Some members of the Guild’s management Council took on new roles and responsibilities at the first meeting of the Guild year after the annual meeting held in March.
Adrian Bell of Whisper PR was elected deputy chairman of the Guild (Nick Bond was elected chairman for a second year at the AGM) and agreed to take on the role of Guild awards co-ordinator.
Adrian Bell
Tim Price, PR executive with NFU Mutual, continues as treasurer; freelance machinery journalist Peter Hill as eAlerts and website editor; and PR specialists Liz Snaith and Peter Ryder as membership and social secretaries. Joe Watson, Press & Journal agricultural editor, will represent the Guild at the international journalists’ organisation, the IFAJ.
The names of all those elected to serve members’ interests on the management Council are listed on the Guild website.
To encourage ‘fresh blood’ on to the Council, the annual meeting agreed a motion that, from next year, members’ representatives will serve an initial three-year term before seeking re-election for a further two years. They must then stand down for a year before being eligible to serve on the Council again.
New events
The meeting agenda also covered preliminary plans for a number of Guild events for the year.
The successful Bangers & Beer reception at the Cereals Event in June is to be repeated; a new Scottish region Guild reception open to all members is planned for the first evening of the Royal Highland Show in June; and a Guild party at the RABDF’s Dairy Event & Livestock Show at the NEC in September is being prepared.
The annual Harvest Service & Lunch will be staged in London on Friday, October 15 and there is likely to be an awards presentation and reception for the second year at AgriLIVE Smithfield in December at the RASE’s Stoneleigh Park.
Guild members enjoying the inaugural Bangers & Beer party at the Cereals Event in 2009
The generous support of sponsors who wish to raise their profile among agricultural journalists and professional communicators helps mitigate the cost of these events. Members with contacts who would like to explore these opportunities should contact external events organiser Jane Craigie
