Dormen celebrates 5th Anniversary
An event to mark Dormen’s 5th Anniversary was held on 21 October 2010 in Blandford Forum. It was attended by about 100 people, many of whom who have been involved with the organisation since it started in the autumn of 2005, including mentors and clients as well as representatives of the various partner organisations that support Dormen.
The event was opened by Kevin Poulton, Economic Generation Manager at East Dorset District Council who welcomed everyone and read a message from the Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable MP, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and President of the Board of Trade, who was unable to attend but sent his congratulations and support to all those involved with Dormen.
Cllr Spencer Flower, Leader, East Dorset District Council and Cabinet Member for Corporate Resources, Dorset County Council, recalled the start of Dormen followed by Vivian Dunn, Programme Manager, who described how Dormen had grown and developed over the last 5 years.
Cllr Ron Parker, Portfolio holder for the Economy, Borough of Poole, explained how Bournemouth and Poole had joined the scheme shortly after the start, and Ian Girling, Operations Manager Business Link, described how the two organisations had found benefits in working more closely as time went by.
Most importantly, a number of clients related how they and their businesses had benefitted from working with Dormen mentors. These included Roger Brisley of Timber Intent Ltd, Lyme Regis (with mentor Geoff Mullis) and Janine Pattison of Janine Pattison Garden Design, Bournemouth (with mentor Martin Spooner). Steve Salmon of C&B Consultants, Poole, and Mark Ferns of Storewatch, Poole, also spoke of their experiences with their mentors (Joe Windsor and Richard Harrison, respectively).
The event concluded with the cutting, and eating, of a large 5th birthday cake.
More photos of the event can be seen at here.
L-R: Ian Girling (Business Link), Cllr Ron Parker (Borough of Poole), Cllr Spencer Flower (EDDC & DCC), Vivian Dunn (Dormen)
