by Chris Bantock | Sep 15, 2021 | Uncategorised
I am overwhelmed.
Rennie Grove Hospice Care has been Agency Local Charity of the year for the last two years now. A wonderful charity that allows people at the end of life to be cared for where we would all like to be at that stage of our lives … at home.
Like most charities they have been hit by covid – the retail income form the many shops has completely dried up as they have not been open. From a personal standpoint, this is why taking on the TeamForge Cycle Challenge over the last few days to raise much needed funds for Rennie Grove was a must do for me.
We did it!!
35 cyclists (two on a tandem) completed the 350 mile round trip over four days with 17,000 feet of climbing.
I can’t deny it was hard – as many people that know me know I love cycling but I’ll usually ride 40 to 50 miles at the weekend if the weather’s good! I wouldn’t usually choose to cycle an average of 85 miles a day over four consecutive days, whatever the weather, but I’m really proud to have been a part of it.
The routes were as follows:
Day 1 – St Albans to Southampton 101 miles – through a lot of rain
Day 2 – Round the Isle of Wight – 66 miles but very hilly!
Day 3 – Southampton to Swindon – 95 miles – Beautiful route through the New Forest and Salisbury Plain
Day 4 – Swindon back to St Albans – Final leg 81 miles through the Cotswolds and Chilterns
Agency Local Involvement 
I am very proud to say that Agency Local were Silver sponsors – with our logo on the shirts. In fact the logo was often in my face as I followed other cyclists! We were part of the organising committee helping and advising on the Marketing of the event. We built and managed the website, established the social media presence and advised on communications activity.
Proud proud proud
What we have achieved I am so proud of. The camaraderie and support from every rider towards each other was amazing.
I am sure other riders will not mind me highlighting two individuals. Firstly, Brian Robson who completed the challenge aged 74!
Secondly David Clarke who is blind, completed the challenge on the back of a tandem with the help of the ‘team’ who took it in turns to go ahead and check crossings, making sure the tandem could cross safely without losing too much momentum.
TeamForge – was really a team and one that I am proud to say I am part of.
Fundraising – that’s what it is all about.
The response has been astronomical. At present we stand to have raised £145,000. We are hoping that the final tally will be nearer the £150,000. This is a massive achievement and will fund two nurses for a whole year!
This has been the biggest ever single fundraising event in the history of Rennie Grove!
THANK YOU
I want to take this opportunity to thank all of the Agency Local community, Foals and friends that have made a contribution. The support from our community has been immense and I thank every one of you for supporting me and most of all for supporting Rennie Grove. You are superb!
For the video of us arriving back at the end of day 4 – head over to the LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6843160086211387392
by Chris Bantock | Sep 3, 2021 | Uncategorised
As many of you know we have taken stock of our events activity whilst we have all had a break in August. We are now coming back bigger and better and wanted to let you know of some of the changes that we have made.
If you remember we did an events survey in July, thanks to all who contributed once again. So, based on this feedback, conversations we have had and our own ideas the Agency Local events team have decided on a few changes.
What will stay?
All our events are aimed at making your agency a better business and you, as the owner, a better leader. We strive to be thought provoking, ideas giving and opportunity generating – this ethos remains in all we do.
Why make changes?
We are constantly seeking improvement and the feedback is that running so many events some people found it hard to find the time to attend. Yes members can watch on the recording however it is not quite the same as being there and being able to ask your questions.
The changes are not radical, just some tweaking.
What is changing?
Insight Event – remains the same – every second month on the third Thursday of the month in the evening starting at 6.30pm. (Apart from this month which will be on the 23rd Sept). It is our intention to get back to running these as in person events. For now September will be virtual and we are looking for November to be face to face.
Ask the Expert
We have made the decision to run one AtE event a month instead of two. These will run on the second Thursday of the month from November with Septembers being on the 8th.
We will now be running these first thing in the morning starting at 9.30 am.
Huddles
We will run one Huddle a month on the first Friday of the month. A great way to kick off a new month. These will remain at 2pm in the afternoon.
We will be encouraging you to ‘bring a friend’ and to encourage a wider audience to attend these. New members will also have the opportunity to introduce themselves to the community.
90 Day Planning workshops
Until now these have been held at random times and dates. We will be running these on a bi monthly basis – these will be open to members and non members alike. The next one will be on September 16th at 9.30 am. Then on the fourth Thursday of alternate months, so November and then January
Marketing Showcase – Member to Member
We are excited to announce a new series of events. We are a community of marketing professionals however our own businesses marketing always seems to fall down the priority list!
We want to provide members with the opportunity to educate and help other members on aspects of their own marketing activity and at the same time showcase your expertise.
These will be running bi-monthly in months where we do not have an Insight event – so the third Thursday of the month and will be run at 9.30 am.
Watch this space for more news on these events
The Agency Local events team hope that these changes will meet with your approval and we look forward to seeing you at as many events as possible. Remember – we run these events for you – to help you build better agency businesses.
All forthcoming events are featured on the Events Page
