President's Message - May 2021

Over the last 12 months we have seen a lot of changes to our council, our previous Deputy President Richard Howlett decided to formally step down due to work and personal commitments. I would like to thank Richard for his contribution, and I wish him well for the future.

Due to this it is my intention to continue to lead our council and work with our new Deputy President Nathan Harvey in his preparation to take on the Presidential role next year. Since joining our council, Nathan has shown natural leadership in chairing our Education committee and brings with him an exciting new outlook. If you would like to know more about our new Deputy President, please visit our LinkedIn page to watch the recent Q&A that he participated in.

I would like to introduce a new theme for this presidential year, which is career & personal development. I know that a large amount of our members have been working from home, full time for over a year now and the opportunities to progress within our careers, may not seem as clear as they once did. I would like to support our members by providing events and training that can help them to regain this control.

My focus on continuing to support our local businesses, in particular our local Chartered firms will continue over the next year. Our training courses are already being developed and will be more widely available, after the success of the first-round last year.

I remain dedicated to ensuring that our PFS members are represented by providing a CPD programme that has events specifically targeting them. I would love in my final year as President to welcome more PFS members on to our council. If you would like a say in the types of educational and social events that we put on and would like to work with local businesses and members, please do reach out to me to find out more laura.blyth@brewin.co.uk. Every single person involved in our local institute has found it rewarding in some way, find out what you could gain by giving back.

This year I will continue to support The Insurance Charities as well as my chosen cause, Fabba Theatre Company. We raised £810 for Fabba last year. I am truly grateful for everyone that donated, shared, and liked our posts to raise money and awareness for this great cause. You can find out more about Fabba on our website https://www.localinstitutes.cii.co.uk/ipswich/home/about-us/institute-blog/20202021/fabba-theatre-group-presidents-charity/

I am so proud of what our institute has achieved during a difficult year. I would like to thank all our volunteers for their continued support as we move into our new presidential year and the release of lockdown restrictions.

Best wishes to all our members.

Your President

Laura Blyth