Dorothea, our friend for many years, died in hospital the night of 5/6 July.

Born in Germany, when the British Army needed interpreters after the 1939-1945 war, she volunteered and worked with them for about two years.

She spent most of her working life in the travel industry, first in South Africa for fourteen years and later in Britain. Always keen to contribute her time, knowledge and enthusiasm she became a Founder Member of Travelbags of Johannesburg. In 1967 she joined the Women's Travel Club in London, becoming Chairman in 1984/1985 and eventually was made an Honorary Member of AWTE.

Once retired she started a new 'career' and became very active in U3A (University of the Third Age), becoming Chairman of Bexley U3A and then Chairman 2002/2005 of the Greater London Regional Forum, as well as helping to start a number of U3As in various locations in and around London.

She will be greatly missed by her sister Irene, her partner of 30 years, John, and by us, her friends.

Once again, we celebrated the start of summer with the annual Benevolent Lunch, this time in the Conservatory of the Chesterfield Hotel.

A glass of bubbly to set the scene, enjoyed here by
(l – r): June Liddiard, Trustee Maggie Dobson, Phil Bocarro, Iris Tolley, Trustee Teresa Brain, Lisa Hallam and Benevolent Secretary Val Arends

           

Benevolent Chairman Bella Callan welcomed AWTE Chairman Tricia Handley
who brought some 30 guests up-to-date with the changes planned for AWTE.

         

Angela White Horan with Iris Tolley.                          Teresa Brain and Phil Bocarro

A flautist regaled us with music.


Altogether a jolly and enjoyable occasion!

Another great occasion: Julia Feuell’s official farewell as Chairman of AWTE at the House of Lords. Some 75 members and their guests enjoyed a champagne reception in the sunshine on the Cholmondeley Terrace, followed by a delicious 3-course lunch – all organised by our own Bella Rangel Callan with her usual aplomb. Baroness Flather of Windsor and Maidenhead was our gracious hostess and gave us an entertaining description of her career in government, rising from local Councillor to Mayor of Windsor (whose most prominent resident is HM the Queen) and finally entering the House of Lords as the first Asian woman – in a sari, of course!

(l – r): Bella Callan, new Chairman Tricia Handley, Baroness Flather, immediate past Chairman Julia Feuell
on Cholmondeley Terrace, House of Lords

The new Committee
(back row, l – r): Jackie Anderson, Membership, Monika Warburton, Website and Communications, Amanda Taylor, PR, Barbro McAusland, Finance, Gill Craig, Secretary
(front row, l - r): Aphrodite Burton, Events, Chairman Tricia Handley, Vice Chairman Karen Ramírez, Bella Rangel Callan, Benevolent Trust


We’re going to be a great team!

Tricia Handley and Karen Ramírez with their chains of office.

Following the AGM last week, I am delighted to have been elected as your AWTE Chairman for the next 12 months.

Past Chairman, Julia, has helped modernise AWTE with the introduction of the Entrepreneurs Club and formalised events where our strengths lie. I hope that we can continue to build on this and with the support of our new Committee use our wide contact base and experience to further improve the Association. The future success of AWTE depends on critical mass and our first priority is to recruit more senior women in our industry - we have already started this task and over the coming months you will witness the appearance of many high-profile women in our industry.

Our PR coverage has been good this year, thanks to the efforts of PR Chairman, Jane Richards; now we need to further increase our profile. A cohesive communications plan is in place as we embark on frequent communications via the trade press, an online newsletter and new-style literature. You will see a change in our style and design resulting in vibrant colour - a celebration as we enter a new era!

Members have already been emailing me this week with proposed event ideas, so we will work to widen the appeal. I intend to ensure that we promote the skills of our members and help facilitate business opportunities for one another - many of you may not recognise the talent on your doorstep!

I am confident that over the next 12 months you will notice the intended changes as we enhance AWTE to reach the required critical mass. Women conduct business very differently from men and AWTE must accommodate a platform to allow this to continue and thrive. Please support your Committee by communicating news, changes, putting forward your ideas and attending events. I encourage you to visit www.awte.org.uk on a regular basis - there is wealth of information available to you in addition to the calendar of events.

Finally, I look forward to seeing you at the imminent events over the next few months - and if you are attending the ITT Conference, you will receive an invitation to an AWTE cocktail reception in association with Travel Weekly.

Thank you all for your continued support.

Regards,

Tricia Handley
Chairman AWTE UK

Pictured below are outgoing Chairman Julia Feuell handing her chain of office to new Chairman Tricia Handley, ably assisted by new Vice Chairman Karen Ramírez.

The newly elected Committee gathered in the Drawing Room of the University Women's Club for an informal picture:

Front row: Chairman Tricia Handley and Vicechair Karen Ramírez,flanked by
(l) Aphrodite Burton (Events) and (r) Gill Craig (Secretary)
Back row (l-r): Amanda Taylor (PR), Bella Rangel Callan (Benevolent Fund), Jackie Anderson (Membership), Monika Warburton (Website & Communications).
Missing from the picture are Barbro McAusland (Finance Officer) and Audrey Chessell (Hons & Associates).

Retiring Chairman Julia Feuell thanked her Committee for all the hard work and support over the two years of her office, especially Teresa Brain and Jane Richards who were also stepping down from the Committee after many years of dedicated service.

The official part of the proceedings were followed by a reception in the Drawing Room which gave all members a chance to mingle and network over a glass of wine and canapés - a very jolly occasion.

Spring is trying its best to poke its head through the recent snow, yet most travel companies have enjoyed a summer start to the year. Many companies are reporting that business has been very good.

Members' Lunch review – Eat your greens!

We recently held a Members' lunch in the conservatory of the Chesterfield Hotel and invited Sue Kavanagh from Carlson Wagonlit and Marianne Sammann from Lufthansa to share their views and challenges on their green approach and the environmental impact. All members had the opportunity of updating us on their trading trends and despite the negativity that we are led to believe, feedback was encouraging. I can confirm that New Frontiers has seen booming conditions with over 800 vacancies to fill – an all-time high! Let’s hope this level of trading continues as long as possible!

Sue and Marianne also talked about the introduction of ‘green’ initiatives at work and Travel Weekly reported their comments on 17 March. Click HERE for the full and very positive article. Everyone enjoyed the lunch, ambience and excellent service from the Chesterfield. Click HERE to see some photo from the event.

Meeting of Associations – we’re one of 200!

Some events coming up that you MUST put in your diary!!

Tuesday, 22 April - AGM - come to the Annual General Meeting, hear what has been going on at AWTE and what the plans are for the future. Vote for your new Committee and wind up the evening with drinks and a finger buffet, compliments of AWTE, with plenty of opportunity for networking.

Monday 12th May – AWTE Entrepreneurs Private Lunch – Athenaeum Hotel, 116 Piccadilly, W1J 7BJ. Join a small group of fellow AWTE entrepreneurs to informally discuss business issues to help gain tips, ideas and solutions for your business from your own AWTE business support group!

Tuesday 20th May – Chairman’s Farewell – House of Lords lunch. Join Julia Feuell as she bids farewell as Chairman for the last two years. Baroness Flather is kindly hosting this prestigious lunch and offering a tour before the event. Sponsored by Onlinetraveltraining, you must bring your guests and book a table now!

Saturday 28th June – Annual Benevolent Lunch – Chesterfield Hotel – support the fantastic and confidential work of your Benevolent Committee by attending this lunch. The Benevolent Committee helps members in crisis confidentially and provides practical support such as hospital visits and flowers for tiny arrivals.

Thursday 10th July – AWTE Summer Lunch, Royal Garden Hotel – Carol Marlow, President and Managing Director of Cunard, is our Guest Speaker. Carol will enlighten us on her career path as the most senior female in the cruise industry and the first female head of a cruise line in the UK. Sponsored by New Frontiers High Flyers Executive Recruitment and Innovation Norway, this event is open to members and guests. We expect this event to be highly popular so book your place or table now on our EVENTS page!

I look forward to seeing you at many of the events above!

Julia Feuell
AWTE UK Chairman

Some 25 Members came to our annual Members' Lunch on 11 March. Events Chairman Aphrodite Burton had found us a great venue, the Conservatory at The Chesterfield Hotel Mayfair. The setting was lovely, the service excellent and the food delicious and all of this allowed us to forget the howling winds outside.

We welcomed a number of our new members:

Treasurer Karen Ramírez, Lingo oms,(l) and Jackie Anderson, Travel Weekly Group, (r)
welcoming Dalia Soliman, World Medical Centre UK, and Rachel Hawkes, Comtec Europe (centre l - r)
with a glass of bubbly, compliments of AWTE



(l - r) Liz Price and Marianne Sammann, Lufthansa,
with Dalia Soliman, World Medical Centre UK




(l - r) Chairman Julia Feuell, New Frontiers, Marianne Sammann and
Helen Peters, Silversea Cruises

and caught up with some who have been with AWTE rather longer:

(front row, l - r) Associate Members Barbara Hayward (1976) and Aileen Sweeney (1977)
enjoying a chat with
(second row, r-l) Chairman Julia Feuell, Sandra LeGeyt, PLG Marketing, and
Monika Warburton, Working Websites

The highlight was a presentation by Marianne Sammann, Lufthansa's General Manager UK & Irleand, and Sue Kavanagh, Human Resources Director, Carlson Wagonlits Travel, entitled "How Green Are We?"

         

Marianne Sammann                         Sue Kavanagh

Both described the actions their companies have taken to be more "green", from the airline's constant endeavours to reduce aircraft emissions right down to unplugging the office drinks machines overnight and dispensing with plastic cups in the case of CWL - and the whole range of individual and collective actions introduced between these two extremes.

It gave us all a lot to think about! Being in the travel industry we all have an interest in keeping our customers mobile whilst doing our bit to preserve the environment. Marianne and Sue opened a debate which is sure to continue for the foreseeable future and will be of paramount importance to all of us in the travel industry for years to come.

When someone does an unexpected good deed, it warms your faith in the world. When Nick Wrightman of Tapestry Holidays, who organises the Alternative Awards, announced to over 500 party goers that he’d been to the AWTE Christmas lunch (< click here for pictures) and was inspired to donate £5,000 of the money they’d just raised at their function to Childline, I was really surprised and delighted – firstly, that he’d mentioned us at his event and secondly, for the spontaneity of his generosity. I hope the giving season was generous to you all too.

There are mixed feelings about whether 2008 will be a fantastic year or a damp squib. The ABTA convention gave us incredible facts and figures about the frequency of people travelling and how there were 14.2 million more seats sold in 2007 than in 2006 (forecasting 18 million more seats this year), however the media paints a doom-and-gloom picture of a credit crunch. Recruitment Agencies see no sign of downturns with hundreds of vacancies to fill and they are usually the first to see it. Personally, I feel that we are set to have a good year with much innovation happening in travel and lots of activity.

Here at AWTE, it’s all go. We’ve planned some lovely events to put in your diary and I do hope I’ll see many of you there..

DON’T MISS..

11th Feb: Private Entrepreneurs' lunch at the InterContinental Hotel. If you are a shareholder in your business, come and chat with other entrepreneurs over a relaxed lunch.

11th March – Members lunch at the InterContinental Hotel. Everyone is invited to hear some members talk about how their companies are tackling ‘green issues’ both internally and externally. A debate over a sumptuous lunch will be informative, productive and fun.

22nd April – AGM – All members invited to hear from your Committee and to welcome your new Chairman – Tricia Handley from Pinpoint Communications.

19th May - Private Entrepreneurs Club meeting at the InterContinental Hotel.

Date TBC May – All members and guests invited to the House of Lords for a farewell dinner to Chairman Julia Feuell.

28th June – All members welcome to attend the annual Benevolent Lunch at the InterContinental Hotel.

10th July – AWTE Summer Lunch featuring a well known Entrepreneur (tbc) to take place in association with the Institute of Travel and Tourism at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington. All members and guests welcome. This event is being sponsored by New Frontiers.

Date TBC in September – Private Entrepreneurs Club meeting at the InterContinental Hotel.

21st October – Chairman’s Honorary Lunch where members are invited to hear the Chairman’s special guest of honour speak and to enjoy a sumptuous lunch and networking.

1st December – the famous AWTE Christmas Lunch, complete with choir and famous speaker along with a lively auction for charity. Bring all your business colleagues and guests.

As some members will be standing down from the Committee this year we would be very pleased to hear from any members keen to join the Committee. Please contact Tricia Handley at tricia@pinpointcomms.com or telephone 07768 960 128. She would love to hear from you.

Finally, I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year and encourage you to keep up to date with events and news on our website www.awte.org.uk. Don’t forget to spread the word to get friends and colleagues to join up …the more the merrier!

Kind Regards,

Julia Feuell
Chairman AWTE UK