Tue 23 Mar. 2021

President's Message - March 2021

I hope this message finds you well; it feels hard being in lockdown for this amount of time, but I hope that the light at the end of the tunnel is giving you comfort.

Wellbeing

Our members wellbeing has become a key focus for us over the last 12 months as we recognise that this is a difficult time for us all. In January we noticed that our members appetite for virtual social events had returned after the period of video call fatigue that so many of us experienced.

We organised the following events:

  • Elevate Fitness Class

The gyms have been closed for some time now and keeping up our fitness at home can be a challenge. This class was an energetic, high calorie burning class and I did feel great afterwards, not at the time though!

  • The Big Quiz 2020

This event was led by our Young Professionals Group with Richard Brame taking the role of quizmaster. We had a good attendance and a couple of ‘’newbies’’ to our events, which we always love to see. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, however I am not sure where I was for 2020 as a scarcely missed out on last place.

  • YPG Music Quiz

As the first quiz was so popular our YPG group decided to do a music themed quiz, led by quiz master Nathan Harvey. This was inspired by the instrumental covers from the Netflix favourite Bridgerton. It was tight at the top with Richard Brame and Luke Brame fighting for the top spot, unfortunately for Luke the tiebreaker saw his dad take the win.

I would encourage you to look out for our social events and join in the fun. It can feel tiring to be at our computers all day and I understand the reluctance to be there for a little longer, however I find having that social interaction and a bit of fun really lifts my mood for the rest of the evening.

Getting involved in the local CII

I know I say this a lot, but all this would not be possible without the team of volunteers that give up their time to create and organise these events on behalf our members. I feel so lucky to work with each one of them and I can not thank them enough for the support they have shown me over the last 12 months.

We are always looking to include new people, that can bring new ideas and a new set of skills to our Council. During the last 12 months we have gained Nicola Holmes from Hiscox who has become an integral part of our communications committee and has now taken on the role of Careers Officer.

If you would like to learn more about our council and any open roles, please do get in touch. I would love to hear from you.

Annual General Meeting

Our second virtual event is due to take place on Tuesday 27th April at 5:30pm.

All our local members are invited, and the details can be found on our website.

It would be great to see you there and an opportunity to meet your local institute for the next 12 months.

For more information about our AGM, upcoming events and more about your local CII, please go to our website https://www.localinstitutes.cii.co.uk/ipswich/home/ and follow us on LinkedIn.

That’s all for now.

Best Wishes,

Your President - Laura Blyth