Yesterday I was delighted to welcome 633 members to our Annual General Meeting and lead member event with guest speaker Adam Henson, making our 168th event the most popular in our history. In fact, last year, we achieved the highest member attendance across the whole building society sector, relative to size of our membership. With 500 members in 2017, and now 633 this year, surely we’re on track to take the top spot again!
It was a great evening where we were able to celebrate our successes and look ahead to the future. I was pleased to speak to many members on the night and to reaffirm what membership means to us. Through our unique All In proposition we encourage members to have a say in how we are run, and give access to special events plus local discounts with specially selected partners.
Of course, the main attraction of the AGM was our guest speaker Adam Henson. Adam is one of the UK’s best known farmers, and star of BBC’s Countryfile. During the evening Adam spoke about the history of his family farm, the Cotswold Farm Park, and how he applied for his Countryfile role – along with 3,500 other hopeful applicants. Today Countyfile attracts audiences of around 6 million.
Adam is a proud supporter of British farming, and he encouraged us to consider where our food comes from. We were also treated to stories of how his rare breed animals have been used in TV and film including a memorable appearance of a pair of oxen, along with Adam himself, in the 1995 film Braveheart.
