This article includes:

• Two members win a Pride of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire Life Magazine Award
• Riotous event wins top award
• The Shop, North Marston named regional finalist in top awards
• Open University commits to two-year sponsorship of The RTP Fellowship Programme
• Red Thread Partnership client wins prestigious training award
• Classic Oils appointed Master Distributor of Penrite range

Two members win a Pride of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire Life Magazine Award

The Chiltern Brewery voted ‘The Pride of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire Life’

Brothers George and Tom Jenkinson and The Chiltern Brewery have been voted ‘The Pride of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire Life’ by the leading regional magazine title at their annual food and drink awards.

This special award recognises individuals and businesses which actively and proudly promote the great local produce Buckinghamshire and Berkshire have to offer.

The Chiltern Brewery is a second generation family business based in Terrick, near Wendover, Buckinghamshire and started brewing in 1980. George and Tom and their team take terrific inspiration from their beautiful rural surroundings and the geography and history of the county. A fox and beech tree feature on the company logo and beer names for their fine English Ales include John Hampden’s Golden Harvest Ale 4.8%, Beechwood Bitter 4.3% and Three Hundred’s Dark Old Ale 5.0%.

“This was a complete surprise and a real honour” said Tom Jenkinson, Head Brewer and joint owner. “To be voted pride of two counties that have such fabulous food heritages is superb.”

Tims Dairy voted Food and Drink Producer of the Year

Family yogurt maker Tims Dairy have been voted Food and Drink Producer of the Year for 2016 by readers and judges of top regional magazine title Buckinghamshire and Berkshire Life. They were presented with the award at a celebratory dinner on 20th October at Royal Windsor Race Course by food writer Beverley Glock.

For this award the magazine was looking for local food and drink producers who consistently provide both top quality local produce and service to their customers.

The award was accepted by Managing Director Chris Timotheou on behalf of everyone at Tims Dairy. Operations Director Peter Timotheou added “We know that this is a combined effort so we would like to thank the entire team. We are very, very proud.”

Tims Dairy are a second-generation family business which began in 1949 in London producing high quality natural yogurt and desserts. Now located in Chalfont St Peter in the Chiltern Hills, Buckinghamshire, they combine their Greek heritage and 67 years experience to make a range of delicious live and bio-live yogurts in Greek style, whole milk and low fat, and ingredients for foodservice.

Riotous event wins top award

A Milton Keynes business beat hundreds of competitors to receive the top award at an industry-leading event.

The Buckinghamshire based business brand Riot Squad caused award-winning anarchy at the Vaper Expo, staged at Birmingham’s NEC, and fought off competition to win the Stand of the Show Award. The celebrating company achieved the prestigious accolade by beating more than 200 businesses that exhibited at the show, which was attended by thousands of retail traders and vaping visitors.

Riot Squad’s award-winning stand included a bold, branded SWAT style van, complete with interrogation chamber, where visitors were apprehended before enjoying an arresting experience like no other. Thousands of vapers flocked to the Riot Squad stand during the three-day expo where they were taken captive and dressed in prisoner boiler suits before being bundled into the interrogation chamber. All vapers visiting the Riot Squad stand had a riotous time and the chance to take part in the award-winning anarchic antics.

The judges awarded Riot Squad the top Stand of the Show prize for offering the best all-round experience, best e-liquid range and best branding at the expo, recognised as one of Europe’s biggest vaping exhibitions.

Ben Johnson, of Riot Squad, said: “We are delighted to have won this amazing award. It is a fantastic achievement and acknowledges everything we wanted to capture with our Riot Squad interactive experience at our innovative stand. This award is particularly prestigious as it was our brand launch we wanted to ensure, when we introduced the Riot Squad range to vapers, we delivered the wow factor and made it memorable for everyone who took part.”

The Shop, North Marston named regional finalist in top awards

The North Marston Community Shop Association Ltd. has made it to the finals in the Community Ownership Awards 2016, the only national awards programme recognising community co-operation around the UK.

The Shop, North Marston opened in July 2011 after three years of research and fund-raising by the founder members and the community. The Shop, which received LEADER grant funding in the past, was set up 25 years after the last shop closed in order to provide support to the village, to provide food and cut down on food miles and carbon emissions, while at the same time providing a social hub where people of all ages (currently from 14 to 87 years old at The Shop) could volunteer to help the community.

Many of the volunteers say that working in The Shop has provided them with many new friends and prevented them from being lonely. Nearly half (49%) of what The Shop sells is produced locally and is much sought after by shoppers. The Shop delivers surplus profits to community projects in North Marston so the more that villagers use The Shop the more benefits come back to the community.

Alison Finnemore, Chairman of the Management Committee, said, "To be named a finalist is brilliant news and a well-deserved honour for all involved with running and volunteering at The Shop”.

Open University commits to two-year sponsorship of The RTP Fellowship Programme

The Open University has announced that it will be providing sponsorship for The Red Thread Partnership’s RTP Fellowship Programme for two years, supporting an initiative that brings together young leaders from all walks of life to build a more cohesive and inclusive community in Milton Keynes.

The Fellowship Programme was launched in May 2016, since when six leaders from the Milton Keynes region – selected from across all sectors – have been developing their leadership skills by working to support participating charities (MK Snap and The MK Gallery), giving regular weekly contributions of their time and committing to fund-raising activities.

Focused on helping participants to develop their leadership skills by developing sustainable communities, The Fellowship Programme encourages them to use their skills to help the charities become more sustainable. Each offering is tailored to participants’ needs following interview and psychometric profiling, and the programme’s leaders follow Red Thread’s own Sustainable Leadership methodology as they complete five workshops, each focused on a specific leadership dimension: role modelling; inspiring a shared vision; challenging the process; enabling others to act, and encouraging the heart.

Freddie Guilmard Managing Director of the Red Thread Partnership commented: “Having the Open University as our main sponsor means that our fellows have access to a vast online learning library which they will be able to use throughout the programme to continue to supplement their learning – we are delighted to have such a great institution supporting our programme.”

RTP client wins prestigious training award

The Red Thread Partnership is delighted that Ricoh, a long-standing client, has won a prestigious Princess Royal Training Award for its leadership skills development and training programmes. Ricoh joins 33 other major UK businesses from a wide range of industries to be accredited, but is one of only two companies to be recognised for its outstanding leadership training and skills development programmes for employees.

The Red Thread Partnership worked in partnership with Ricoh to develop its four tier leadership development suite and co-deliver on the top two programmes. The programmes are designed to improve the skillsets of employees at every level of the organisation and Ricoh has seen a significant uptake in the programmes on offer, with employees developing their own entrepreneurial initiatives and identifying and implementing new, more efficient ways of working. 

Freddie Guilmard, Director of The Red Thread Partnership, commented: “We are delighted that Ricoh has been awarded with such a prestigious accreditation. This award is testament to the work we have delivered in partnership with Ricoh and highlights how effective the programmes are in nurturing employee skills and contributing to overall business efficiency.”

Classic Oils appointed Master Distributor of Penrite range

Classic Oils is pleased to announce they have been appointed as the Master Distributor of Penrite's range of lubricants, fuel additives and associated products in the UK and Ireland, effective 1 November. Their aim is to expand Penrite's presence in the lubricants market.

Classic Oils is an established stockist of lubricants and additives for historic vehicles, with prominence online and at Classic Car Shows and events. They have always promoted Penrite Oil, an Australian brand known for its premium, high quality and position as 'A Better Class of Oil'.  Through the new agreement, Classic Oils will import Penrite products directly from Penrite Oil, Australia and distribute across the UK and Ireland.

Guy Lachlan, Managing Director of Classic Oils said, "We're delighted to strengthen our existing relationship with Penrite Oil and look forward to working with the network of stockists who sell Penrite in the UK.  Penrite offers the right product for every application so is the perfect choice for the discerning driver."

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