Surprise win sees head of sales step up for garden centres awards in borrowed tux
The Woodmansterne team were crowned the kings and queens of supplying greeting cards to the garden centre trade with a surprise win at the industry awards.
Having had a great time at the Garden Centre Association associate members’ fancy dress dinner on Monday, 29 January, Woody’s head of sales to independents Mark Timlett was persuaded to stay on for the following night’s awards too, and he’s very glad he did!
In a borrowed tux and bow tie, organised by the Garden Centre Association ceo Peter Burks, Mark was pretty fancily dressed when the publisher was rewarded for its “tremendous tenacity, hard work and passion” clinching the Haskins Stewarts Cup for Associate Member Of The Year – voted for by fellow members.
“Fancy dress is very much encouraged at the associate members’ dinner, and this year’s theme was Kings & Queens,” head of marketing Kate Leach told PG Buzz, “so we got into the swing of things with me as the Queen Of Hearts and Mark and regional sales manager Mark Curtis as King Of Hearts’ playing cards.”
“We were due to leave the following day with Mark T staying on to host our table-top exhibition and network in the afternoon. While there he was approached by Peter who persuaded him he just had to stay for the awards that night, even going so far as to lend him a tux and sorting out a place at the event and a bed for the night!”
Having sat down to enjoy the event, which formed part of the Garden Centre Association’s annual conference at the De Vere Cotswold Water park Hotel near Cirencester, with 200 other guests, Mark was called up on stage to collect the award from Martin Stewart, owner of Stewarts Garden Centres, and Haskins Garden Centres’ chairman Warren Haskins, alongside new association chairman Will Blake.
Mark said: “All of us at Woodmansterne are so thrilled to have won this award. I’d like to think our friendly and relaxed approach played a part in winning. As a member of our sales team, I also feel we are fortunate to have great support from all areas of our company, with strong and exciting product from our studio, all the way through to excellent fulfilment and delivery.
“It was a pleasure to receive this award on behalf of the business, which was the only supplier award given out at the event. It was quite a night and one I’ll remember for a long time.”
And md Seth Woodmansterne said he was “humbled” the greeting card and soon-to-be giftwrappings supplier was even in the running: “We’re not a big company, we have only sought to be supportive and reliable partners to the most wonderful garden centres in the country.
“It has proved to be an incredibly welcoming industry over these last few years – we have loved building friendships across customers and suppliers, and the values are no better expressed than in the Greenfingers charity that we have also been so proud to support.”
