This week one more business became a new member and joined the Independent Network Club (Shropshire). Welcome to Bonnie Huval of Havenshire Limited. We hope you enjoy the club.

It is really great to see that we have reached 30 members and it is fantastic to welcome new members in to our lively business club. Take a look at the members page to see what they can do for you.

This week another new member joined the Independent Network Club (Shropshire). We are really pleased to welcome Charles Lawson of Forge Property Consultants and wish him succesful networking ahead!

We now have 29 members and it is great to welcome new members in to our lively business club. Take a look at the members page to see what they can do for you.

The INC charity golf challenge on 14 July 2010 was won by the team led by Jeremy Lloyd with a score of 18 for the six holes. The event was organised by Neil Pharo.

When asked to make a statement, Jeremy responded, “I would firstly like to thank my fellow team members Leon Blair, Carolyn Ling, Claire Power-Browne and Ian Ross, for their wonderful company and undoubted golf skills in achieving what is I believe a feat to rival that of The Open which came to a conclusion on Sunday at St. Andrews, albeit that the financial rewards are not quite as great!!”

During the evening meeting of 14 July last year's chair Terry LeLong presented a cheque for £1000 to Dianne Kidd of 2Hands Charity. This represented the funds raised by the sterling efforts of INC members during Terry's year as chair. 2Hands was his chairman's charity.

INC will be holding a charity golf challenge before its evening meeting of 14 July 2010. Meet in the Hawkstone Park Golf centre foyer at 4.45pm. Tee-off is at 5.00pm and you will have the opportunity to play 6 holes of golf on the prestigious Hawkstone Park 6 hole 'Par 3' course,and follow in the infamous footprints of the likes of British Open winner Sandy Lyle. This event, organised by Neil Pharo who is a founder member of INC-Shropshire, will be open to golfers but more importantly, non-golfers. The fee is £3 payable on the day(bring extra coins for 'charity fines' that might occur)! Should you wish to attend, contact secretary@inc-shropshire.co.uk to book. There are footwear requirements (golf shoes or trainers/pumps), but golf clubs are not essential!

This week three new members have joined the Independent Network Club (Shropshire). We are really pleased to welcome them and wish them succesful networking ahead! Our new members are:

• Ian Ross of Robertson Technologies
• Howard Shakespeare of EuroDebt
• Nick Lee of RSM Tenon

We now have 28 members and it is great to welcome these new members in to our lively business club. Take a look at the members page to see what they can do for you.

This week 3 new members have joined the Independent Network Club (Shropshire). We are really pleased to welcome them and wish them succesful networking ahead! Our new members are:

• Shane Hawkins of C2 Recruitment
• Nicola Brown of In The Shed
• Gaynor Gravestock of Synergy and Strategy Ltd

Take a look at the members page to see what they can do for you.

INC Members fielded two teams for a Charity Quiz Night hosted by the Business Friends of Hope House network club at the Wroxeter Hotel last night. While they did not win - the winning team scored 79 points - the "INC Team"(imaginatively named) scored 68 and the "Two geeks plus two" team avoided coming last with 56½ points.

Well done. No winners but it's always good to network and help in a good cause. INC, the friendliest, fundraising network club in Shropshire.

Over the last month 6 new members have joined the Independent Network Club (Shropshire). We are a livel, vibrant business club and this fantastic increase in membership shows that there are great opportunities for networking and increasing business in Shropshire. Our new members are:

• Carloyn Ling of St James Place
• Claire Power-Browne of Auditel
• Eric Churchyard of Severnserve Ltd
• Holly Robinson of I Do Weddings
• Jeremy Evans of Greenlands Insurance
• Trevor Palmer of Churchill Insurance Consultants Ltd

Welcome to them all! Take a look at the members page to see what they can do for you.

The Independent Network Club (INC) held a great Visitors Day on the morning meeting of 5 May 2010. In total 26 visitors attended the meeting with several going on to the Golf Challenge afterwards.

The meeting opened with the Chairman, Nigel Lomax, reminding everyone the reason why INC is regarded as the friendliest yet most effective network club in Shropshire. A large number of members stood up to give testimonials for other members and it was clear that a lot of business takes place between INC members. Suzi Rixon, a past Chairman, said "If there is only one network club that you join in Shropshire, make sure that it is INC."

The ten minute presentation was given by Christian Channer of Maine Marketing.

After the meeting closed, a number of members and visitors headed off for the INC Golf Challenge. Teams consisted of golfers and non-golfers, so it was an opportunity for those who had never tried the game to give it a go.

Visitor Stuart Smallwood, of eDrive West Midlands, hit a cracking shot on the first tee. Not bad for a beginner!

Other visitors and members stood ready to play, as soon as their work and mobiles would let them! Nigel Lomax once again demonstrated his willingness to try anything.

The Golf Challenge results were:

First Team

• Neil Pharo (Captain).......19 Shots
• Nick Lee
• Ian Ross
• Lee Smallwood

Second Team

• Andrew Skeats (Captain ).....20 Shots ..(On last 2 hole countback)
• Christian Channer
• Trevor Palmer

Third Team

• Alasdair Hobbs (Captain).....20 Shots
• Dan Bones
• James Creswall

Fourth Team

• Jeremy Lloyd (Captain ) .....21 Shots
• Stuart Smallwood
• Nigel Lomax

Nigel Lomax, the new Chairman for 2010, today confirmed the Teenage Cancer Trust (TCT) as his charity for his year of office. TCT fund and build specialist units for young people in NHS hospitals. TCT units bring teenagers with cancer together with loads of new friends of their own age so they can support each other. Alongside all of this is a medical team of teenage cancer specialists who pool knowledge to create a body of expertise that’s second to none. Teenage Cancer Trust units aren’t like ordinary cancer wards. Everything about them has been designed to give teenagers the very best chance of a positive outcome.

The Independent Network Club (INC) will be holding a Grand Visitors Day on the morning meeting of 5 May 2010. All visitors are welcome to attend the meeting.

At 10am (until approx. 12 noon), immediately following the meeting, you will have the opportunity to extend your networking by playing 6 holes of golf on the prestigious Hawkstone Park 6 hole ‘Par 3’ course,and follow in the infamous footprints of the likes of British Open winner Sandy Lyle. This event, organised by Neil Pharo who is a founder member of INC-Shropshire, will be open to golfers but more importantly, non-golfers. The Team format will be explained at the Breakfast Meeting and will be a game to suit you all. Should you wish to attend, further details about this event will forwarded to you when you book - there are footwear requirements (golf shoes or trainers/pumps), but golf clubs are not essential! Find Hawkstone Park Hotel here.

The attendance fee of £10 will include tea/coffee and a breakfast bap, and there is no extra charge for inclusion in the Golf Challenge. If you want to visit us please contact the secretary to let us know and you will be assured of a warm welcome: secretary@inc-shropshire.co.uk.

Nigel Lomax of Tax Assist Accountants becomes the new Chairman for 2010. Terry Le Long, the retiring Chairman, remains on the committee as a non-executive member. Andrew Sceats of Pressuredown Therapies joins as Vice Chairman, and Ann Page, of Page Communication Ltd joins the committee as Secretary. Eira Moore remains as Treasurer having done such a great job last year, and Graham Skeats of Computer Therapy remains as the Membership Liaison Officer (or the 'Pink Slip Man').

Our Christmas Charity Quiz Night will be held at Hawkstone Park Hotel on Wednesday 2 December 2009 starting at 7.45pm. There will be a £10 entry fee for each person but the evening does include light refreshments. All proceeds go to our Chairman's Charity which this year is 2 Hands. Teams from other business networking clubs are welcome to attend. This will be a fun evening with plenty of opportunity to meet other like-minded business people.

Great fun was had by all in our charity quiz night held at Hawkstone Park Hotel. Our master of ceremonies Chris Page took us through 6 rounds of questions that certainly had a few people scratching their heads for answers! All proceeds went towards the Chairman's Charity which this year is 2 Hands. Ten teams took part and a good time was had by all.

Members of the Independent Network Club recently celebrated the culmination of a huge charity fundraising campaign with a cheque presentation of over £1100.

The Independent Network Club raised the money for the Midlands Air Ambulance and 2008 Chairman Ann Page presented the cheque for £1162.43 to Tony Neville, Volunteer Co-ordinator with the Air Ambulance at a group celebration held at Shropshire’s Hawkstone Park Hotel.

"The Air Ambulance was my chosen charity" explained Ann, "The Independent Network Club committee and members managed to raise the money through a Race Night at Lower Lacon Caravan Park, Wem, An Evening with Mike Southern which included a promise auction and by taking part in the ‘Festival of Food and Drink’ at Dearnford Lake, Whitchurch."

Hawkstone Park Hotel was the natural location for the presentation as it’s where we hold our fortnightly networking meetings and where much of the fundraising was planned. We are thrilled with the total raised and know that it will make a big difference for the charity.

2 Hands has been chosen as the group’s charity for the coming year by Independent Network Club Chairman for 2009, Terry Le Long. Born in Telford the charity works to mentor young students in the 12 to 18 age group, in UK schools, as part of their 'It’s Our World' programme, and help them design, develop and deliver fundraising projects for the benefit of poor communities in Ecuador, and Zimbabwe.

"We’re holding a Charity Quiz and Raffle on December 2nd 2009 to raise funds for 2 Hands and provide a festive end to the 2009 Networking Programme. Each round will be sponsored by a business and the overall winning team will receive the INC Charity Quiz Trophy for 2009 sponsored by Nigel Lomax Tax Assist Accountants" explained Terry. "Everyone’s welcome and anyone interested in taking part can contact the INC Secretary Jan Lloyd".

Hawkstone Park Hotel was the venue for a stimulating talk by Mike Southon, International Speaker and Author, who currently has a weekly column in the Financial Times. His presentation entitled 'Something About the Beatles' was actually an inspirational talk about succeeding in business - which the Beatles overwhelmingly did - and included clips from many of the Beatles songs which the audience, young and old, joined in with - the finale concluded with everyone singing 'All you need is love'.

The event was organised by Independent Network Club (Shropshire) and Mike's talk was followed by an auction of 5 unique items which raised £550 for the charity.   With ticket sales and a raffle, a total of £1192.00 was raised for County Air Ambulance. Winning bidders can now look forward to golfing in style, a Magical Mystery Tour flying over the Welsh borders, tea for two at the House of Commons, a luxury caravan holiday and a visit from the spring clean fairies.

The event was attended by Independent Network Club members and guests and Mike was delighted to have two Mayors - Pauline Dee (Wem) and Doris Ankers (Whitchurch) in the audience.   At the end, Mike Southon offered a free business consultation to everyone in the room.   Everyone said how much they had enjoyed the talk and left feeling greatly inspired.

International Business Speaker And Author, Mike Southon, Visits Hawkstone Park

Mike Southon will deliver an interactive presentation called ‘Something About the Beatles' in the beautiful surroundings of Hawkstone Park.

Renowned author of 'Sales on a Beermat' and 'The Beermat Entrepreneur', Mike has helped thousands become millionaires with his sales tips and motivational talks. He is currently a weekly columnist for the Financial Times,

The event has been organised by Independent Network Club (Shropshire) which is a business network club and rural support group that meets at Hawkstone Park every fortnight.   It will take place on Wednesday evening, 8th October in place of the normal INC meeting, 7.00 pm for 7.30 pm start.

Tickets cost £15 and include a glass of wine/juice on arrival.   Places limited.   Contact Jan at secretary@inc-shropshire.co.uk or on 01948 840102 for tickets.   All proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the Chairman's Charity - County Air Ambulance – along with proceeds from the auction of 5 unique iitems:

Tea for two and a tour of the House of Commons with Owen Paterson, MP;  a flight in a private plane donated by Graham Skeats of Computer Medicine; a Caravan weekend at Lower Lacon Caravan Park; a round of golf for 4 on one of Hawkstone Park's championship golf courses and a meal in the Terrace Restaurant; a mini spring clean from MyHome Cleaning Services

The auction will take place immediately after Mike's talk.   INC (SShropshire) would like to thank Hawkstone Park for sponsoring the event and the people who have donated auction items.

Independent Network Club(Shropshire) raised over £300 for County Air Ambulance at their Race Night.    The event was held at Jakk's Barn – the new function room at Lower Lacon Caravan Park which has an 8 ft LCD screen.  

INC members sponsored the races which included:

The Coniston Wealth Management Trophy,

The Utility Warehouse ‘Win a Mini' Sweepstake,

The Barbara Guest Fear & Phobia Eliminator,

The Duo Solutions Health and Safety Trophy,

The Rent-a-Rep Derby and

The Lower Lacon Holiday Sweepstake.

Members and guests at a recent meeting of the Independent Network Club (Shropshire) were treated to a fund-raising surprise when 2007 Chairman, Suzi Rixon, arrived to present Elodie Home with a cheque for £1539.73 for Macmillan Cancer Support.   Along with the INC committee and members, Suzi had organised a Barn Dance ‘Midsummer Madness' at Northwood Farmhouse, Wem and a 'Festival of Food and Drink' at Dearnford Lake, Whitchurch to raise funds for her charity of the year.  

Founder member, Neil Pharo of Park Row Associates also made a significant contribution to funds by donating to the charity part of his remuneration on referrals received from club members.

Apart from providing excellent networking opportunities, the events were a great success for all concerned.   Last September, MP, Owen Paterson joined members and guests on a beautiful sunny evening at Dearnford Lake along with North Shropshire District Councillor, Marilyn Patrick and Mac Sandal, North Shropshire Economic Forum Officer to support the event.   North Shropshire District Council provided £500 towards funding and many of the local food and drink producers that exhibited that evening have since benefited from the links that the event provided - in particular with an introduction to the buyer for the new Wrexham, Shropshire and Marylebone Railway.

Ann Page, Chairman for 2008, has now chosen her charity for the year - Shropshire Air Ambulance - which provides a rapid paramedic response to the most life threatening medical emergencies and remote destinations, carrying out over 180 missions per month. The charity relies on people and organisations to raise in excess of £3 million every year to operate this valuable service.

INC (Shropshire) is a business network club and rural support group that meets at Hawstone Park Hotel every fortnight, alternating morning and evening meetings.   The club has grown steadily since its inception nearly six years ago and now has over 50 members.   Known fondly as 'the friendliest network club' INC has a warm welcome for guests at meetings.  

The Independent Network Club (Shropshire) is pleased to announce Ann Page as their Chairman for 2008.   Traditionally the chairman chooses a charity for his or her year in office, so one of Ann's first duties will be to select the charity that INC will suppport during 2008.

Ann Page runs Page Communication Limited, a company offering IT training and software development, which she set up with her husband Chris back in 1995.

One of INC's founder members, Ann has been a member of INC for over 5 years, often winning awards for giving referrals and introducing new members to the club.   At the annual awards evening in November, she again won the annual award for most referrals.  

Other awards winners were: Eric Churchyard of SevernServe, David Tipper of Driveway Doctor, Andrew Sceats of Pressuredown Therapies, Graham Skeats of Computer Medicine and Barbara Guest .   

'Hosts of the Year' were Nick and Margie Chavasse - for hosting the barn dance in June - and Jane and Charles Bebbington of Dearnford Lake where the food festival was held in September.   Both these events helped to raise a total of over £1400 for the Chairman's charity last year - Macmillan Cancer Support – the cheque will be presented by Suzi Rixon to Elodie Home at Hawkstone Park Hotel later this year.  

The 2007 awards evening lived up to previous expectations with a spectacular performance from the Geezers - which include two INC members - Eric Churchyard, lead singer and guitarist and Chris Page on drums.

Awards 2007

Pink slip Award - Ann Page, Page communication - for giving the most referrals in 2007

Best Attendance Award - Graham Skeats, Computer Medicine - for attending the most INC meetings and events during 2007

Best ten minute presentation - Barbara Guest - for the most thought-provoking ten minute presentation (collected on her behalf by Brenda Hodnet)

Most interactive 60 seconds - Andrew Sceats, Pressuredown Therapies - for the most interactive 60 seconds (collected on his behalf by Paula Cowley)

The Squeaky Clean Award - David Tipper, Driveway Doctor for cleaning the barn at Northwood farmhouse for the barn dance (David received his award at the Festive Evening).

For Whom the Bell Tolls Award - Eric Churchyard, SevernServe - for getting the bell for every 60 second presentation

Hosts of the Year - Nick and Margie Chavasse for the use of Northwood farmhouse for the barn dance and Jane and Charles Bebbington for hosting the food festival at Dearnford Lake.

There were thank-yous to the many people who had halped with the barn dance and the food festival and long service awards for Geraldine Stephenson and Barbara Rainford who have both served on the committee for over 5 years.

Thanks you's also to Tony Goodwin and Ann Page for 'holding the reins' for the committee during the last few months of the year

There was a free raffle and then the grand finale - the Geezers - everyone got up to dance and we rocked around the clock until gone midnight. Thank you to the Geezers for providing such fantastic entertainment - and to Hawkstone Park for providing such a beautifully decorated room - and the food and the service were impeccable.

The Independent Network Club (Shropshire), which meets at the Hawkstone Park Hotel every fortnight, last year raised a grand total of £5122.80 for Hope House which included £750 match funding from Barclays Bank - who are club members.   Nigel Lomax, Chairman for 2006 presented the cheque to Vanessa Lloyd of Hope House at the INC Festive Evening.

Fundraising for the year culminated in an auction by Jon Rixon at the Awards Evening at Hawkstone Park Hotel.   Awards included the Host(ess) of the Year Award to Jane Bebbington of Dearnford Trout Fishery for hosting two barbecues during the year and a fly-fishing masterclass which was very successful despite the fact that several members found they were fly fishing without a fly! The Most Interactive Presentation Award went to Paul Stedman of Cognet Training for getting several members on the floor and asking them to take clothes off - in case you hadn't guessed Paul does First Aid Training! This masterclass was so successful that INC will be repeating it next year.

The new chairman for 2007 is Suzi Rixon of Two's Company, who has chosen Macmillan Cancer Support as the Chairman's Charity for this year.   INC is a rural support group as well as a business network club.   All fundraising events and masterclasses are open to everyone, not just members.

Members of the Independent Network Club ( Shropshire ) were delighted to welcome MP, Owen Paterson as a guest at their recent breakfast meeting at the Hawkstone Park Hotel.   Owen talked about the results of the recent business survey conducted in his constituency – one of problems that has worsened appreciably since the last survey was that of finding capable employees.

In the questions that followed, Lynda Peate of John Peate Architectural Services asked why there are no government supported apprenticeships for professions like architects.   Discussion followed on the current state of the NHS - referring to a hospital poster that Mark Laws of Carter Jonas Property Consultants, had brought back from a holiday abroad saying: 'WE TREAT PATIENTS AS HUMAN BEINGS'.   Owen Paterson hopes to join INC members for breakfast again later in the year.

Oaklands Auctions at Weston-under-Redcastle is now one of the biggest auctions in the West Midlands with over 1800 lots at many sales.   Leading the field with items for sale pictured on the website each week, Oaklands have furthered their technological abilities with a custom-built database program created by Chris Page of Page Communication based at Shawbury.

The new software tracks sales and sellers electronically at the click of a button which means Oaklands can find and match items for sale with sellers and buyers instantly so sales run much more smoothly and buyers and sellers are provided with clearly printed sales sheets and invoices.

Oaklands are delighted with their new system which will be utilised to the full at their next Special Sale on 9 th July which is an Antique and Vintage Sale with an incredible variety of antiques, collectables and vintage machinery.   In the meantime you can book for the next car boot sale on 25 th June or visit the General sales held every fortnight – the next one is on Saturday 2 nd July – for full details visit the website www.oaklandsauctions.co.uk.

Derek Whittall, owner of Oaklands met Chris Page through the Independent Network Club which meets just down the road at Hawkstone Park .   Derek had obtained quotes from the south of England then found he had the perfect solution right on his doorstop – at a much better price – a perfect example of how valuable networking can be to rural businesses.   For further details go to www.inc-shropshire.co.uk

'An evening with John Peters' Wednesday, 22nd September, 2004 was sold out. John Peters gave a very emotional yet heart-warming talk to an audience of over 80 people. Proceeds from the evening are being donated to the Umbrella Appeal - support for stroke victims. Josie Mitchell, the founder of the appeal will be attending the Festive Evening on 8th December to receive a cheque from chairman, Nick Chavasse of nrg Direct Mail.

John Peters proved to be a very entertaining speaker with the ability to make his audience laugh and cry - sometimes both at the same time. He talked of faith in the face of adversity, how his harrowing experience had affected him and how his thoughts of his baby son helped him get through. However bad our experiences they can change us for the better - if we put our minds to it. Determination is a quality shared with John Peters by all the business men and women of INC (Shropshire). A spell-binding evening.

The Shropshire Star and the Shrewsbury Chronicle both covered the event showing pictures of John Peters with Josie Mitchell, members of INC and guests.