Enjoying Manchester and Governing the Future...

Well, Team ACEVO certainly know how to enjoy themselves! Our 7 strong contingent took themselves off to the much publicised " Tory Pride" evening and indeed found ourselves with a range of ACEVO members. First to be mentioned must be the indomitable Paul Martin , the CEO of the Manchster based Lesbian & Gay Foundation, which advocates for the lesbian and gay community on a national level and provides excellent, innovative services. Then there was the tireless campaigner Sir Nick Partridge who has run the Terence Higgins Trust with such distinction. He is an advocate of the value and need for sector mergers and has led over 13 mergers in his time as CEO. And not forgetting Simon Blake of Brook, also known as chair of Compact Voice and currently engaged in a major reorganisation in Brook (not to mention the Compact refresh campaign !).

We had done a range of the fringe meetings over lunch and then the evening - with our team of 7 we were omnipresent pushing the third sector line. Why , we even had a presence at a Taxpayers Alliance meeting where I am reliably informed many attendees were clearly 10 shillings short of a pound in the intellect department and not greatly focused on the third sector which was clearly viewed with deep suspicion as the last refuge for woolly liberals and do gooders!

So as a reward it was off to the Hilton's 23rd floor champagne bar where one imbibes looking out over the delights of Manchester. That Master of headhunting and search David Fielding was with us though there is a strict embargo on him offering even a morsel of advice to any of my Team who are not allowed to leave ACEVO.

All work and no play makes Bubb a dull boy, not to mention his team so we got into the party mood (no member money spent incidentally I hasten to add !).

So a rather tired CEO got on the 9.30 train back to London for the somewhat more prosiac but important task of the Honours Committee where we decide on recommendations for people to be recognised for their national and local service. There is a strong bunch of recommendations for third sector people, both professionals, volunteers and philanthropists. There may be critics of the system but I am not one of them. An award gives enormous pleasure and is a particularly good way of recognising selfless service. The reforms of the system have swung the balance to recognising service in the third sector and not just for the usual suspects. For more information click here to visit their website.

And we have been putting the finishing touches to our big Annual conference where the leading Chairs and CEOs of the sector get together to debate and learn. Its the biggest gathering of CEOs on our sector and always a good event. This year its on guy fawkes Day ( nov 5th) which is a distinguished day , not to mention my birthday! The snappy title of " Governing the Future; capitalising on political and economic change". Highly relevant in the current circumtances! Tessa Jowell will be making a key note speech- she tells me it will be her only speech on the third sector and she has already started thinking of the key themes. Not to be missed if you are a CEO or chair and for all those with a deep interest and involvement in out sector. Click here to book a place.