold water, ditches and mud they all made it to the finish line, although they were completely unrecognisable due to being covered in mud!
To my surprise the team’s quotes when they finished the run included “I feel refreshed and ready to go again!” and “Instead of good clean fun it was good dirty fun”.
A very muddy group of young professionals post-run
A week later on Saturday 12th September myself, Holly and Dan led a team of 12 young professionals on the Myton Moonlight Walk. Over 650 people turned out for the annual event which begins at Warwick Castle, and we were proud to be a part of it, both raising awareness and funds for the cause.
This year it was Cowboy themed and I’m pleased to report that the majority got into the spirit of the fancy dress. It took us around 3.5 hours to complete the walk and plenty of fun and networking was done along the way. We had representation from Wright Hassall, Connells, BRI and GBR Phoenix Beard to name just a few.
If you’ve not yet had the chance to sponsor our teams then you can do so here. Otherwise we’d like to thank you for your continued support with supporting such a great local charity.
The thoughts and opinions expressed on this blog are those of Chrissie Duxson (or guest contributors) and do not necessarily reflect those of Coventry and Warwickshire First. All content on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of the blog is not responsible for content found by following any link on this site.
Six months on from its conception Coventry & Warwickshire First’s mentoring programme is proving its value, home growing talent as a means of tackling the acute skills shortage.
As the potential of the region’s professional services sector for growth increases in line with the area’s economic growth its expansion is being hampered by an acute skills shortage, made worse by the high salaries offered by Birmingham and London firms.
Coventry & Warwickshire First board member Martyn Howard is one of the driving forces behind the programme, working closely with the Young Professional network to deliver it. It pairs the region’s leading professionals with young people from another sector, helping them accelerate their personal development.
Speaking about the value of the programme Martyn Howard explained: “Having access to a mentor at the start of your career can really help you make the right decisions.”
Lucy Webb of Band Hatton Button continued: “I’m thinking about where to take my career at the moment and so joined the Scheme with the specific goal of exploring my options.
“The informal style of the sessions made it very easy to chat and by tapping into my mentor’s first hand experience I feel I’ve gained a great deal. I can now see many more opportunities than I was aware of and feel doors have opened.”
For Paige Howitt of SFB Group the mentoring programme has helped her build her confidence. “The relationship with the mentor is informal so it’s easier to talk openly than it would be with a colleague or my manager,” she explained. “As a result he has given me some great feedback and helped me understand my strengths and areas for improvement. He’s also shared some of his early experiences.”
Mentors are also benefiting from participation, often in unexpected ways. “I’ve learnt a lot,” said mentor and Relationship Director at Barclays Bank, Keith Boxley. “My active listening skills have definitely improved, the goal being to help my mentee find her own solutions rather than tell her what I would do.”
James Oliver, mentor and Relationship Manager – Commercial at Yorkshire Bank, has also valued the need to listen. “Needing to listen means I can really see things from my mentee’s perspective and am seeing things anew myself.”
Susan Hopcraft of Wright Hassall, pointed out the value of women participating in the programme as mentors. “I suspect women more than men need this type of support,” she said. “Men seem to have more role models in senior positions so women who are prepared to be mentors have an important role to fill.”
To find out more about the Mentoring Scheme, whether a potential mentor or mentee, email Coventry & Warwickshire First at admin@coventryfirst.co.uk.
Next week sees four of the Young Professionals committee take on the treacherous Wolf Run. Rebecca Freeman, Carl Malcolm, Paige Howitt and Phil Ballard will all be participating in the 10k off-road run featuring a series of man-made and natural obstacles.
The run will be a physical and mental challenge, and our committee members will have to trek through freezing cold water, ditches and mud in order to make it to the finishing line.
Of course there’s a reason why they’ve signed up for it, and that’s to raise money for our nominated charity – Myton Hospice. If you’d like to sponsor them you can do it via Just Giving here.
I caught up with our very own wolf pack on Tuesday to see how they’re doing:
What have you been doing to train/ prepare?
Phil: Not as much as I should be! Having done no distance running in the past, I’ve followed the NHS ‘couch to 5k’ app which has worked well. I will be relying on adrenaline to get me through the other 5k!
Carl: I too have not done as much training as I had hoped. I have managed to sprain my ankle twice in the past two months playing football.
How are you feeling about the run?
Phil: Excited but slightly nervous.
Paige: I’m looking forward to it, I think it will be a great day. At the end of the day, it’s the taking part that counts and we are doing it for charity.
Which part of the run do you think will be the greatest challenge?
Paige: The lakes as I can’t swim!
Carl: Lakes….
What made you sign up?
Phil: To support a great cause. I often have to remind myself why I said yes, but I have no regrets!
Carl: To challenge myself and to raise money for a good cause at the same time. Running is my least favourite sport and therefore I have never actually run a course this far.
Lastly, can you just remind us why the Young Professionals have chosen Myton as their nominated charity?
Carl: The charity is well known in the area and do an amazing job. It’s comforting to know that there is an organisation like them that exists for people who need it.
Paige: Personally, I have witnessed the excellent care and support which they give, as my Grandad is a day patient at the Warwick branch. The team there are great.
The team would really appreciate your support to raise money for this fantastic local cause so if you feel you or your company could spare a few pennies please sponsor them here.
Lastly, if you’d like to take part in something yourself, then myself and many of the young professionals members and committee are also taking part in the cowboy themed Myton Moonlight Walk on 12 September as our summer social. Please contact Paige Howitt Paige.Howitt@sfb.uk.com for more information.
The thoughts and opinions expressed on this blog are those of Chrissie Duxson (or guest contributors) and do not necessarily reflect those of Coventry and Warwickshire First. All content on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of the blog is not responsible for content found by following any link on this site.
Last Thursday, 6 August, saw the young professionals host a table football tournament in celebration of the start of the new football season.
Doubles teams from a range of industries competed for a chance to take home engraved winners medals and bottle of champagne.
It was clear from the outset that the teams from Cranfield had been practising as they own the football tables. However, despite making up three out of four of the teams in the semi-finals, they didn’t quite make it to the top.
Cranfield v Cranfield in one of the semi-finals
It was a close call in the final which saw Phil Ballard of Cranfield Recovery, ably assisted by Leonie Salter of Wright Hassall, take on Paige Howitt and Dean Cart from Stewart Fletcher Barrett. However in the end the SFB team took home the champagne and trophies.
I presented the SFB team with their prizes
Bringing up the rear were ‘Wright Hassall on Tour’ made up of Jeremy Hyde and Nathan Lapsley.
Wright Hassall On Tour suffered defeats in all four of their games
This month’s Myton Hospice raffle prize was two tickets to West Midlands Safari Park. These were won by Jeremy Hyde of Wright Hassall. The raffle raised £42 which will be added to our running total for the year. Don’t forget we also have the Wolf Run coming up and you can sponsor the Young Professionals team via our Just Giving page.
Finally, thanks should go to Phil Ballard, our Young Professionals Treasurer, for organising and running the event.
Our next event will be our Thirsty Thursday on 3 September in Leamington. Further details will be sent via our mailing list. If you’d like to be added please email me C.A.Duxson@warwick.ac.uk All our Thirsty Thursday events are free and open to young professionals of any age across Coventry and Warwickshire.
The thoughts and opinions expressed on this blog are those of Chrissie Duxson (or guest contributors) and do not necessarily reflect those of Coventry and Warwickshire First. All content on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of the blog is not responsible for content found by following any link on this site.
Rebecca took over as Chair of the Young Professionals following this year’s First Pro Awards in April. Here we get to know her a little better in our latest ‘Spotlight On’ interview.
Q: Which area of law do you work in and have you tried any others?
I’ve specialised in Commercial Property since I qualified in March 2012. I experienced other ‘seats’ though as part of my 2 year training contract which included Private Client, Litigation and Agriculture. I had a strong leaning towards property and spent a lot of my training in property-related seats but the rotation system trainee Solicitors have to go through is really valuable as a foundation as the areas feed in to one another a lot more than you may realise.
Q: How long did it take you to get a training contract after your LPC, and what advice would you give to anyone currently looking?
I got my training contract whilst on my LPC and was fortunate to have had an offer at another firm also. You just have to persevere and be patient, you will get a lot of knock backs, whether because firms aren’t recruiting or have cut back. You have to try and stay positive and not let your confidence be knocked. There is a lot of competition now, especially with the reduced number of training contracts available, so think about what you can do to stand out from the crowd – get experience as a paralegal, go to networking events when you have the opportunity and if it is what you really want to do then stick at it!
Q: What does your job involve day to day?
I do a fairly broad range of Commercial Property including landlord and tenant, acting for residential developers, landowners, investors. It includes dealing with a variety of clients, drafting and negotiating documents, site visits, researching, and liaising with a wide variety of people include other solicitors, agents, lenders. It’s a busy time so is keeping me out of trouble!
Q: What inspired you to get involved with Young Professionals?
I heard of the group fairly soon after starting at Lodders and went along to an event to see what it was about. Everyone was so friendly and encouraging so I kept going back! It’s been a great way to build confidence in networking and to meet a variety of people. Aside of trying to build contacts I have made some great friends too!
Q: Who do you look up to and why?
I’m going to stay with the Young Professionals theme and say the previous Chairs – I’ve been with the group during the reigns of Brian Coleman, Michelle Vincent, Gus Bhandal and Carl Malcolm and I have great respect and admiration for all they have achieved both for the group and personally. I was already ambitious in my career but they inspired me to be involved with the Young Professionals, and also join the Committee, and as I’ve said the group helps you develop in a different way, to think outside the box and get away from your desk! I only hope I can do the Chair role justice and achieve some of what they have for the group.
Q: Tell us something interesting or unusual about yourself.
I was very lucky to get married on the Swan Theatre stage at the RSC!
Q: Finally, what are your hobbies?
I love spending time in Stratford by the river and going to the theatre, travelling, whether to unwind on a beach or for a bit of city sightseeing, and also playing golf which I took up with some other Young Professionals and am now addicted.
So that’s what you need to know about Rebecca. If you’re a paralegal looking for a training contract then have a chat with Rebecca at one of our next events for some more tips and advice.
The thoughts and opinions expressed on this blog are those of Chrissie Duxson (or guest contributors) and do not necessarily reflect those of Coventry and Warwickshire First. All content on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of the blog is not responsible for content found by following any link on this site.
This month’s TT event was held last night at Saints Bar in Nuneaton. Granted Nuneaton can be a trek, particularly at rush hour, but it was great to try out somewhere new. Saints only opened recently so we thought it would be rude not to try some of their delicious, locally sourced food whilst we were there. I can confirm that their wood fired pizzas are fantastic!
It was great to see representation from a wide range of sectors including banking, legal, finance, insolvency and education. Paige Howitt from Stewart Fletcher & Barrett was the lucky winner of the business card draw (pictured above).
The best news of the evening was that Rebecca Freeman, our YP Chair, has been promoted from Assistant Solicitor to Associate at Lodders Solicitors. I also found out this week that I passed the first module of my Chartered Institute of Marketing qualification.
The other big topic for the evening was that Rebecca has agreed to dress as mascot ‘Patsy the Cow’ for the Myton Hospice Summer Fete on Sunday 19th July. If you’d like to take the opportunity to go along to the fete, support a great local charity, and take a few compromising photos of Rebecca for future use whilst you’re there, I’m sure Myton would love to have you. The event details can be found here. Committee members Paige Howitt and Holly Brain will also be volunteering on the day, and I’ll be going along to take some photographs.
Next month’s Thirsty Thursday event will be replaced by a table football tournament, for which we’re currently finalising the details. Look out for an email invite from us very soon. If you’re not on our mailing list email me at C.A.Duxson@warwick.ac.uk and I’ll add you. All our events are open to young professionals of any age across Coventry and Warwickshire.
The thoughts and opinions expressed on this blog are those of Chrissie Duxson (or guest contributors) and do not necessarily reflect those of Coventry and Warwickshire First. All content on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of the blog is not responsible for content found by following any link on this site.
The Young Professionals have been incredibly busy over the past couple of weeks with three spring/ summer events. We started with our annual spring social on 29th May, then our June TT on the 5th June, and last Thursday we took part in a summer rounders tournament against the Young Lawyers.
Our spring social took place in Leamington and consisted of cocktails and networking in the White Horse and Leif. We had representation from a wide range of sectors including finance, legal, education, banking, engineering, medical and insolvency. It was great to get to know some of our regular attendees in a more informal and relaxed setting.
Committee members Kelly Schofield, Rebecca Freeman and Holly Brain
Conversation at the YP spring social 2015
Our June TT was held at the Saxon Mill in Warwick. We welcomed two new faces from Wright Hassall, Sam and Tariva, who we hope to see again soon. The business card champagne draw was won by our very own Chair Rebecca Freeman, and the Myton Hospice raffle by myself and Holly Brain jointly. The raffle prize this month was a family membership to Nuffield Health in Warwick.
The conversation at the event mainly revolved around rounders tactics and guessing the allegiances of people who are members of both Young Professionals and Young Lawyers.
Which brings me on to the rounders…After a lot of backwards hits, missed balls, shouting and the odd stellar performance, the rounders tournament was narrowly won by the Young Lawyers by two and a half rounders. We thought we had a secret weapon in the form of local teacher, Emma, who regularly teaches rounders to her class, however the lawyers seemed to have drafted in a professional rounders player who almost hit the ball right out of the park on a number of occasions! Actually, he really was a young lawyer, but if that doesn’t work out he can be sure of a second career option.
At the end of the game we very ably munched our way through 12kg of pizza and it was great to get to know the guys from the Young Lawyers a little better. Hopefully next summer we can challenge the lawyers to a rematch. I should also say thanks to Wright Hassall who sponsored the event.
Young Professionals vs Young Lawyers rounders team
Our next event will be a Thirsty Thursday networking event in Nuneaton on Thursday 2nd July. Details will be sent to our mailing list very soon. If you’re not on the mailing list email me at C.A.Duxson@warwick.ac.uk and I’ll add you. All our Thirsty Thursday events are free and open to young professionals of any age across Coventry and Warwickshire.
The thoughts and opinions expressed on this blog are those of Chrissie Duxson (or guest contributors) and do not necessarily reflect those of Coventry and Warwickshire First. All content on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of the blog is not responsible for content found by following any link on this site.
We’re delighted to announce that young professionals committee members Paige Howitt, Carl Malcolm, Rebecca Freeman and Phil Ballard have all entered into the Autumn Wolf Run. The run will take place on Sunday 6th September and all funds raised will of course be going to our chosen charity, Myton Hospice. Joining them will be fellow young professionals Tsarina Howitt and Vicky Rackham.
The Wolf Run is a 10k off-road run featuring a series of man-made and natural obstacles throughout the course. During this physical and mental challenge, our committee members will have to trek through freezing cold water, ditches and mud in order to make it to the finishing line – a big ask when you usually spend your time sat behind a desk in a suit!
We’ve set up a just giving page and we’d be hugely grateful if you could spare a few pounds to encourage our team and support a fantastic local charity. Please click here to find our page and donate. So far through our monthly TT raffles we’ve raised £178 for Myton Hospice, but we’re hoping that, with your continued support, we can dramatically increase this through sponsorship for the wolf run.
If you’re keen to help us raise money for Myton in other ways we’ll be continuing the monthly TT raffle and I can confirm that June’s raffle prize is a month-long family membership to Nuffield Health Centre in Warwick. We’ll also be dusting off our boots for Myton’s cowboy-themed ‘Moonlight Walk’ on 12 September 2015. This will be another great chance to raise money, but without the muddy obstacles – much more my cup of tea! You’ll also be able to see whether Paige, Carl, Rebecca and Phil survived the wolf run the week before. We’ll be sending more details about the walk later in the summer so keep your eyes peeled. No one wants to miss the chance to dress up, especially for a good cause.
In the meantime don’t forget to visit our just giving page to get donating. We’d really appreciate if you could also pass on the page link to your firms, friends and colleagues. More details about Myton Hospice can be found here.
The thoughts and opinions expressed on this blog are those of Chrissie Duxson (or guest contributors) and do not necessarily reflect those of Coventry and Warwickshire First. All content on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of the blog is not responsible for content found by following any link on this site.
At this month’s Thirsty Thirsty (TT) event, which was held at The Almanack in Kenilworth, we were delighted to welcome our newest committee member Kelly Schofield. Kelly is a paralegal in the commercial litigation team at Wright Hassall, assisting mostly in contentious probate and Court of Protection matters. Kelly will be a fantastic addition to the committee and we’re all looking forward to working with her. Look out for a ‘Spotlight on’ interview with her soon. Fittingly, Kelly also won this month’s champagne business card draw.
We were also delighted to welcome Pardeep Khela of Wright Hassall to the event. Pardeep recently started in the Commercial Property team. This was his first Young Professionals event in the area and we hope to see him again soon.
This month’s raffle prize, which goes towards our fundraising efforts for Myton Hospice, was a picnic hamper donated by TK Maxx. It contained everything you need for an alfresco lunch and was won by Gus Bhandal of Warwickshire County Council.
The chat this month revolved a lot around cars as former committee member Richard Ganley bought another classic VW and Salmaan Khan of Dafferns bought a new BMW. There was also a lot of buzz around the general election which happened on the same day, and it was great to hear that lots of young professionals had either already voted or planned to vote after the TT.
Other news saw our former Chairman Carl Malcolm replace the broken screen on his iPhone, only to smash it again that same evening. Gus Bhandal suggested using the joke ‘Carl-Phone Warehouse’ somewhere in this paragraph, however I think that would just be met with groans and sighing. Sorry Gus.
Next month’s Thirsty Thursday event will be held in Warwick on Thursday 4th June. If you’re not on our mailing list email me at C.A.Duxson@warwick.ac.uk and I’ll get you added. All our Thirsty Thursday events are free and open to young professionals of any age across Coventry and Warwickshire.
Last Thursday we attended the First Pro Awards 2015 at the Ricoh Arena, which this year was themed around the arrival of Wasps to Coventry.
Finalists in the Young Professional of the Year category
We were absolutely delighted to have four committee members shortlisted for the Young Professional category this year: Phil Ballard who’s our Treasurer, me (Chrissie Duxson) I do all of our marketing, Paige Howitt who’s one of our Charity Officers and of course Carl Malcolm who was our Chair for the last year. It means a lot to us to be recognised for the hard work we’ve done with the young professionals, at our day jobs and various other committees, charity work etc. Thanks very much to those who took the time to nominate us.
There were also two other up-and-coming young professionals shortlisted in the category: Sophie Breeze from Dafferns and Louise Hargrave from Arthur J Gallagher.
We were all thrilled to see Carl go on to win the award after all his hard work this year. One of the highlights of his Chairmanship was the reinvigoration of the mentoring programme and he’s also raised money for various charities. Carl said “This is absolutely fantastic, it’s a huge privilege and I’m really grateful”.
We also had some success in the charity raffle for the Samaritans in which Rebecca Freeman won a Landrover Experience Day for two!
As is usual in the Young Professionals committee the First Pro marks the beginning of a new Chairmanship and we’re delighted to announce that Rebecca Freeman of Lodders is our Chair for the coming year. Look out for the next YP blog in which we’ll do a ‘Spotlight on’ interview with Rebecca.
In the meantime don’t forget it’s our next Thursday Thursday event on Thursday 7th May at 5.30pm at The Almanack in Kenilworth.
The thoughts and opinions expressed on this blog are those of Chrissie Duxson (or guest contributors) and do not necessarily reflect those of Coventry and Warwickshire First. All content on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of the blog is not responsible for content found by following any link on this site.
Carl Malcolm winner of Young Professional of the Year 2015 cracks open the champagne
Young Professionals Kelly Schofield, Holly Brain, Emma Ballard, Phil Ballard, Adam Carvell and Paige Howitt enjoying the First Pro Awards 2015
Rebecca Freeman wins a Landrover Experience Day for two
