10 years (and 10 days) ago Alastair Currie rang me up and asked if, following two interviews and my casually stalking him for a job for the preceding few months, I’d like to come and work at a wedding in the Cotswold’s on that sub-zero Valentine’s Day weekend.
A few days after shadowing him at the event he asked if I’d like the job. I started work at Alastair Currie Events on Monday 23rd February 2009 as ‘Office and Event Support’.
A lot has changed over that time; I’ve worked with a great selection of people who have come and gone as part of our valued Alastair Currie Events events team, we moved warehouses (and all the kit within…) and have expanded our team to now be a merry group of five in the Alastair Currie Events office (previously just me and Alastair on my very first day!). In addition to the Alastair Currie Events output of spectacular events for our clients, I’ve been party to the building and running of two start-ups; a staffing company (our friends Tom and Ben over at The Waiting Game, who now own and run the company themselves) and the marquee business (our sister company, in-house with us, CMC Marquees) established by Alastair and co-director Stuart.
Alastair’s guidance and leadership over a decade has been the most fantastic gift, it’s always been more than just a job – right from the very first day – and I could not have asked for a better mentor with never-ending knowledge, inspiration and energy for all we do.
In my time at Alastair Currie Events I have been lucky enough to be made a member of ’42 under 42′ business people by Business Insider for the Class of 2018, and was thrilled to be made a Business Fellow at the University of the West of England in 2019. I take on the Presidency of Bristol Junior Chamber in April 2019, having been a member for 8 years, and have been involved in the management and running of Bristol Young Professionals and the sat on the board as Chair of Membership of the Clifton Club. All of these things come with being an engaged and interested business person within the city of Bristol, and all of which I owe to Alastair and the company – for allowing me the ability to expand and further my own horizons.
The business has delivered some incredible events for such a wide range of clients, and we’ve been on such a journey as a company over the past decade with all we have designed and planned for people. There has been so much change in our industry with regards what is available, ever-changing trends and new ideas – it’s been such a pleasure to grow and develop as a professional in an area of work which is devoted to providing such joy for people.
The relationships with our suppliers, our extended team and the seasonal crew is second to none. We are surrounded by such a fantastic support network of people whether creative, logistics, technical or specialist (we relish something wacky desired by a client!). There is such goodwill surrounding Alastair Currie Events; we know we are exceptionally lucky, and it is down to Alastair and the team (both in-house and those working on behalf of us) who represent this business every day, whether we are in the office or onsite. It’s a pleasure to be part of something so special, and to be leading it as its Managing Director in my tenth year is an incredibly exciting position to be in. I’m looking forward to seeing what more is in store.
