EVCOM members gathered at the iconic House of Lords for a festive celebration of industry excellence and to hear the announcement of three new EVCOM Fellows. The EVCOM Fellowship Awards recognise and reward outstanding contributions to the communication industry, with past fellows including Naga Munchetty, Hugh Bonneville, John Simpson CBE, Baroness Martha Lane Fox, Lord Attenborough CBE, Bob Geldof KBE, Sir Trevor MacDonald, Dame Anita Roddick, Lord Michael Grade and Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson.
Dale Parmenter (DRPG) introduced the first Fellow of the day, Sam Wilson (Syntiro Associates). Dale and Sam have been working together for over two decades now. Dale heard Sam speak a number of years back and was immediately won over by her message of positive change, the importance of accreditation and the business sense of sustainability. Sam began her professional career unsure where her combination of interested would take her but she first encountered the word sustainability 22 years ago and immediately knew it was a path she wanted to pursue. She tells us that the event Dale saw her speaking at was actually one she gatecrashed, nominating herself to speak on the panel when she overheard an organiser talking about how one of the speakers hadn’t turned up. At that event Sam met DRPG and RPM, her first two clients. She is still working with both today. Since then, Sam has built a business of experts, has released a new app and is still relationship-centric in her approach to work. Relationships, she says, are the most important thing: relationships with each other and relationships with the world around us.
Andrew Smith (A-Vision) introduced the next Fellow, this time from the film side of our membership:Rachel Pendered(Auspicious Group). Andrew describes Rachel as a “trailblazer” and “an inspiration” and talks of Rachel’s championing of diversity and inclusion as Chair of EVCOM, of the glass ceilings she has shattered on her journey and of her commitment to disrupting with compassion. Rachel echoed Andrew’s words talking about the importance of being a leader with compassion, and how indebted she is to the people she has learnt from along the way, worked alongside and taken on new ventures with.
Finally JJ Jackson (Performing Artistes) introduced his old friend Rory Bremner: impressionist, comedian and communicator. JJ recalls the first time the two of them met and the long friendship that was born, as well as spotlighting some of the key moments of Rory’s impressive career. Rory is more used to hosting awards than receiving them, he tells us. He is witty and political and brought a whole host of characters to life for a thrilled audience. Never has an EVCOM Fellowship Award lunch included Donald Trump, Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage and Keir Starmer in its guestlist!