I am writing this article the week before the Nabma Conference so it is difficult to make an assessment of how things will go but the build up has been good and I am anticipating that we will have a great time.
In the weeks prior to Conference I have had the pleasure of joining the judging panel to decide awards for what has now become the “Oscars Night”of the markets industry. It has been humbling to see so many fantastic entries promoting the work of market officers and markets all around the country. The panel had a number of difficult decisions to make before agreeing a list of recipients.
The award for outstanding service to the markets industry goes to Ann Coffey MP. Ann works tremendously hard to support her local market in Stockport and also the markets industry nationally through her chairmanship of the All Party Parliamentary Markets Committee. In recent years we have seen unparalleled support by government for markets and Ann’s role has been crucial in securing this support.
The market industry is blessed with many dedicated market officers and the award of Market Officer of the Year gives us an opportunity to recognise one of these officers. Andy Ward of Sheffield is an elder statesman among market officers readily giving of his time and experience to help others. His contribution to Nabma has been tremendous with support for benchmarking, health checks, the buddy scheme and the Diploma. He is also presiding over the move to Sheffield new Indoor Market which will be a tremendous boost for markets generally.
A successful market team is crucial to any market and we have many such teams around the country. Bromley Market Team has demonstrated its success by embracing Love Your Local Market , the Diploma and managing a mixed markets portfolio. The award also recognises the efforts of Peter Turvey, the Manager, for his dedicated work with the London Benchmarking Group which has been a great support to Nabma in connection with a number of initiatives.
The largest number of entries came in the markets innovation category and what a joy it was to see so many different ideas. Many were connected with social media and this year’s award goes to the Barnsley MarketApp. Barnsley have one of the biggest and most successful open markets in the country and the market app was launched as part of their Love Your Local Market campaign. It promises to make a significant difference to the promotion of the market.
In addition to these awards the “Oscars Night” also gives us a chance to present the latest batch of Diplomas in Market Administration. Launched two years ago the Diploma is now recognised as the professional qualification of the markets industry.
Much of the credit for the Diploma must go to Dennis, Nabma Training and Development Officer, who will be retiring after Conference. Dennis has made a tremendous contribution to markets both in Derby and nationally through Nabma and the former Institute of Market Officers. He deserves the recognition of the whole markets industry for what he has achieved. He will leave an important legacy.
Aside from Conference Nabma is starting a twelve months review in September . While the last few years have seen Nabma enjoy great success it is important that our services and structure are kept under review and the first stage in the process will be a comprehensive questionnaire about Nabma services. This will be followed by three regional meetings in October and early November to discuss the future in more detail. It is intended to complete the process and introduce any changes by next year’s Conference.
The last few weeks have been very busy with lots of members raising issues about registering market charters and questions such as where do I find a Latin translator and what do we do as we have found our charter is not relevant to our current market service . It has proved a “wake up” call to many members but hopefully most have now taken the required action. One member reported that the registration procedure is ‘straight forward’ provided you have the relevant information. The deadline is fast approaching so do not delay if you need to take action.
Prior to writing this article I boarded a train. I was greeted at the station by a large advertisement hoarding with the strap line ‘Love Your Local College’ with the heart shaped motif alongside. What do they say about imitation?
Graham Wilson OBE
Chief Executive,
Nabma
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