A message from the Chairman

Further to the Savoy Society’s Annual General Meeting held at the reopened, restored and resplendent Savoy in April I am delighted to introduce myself as the new Chairman of the Society.

I am sure I speak on behalf of the entire membership when I extend my sincere thanks to David Broadhead for leading the Society over the last couple of years as our Chairman.  David’s commitment and enthusiasm has ensured the Savoy Society’s ongoing relevance to its membership and to the wider industry.  As you will know from David’s annual report, we have had a successful year with wonderful events to enjoy and an ongoing commitment to invest and nurture in the future talent of the industry through the Savoy Society Mentoring Scheme, none of which would have been possible without the sterling leadership of our Chairman.  Thank you David.

I am privileged to accept the role of Chairman and I feel excited at the prospect of the coming years for the Society.  Once again we are fortunate to enjoy the talents of a strong Committee with whom I am confident of providing an enjoyable and worthwhile calendar of events for our members with plenty of opportunity to reconnect with old colleagues and to make new friends with contacts throughout the Society.  There are new faces joining the ranks of the Committee too, so keep an eye on the website as we will be updating the Committee listings in due course, where you will be able to read a brief profile of the team that has volunteered to make your Society a success - we’ll even make sure there are some smiling photos beaming back at you so you can recognise us all at the next gathering.

The first of our events will be a Summer Cocktail Party at The Goring on Monday 4^th July.  We’ll keep our fingers crossed for glorious weather so we are able to make the most of the gardens, which will shortly be transformed into London’s finest beach!  Basil’s Bar of Mustique comes to Belgravia – don’t miss out on a taste of the Caribbean; keep the date in your diary, pick out your favourite flip-flops and look out for information in the coming weeks announcing how to book for the event.

The Savoy Society Mentoring Scheme, in conjunction with Springboard, whilst only in its third year has grown into an award winning programme that both Mentees and Mentors alike have found to be of enormous benefit.  Like my predecessors, as Chairman I will continue to invest our efforts to ensure the ongoing success of this wonderful scheme.  As you will know from the AGM, we were delighted to have unanimously voted in favour of introducing an Associate Membership for our Mentees, with the opportunity to become full members upon graduation.  We look forward to being able to welcome our Associate Members to events and include them in the opportunities afforded to our members.  If you are not yet a Mentor within the programme, please do give the idea some thought as we would love to be able to keep the scheme growing each year but this is only possible with more mentors offering their support, guidance and encouragement to the students selected to participate.

Of course our Society can only be a success with the support of not only the Committee but the entire membership, so I call upon you all to attend events, use our LinkedIn group and make use of the website.  We would love your support in joining us at our parties and meetings, in sharing ideas for venues and sponsors, and importantly in introducing new members too. 

On behalf of your new Committee I would like to thank you for your support we look forward to an exciting year ahead.

Graham Copeman
Chairman, The Savoy Society
General Manager, The Goring