Pictured above: Helen Dalton from St Barnabas
Lincolnshire Hospice (far left) and the Reverend Hamish Temple from
the Nomad Trust (far right) receiving cheques for £350 from
the new Chairman of Lincoln Business Club Nicki Gray and the former
Chairman Eddie Strengiel.
A Lincolnshire businesswoman is taking over the reins at the
Lincoln Business Club after former Chairman Eddie Strengiel
stepped down owing to work commitments.
Nicki Gray, who is the Chief Executive of Blinc - a business
development and support company - was elected at the club's
AGM on Friday 31st July.
Eddie, who was one of the founder members of the club, said
after six years at the helm he decided it was time to step
down.
"As a councillor my duties have increased somewhat and I now sit
on a number of committees which takes up more of my time which
was one of the reasons why I decided to retire as the Chairman
of the Lincoln Business Club.
"Another reason is that I have been in the role for six years
now so I felt it was time to let someone else have a go.
"Nicki has been the club's secretary for the last three years
and has worked tirelessly behind the scenes so I'm delighted
she has been elected as the new Chairman and I am confident
she will take the club from strength to strength."
At the AGM Eddie was presented with a bottle of whisky and an
engraved whisky tumbler to commemorate his time as
Chairman.
According to Nicki, Eddie will be sorely missed. "This is a day
of mixed emotions as although I'm delighted to be the new
Chairman I am very sad to see Eddie go and on behalf of the
club's 550 members I would like to thank him for all his hard
work.
"Without Eddie the club would not be as successful as it is
today. As Chairman I want to build on that success and get
more involved in the issues affecting local business people
such as the transport links between Lincoln and London.
"I am also keen to continue to raise money for charitable causes
which was one of the main aims of the club when it was first
established in 2004."
As well as electing a new Chairman, those attending also
re-elected the committee and agreed that all those who had
been nominated at the meeting in June should be allowed to
join the committee.
Eddie and Nicki also presented two cheques for £350 each
to the Nomad Trust and St Barnabas Hospice.
Helen Dalton from St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice said: "The
hospice is the leading specialist end-of-life palliative care
provider in the county and all our services are provided free
of charge.
"Despite receiving local Primary Care Trust monies, the hospice
is required to raise the remaining £3.1 million needed
through its fundraising activities and the generosity of the
public so all donations are gratefully received."
The Chairman of the Nomad Trust, the Reverend Hamish Temple,
added: "More and more people who at one time had a job, a
mortgage and a family are becoming homeless.
"We are often the last net for those who have fallen through
other organisations' nets and we can do a lot of good work
with the money people very kindly donate."