e-bulletin 2 December 2005

If you have any ideas on how we can improve this e-bulletin or any topics you would like to see covered please e-mail the editor Charlie Spencer. For more news, information and event listings please visit www.birminghamfuture.co.uk.

News & Events

Chairman's Overview - Chris Robertson

Another busy month for events...
Our Meet & Mix events continue to be very popular. This month, Gavin Petrie from St Mary's Hospice talked to us about the important topic of Corporate Social Responsibility and Community Involvement. In view of the increasing demand for places at Meet & Mix lunches, we have decided to increase the number we hold each year from four to six.

Another highlight in last month's calendar was the Humphrey Walters keynote lunch, sponsored by Lloyds TSB Corporate for the third year running . Humphrey, who has recently worked with Sir Clive Woodward in the victorious England World Cup campaign and with Sam Allardyce at Bolton Wanderers, shared with the 130+ audience some of his, very memorable, experiences in leading winning teams.

I gather also that feedback has been excellent from those that attended the Executive Stretch weekend organised by the Territorial Army. I would be interested to hear more direct feedback on this, with a view to repeating this in the future. Those that went, please let me know your thoughts by e-mail to chrobertson@deloitte.co.uk.

Looking forward, a couple of events to draw attention to: We have our date confirmed for the Christmas Party, which based on previous years will be an excellent evening, plus also in the pipeline is a keynote lunch with Sir Bill Morris, the former leader of the Transport & General Workers Union.

Birmingham Future Launches Diversity Team

Birmingham Future has announced the creation of its new Diversity team. Headed by Alex Bishop, the aim of the committee is to encourage the professional services sector to become more representative of Birmingham’s demographics as it moves closer to becoming the first ethnic majority city in the UK.

In a recent press release, Alex stated that "Increasing the diversity of our sector is essential for sound business reasons. Already the professional services sector is experiencing a skills gap and, with the younger population comprising primarily those from ethnic minorities, if we do not attract more into our firms then this problem will only grow.”

Events Update...

Christmas Party - Dust off your dancing shoes it’s time for this year’s Birmingham Future Christmas Party. This year’s event will take place on Wednesday 7th December at Chung Ying Gardens – 6:00 for 6.30 pm start. If you like Chinese food and don’t mind embarrassing yourself on karaoke after a few drinks, this is the event for you. However, an Eminem ban is being enforced based on past experiences! Places are limited so book early to avoid disappointment.

Keynote Lunch with Sir Bill Morris - On 27 January at Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham Future will be hosting a keynote lunch at which Sir Bill Morris, former leader of the Transport & General Workers Union will be the guest speaker. Securing a speaker of Sir Bill’s profile is a real coup for Birmingham Future and hope you will support us by attending this special event, He will be speaking to us amongst other things on diversity in the workplace - a campaign at the heart of our strategy. Click here to reserve your space online.

Membership

The members of the Birmingham Future Membership committee are always available to answer any questions you may have about your membership. Birmingham Future creates a great opportunity to mix and network with other young professionals at interesting and enjoyable social events.

As a new member, you will be invited to a new members lunch (free of charge), which is an opportunity for you to meet other new members. Members of the Birmingham Future Leadership Team will also be there so it is also an opportunity for you to ask any questions around Birmingham Future and to find out more about how you can get the most out of your membership. Details of the next new member’s lunch can be found shortly on the website. The lunches are held every three months so the next one will be early in the New Year.

The Membership Committee also operates a buddying scheme. This basically pairs up new members with more established members so that you have a 'contact' within the organisation. The idea is that you speak/email/meet before a Birmingham Future event so that you will know someone before you go there. If you are interested in taking part in this scheme, please let the membership team know.

Birmingham Young Professional of the Year Awards 2006

It is that time of year again, and we are very excited... whilst our new website is being built for the 2006 Awards, a nomination form will be coming out to you very shortly, however you can set the ball rolling and click here to download a copy of the nomination form for the BYPY Awards 2006.

Mentoring update...

The Birmingham Future Mentoring Committee is always on the lookout for new members to get involved with the scheme. We’ve set up record numbers of mentoring partnerships this year – but we can always do with more mentors!

Gary Taylor, Director of Argent, has been involved with the Future scheme as a mentor for the past two years. He thinks that it is one of the most valuable projects that Birmingham's professional organisation has to offer. Click here for the full story.

He said: “It's clear to see what the benefits of being mentored are, but if you don’t know much about the Future scheme, then you could be forgiven for wondering what you as a mentor would get out of it. In short, the benefit is developing a two way relationship with your mentee who is potentially someone who you would never work with or get to know in other circumstances.

All we ask is that our mentors have several years experience in their area of expertise and feel confident in knowledgably discussing work-based issues. For more information, contact Madeleine at mr@core-marketing.co.uk or Adrian aleonard@wilkes.co.uk on the mentoring committee.

Ecole Du Vin at Hotel Du Vin

Hotel du Vin & Bistro offer wine courses called Ecole du Vin. They are unique, enlightening and are designed with a sense of fun in mind. Henri Chapon Ms hosts each two night residential course, aiming to unravel and de-mystify a specific subject from the classic to controversial.

Delicious food, great wine and another chance to stay at the highly acclaimed Hotel du Vin in Birmingham's historic city centre, make Ecole weekends a must for any wine enthusiast's diary. Two Ecole du Vin are running at the beginning of the year, CATALONIA Friday 20- Sunday 22 January 2006 and OREGON and WASHINGTON Friday 17-Sunday 19 February 2006. For any more details please call Emma Peplow or Colleen Walton on 0121 200 0600.

Members Survey

A big thank you to all members who completed the Birmingham Future Members 2005 survey. We are pleased to announce that the lucky winner of a bottle of Champagne is Alison Scott of Browne Jacobson. The champagne will be on it's way to you very shortly!]

Birmingham Future, One Victoria Square, Birmingham, B1 1BD
Telephone: +44 (0)121 632 2200 Fax: +44 (0)121 632 2201