Liz Cooper (Chair) joined businesswomen from across Ayrshire on a lovely sail to Arran today followed by networking and lunch in the Douglas Hotel.  An excellent opportunity to meet our counterparts on this beautiful island.  AABW looks forward to meeting up with AWIB at their 3 June event in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care where a cup of tea will be replaced with a G&T at a Blooming Great Tea Party!

Several AABW members joined Chair Liz Cooper in the audience at this splendid talk by the Chairman and founder of Mackie Ice-cream.  Maitland talked about running a family business, the new technology such as the automatic milking parlours, social media marketing and much more.  With phrases such as “No Change, No Chance” and “BHAG” – Big Hairy Audacious Goal meetings, there was much to go home and think about.  Mackie’s is so committed to reducing its carbon footprint that it is officially the Greenest Company in Britain and is now carbon positive.  Maitland himself is a avid supporter of wind technology and encourages local communities to “own” the technology outright and reap the rewards.

The April 2012 event was sponsored by Julie Muldoon of Travel Counsellors.  Julie spoke about the Travel Counsellors brand and her role within the organisation, detailing the high level of ATOL protection afforded to Travel Counsellor customers and illustrating their new product – A Honeymoon from wedding guests.

Patricia Elliott made a return visit to AABW and led a workshop allowing members to identify the Extra Qualities of Remarkable People and how we could become better leaders.  Using right and left-brain techniques, group and individual exercises, deep breathing and visualisation techniques, members participated in a thought-provoking and often-hilarious journey into identifying and improving our Leadership Capabilities.

A wonderful meal as always served by the Gailes Hotel.

Support for the woman behind the cancer is a striking and thought-provoking advertising campaign that helps us stand out from the crowd. We want to make sure that anyone affected by breast cancer in Scotland knows that we’re here with free information and support for them.

Designed to capture the attention of people who know little about the disease or Breast Cancer Care, the eye-catching images of a naked woman covered by a veil of medication help explain the role we play in supporting people living with breast cancer. If you haven’t already seen the images, take a look on our website or watch this short video on youtube. It’s less then a minute long but has a real impact on everyone who sees it. We also reveal what it’s like to be the woman behind the cancer in a series of candid and revealing blogs exploring issues such as the side effects of treatment, relationships, sexuality, and the emotional upheaval a diagnosis brings.

Read more here.http://www.breastcancercare.org.uk/thewoman

The more people who see the campaign, the greater the chance that people affected by breast cancer now and in the future will know where to turn for support.

Liz Ferguson

Volunteer

scotlandvolunteer@breastcancercare.org.uk

Switchboard: 0141 353 833

Nominations for the prestigious Association of Scottish Businesswomen Awards are now open.

Details of all the awards, deadlines and application packs are online at

Liz Cooper (Chair) represented the committee at the rebranding launch of Accountants William Duncan & Co.  This was held tonight in the new Burns Museum in Alloway.  Talks were given on aspects of the recent Budget, what actions the company is taking in the current economic climate including training and the use of cloud computing, finishing with a presentation by The Ocean Agency – responsible for the rebranding.  There was an opportunity to tour the new museum and meet with the company partners.

Liz and Alison from the committee had a wonderful evening on Friday 23 March 2012 as guests at the North Ayrshire Provost’s Civic Pride Charity Dinner in The Seamill Hydro.    The raffle and charity auction raised in excess of £25,000 with monies being shared between Cash for Kids and Combat Stress.   Guest speaker for the evening was businessman and “stand-up comic” – Gio Benedetti (father of Nicola).  A terrific evening to be part of and well done to all prize winners!

Congratulations to member Margarette Bryan and everyone at Begg Scotland on their recent successes.

Alex Begg and Company was recognized recently by Ayrshire Chamber and won the Ayrshire Business Excellence Award.  Six months ago they were recognized at the 2011 UK Fashion and Textile Export Awards at a ceremony in London in October.  The brand was awarded the esteemed Textiles Award for continuously pushing the boundaries to create original high-end luxurious woven accessories.  Begg Scotland has been making luxurious woven accessories here in the beautiful west coast of Scotland since 1869 and they are based in Ayr.  Well done!

Please also give consideration to this request from a student Patricia Docherty pdoche17@caledonian.ac.uk    07581478355
I am a Business student at Glasgow Caledonian University, currently living in West Kilbride.   However, as part of my sandwich course as university I am looking to complete a year in industry as a full time paid employee. I am hoping to join a local company that can provide me with any type of business related experience ie experience in Administration, IT, Finance, HR and Marketing.

My ideal position would be an administrative/clerical position within a relatively small company where I might be able to shadow some managers in my own time.

Congratulations to member Karen Herbert’s Suited & Booted (from Real Work Skills, Ayrshire) who have been shortlisted for the Santander Social Enterprise Exchange Award, which is open for voting now, and closes at 2pm on 27^th March – next Tuesday.

Please click on the link below to vote for them to win.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SantanderSocialEnterpriseExchangeAward

We would appreciate it if you would pass this on to anybody else who might also like to vote