POWERING THROUGH

POWERING THROUGH

MICK CROSSAN OF POWERDAY, IS THE WINNER OF OUR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD WINNER FOR 2019

Every year at our annual BITA awards we announce our lifetime achievement winner; a very special category as they are selected from our members by our BITA board.

Previous winners are Pat Gallagher from Gallagher’s who accepted the award in 2017 in a particularly emotional event, and Danny Tim O’Sullivan of Danny Sullivan Group who collected his award in 2018 surrounded by his family members.

The board always thinks long and hard about who will be awarded this trophy each year, and take into account not only success in business, but contribution and impact on the community or charitable causes.

Needless to say, it is a difficult decision each year, and in 2019 we were honoured to have Mick Crossan, founder of Powerday, with us on the evening to accept his award.

The recipient never knows that they are there for an award; their family bring them ostensibly just to enjoy the evening. To be able to accept with family and life-long friends present to share in the moment is another reason that it is such a special category.

Mick Crossan has been featured in our magazine before, or more accurately we featured his initiative ‘Put Down the Knife, Pick up the Gloves’ in issue 2 of NetWorks. We thought it especially fitting that he win an award, in part, for this work.

Mick is the owner and chairman of Powerday, a family run business that really lives by its policy of ‘putting the community at the heart of what they do.’ The business has been going for 40 years and is established across London and the south east. The company puts a priority on sustainability and aim for zero waste to landfill which they are working towards through recycling schemes and using residual waste to create high-quality renewable fuels. They work with Geminor, one of Europe’s largest suppliers of renewable fuels.

They invest in their vehicles and machinery to ensure an efficient, environmentally friendly service, and their Euro 6 compliant fleet is FORS Gold and CLOCS accredited. They now employ over 200 people at their three sites across London and are continuing to grow.

Our lifetime achievement award isn’t just for business acumen, and it is his community work that has made such a big impact. A life-long lover of sports, Mick has long supported a variety of clubs and sporting initiatives across London. He also believes that all young people should be given the chance to get ahead, and Powerday supports them in gaining skills and experience through different projects across London.

In getting ready for the awards, the BITA team arranges and films interviews with friends and family members of the recipients, to get a better idea of the person, and to hear about their achievements.

For Mick’s video we spoke to Paul King, from the Amateur Boxing Association, Dave Beasant, Ex-Chelsea Footballer, Kieran McCarthy, Chairman of the London Irish Rugby Club, Edward Crossan, Mick’s son, and an old friend of Mick’s, Brendan Reynolds.

Since 2011, Powerday has partnered with the London Amateur Boxing Association (ABA) to deliver a sustainable boxing development programme throughout London. The objectives of the programme are to increase participation in the sport of boxing and to create new and refurbished facilities that are fit for purpose and valued by all members of the community and stakeholder groups. Powerday also offer bursaries to help young people achieve their true potential in the sport.

Paul King is from the ABA and has been involved since the beginning; he says, ‘Mick has had an impact on the lives on so many young people from London. His philanthropy and passion and desire to help young people has been incredible, setting up his own foundation and putting back into the London Community.’ “Working with the London ABA from day one has been refreshing.” Said Mick, “As well as developing elite talent within the sport, their commitment to use boxing as a vehicle to help improve the lives of young people and the communities they live in is exceptional.”

Brendan Reynolds remembers the Grenfell Tower tragedy; ‘I saw the fire on the TV one night, and didn’t understand what I was watching; it was Grenfell. I went to sleep that night, and I dreamt that we’d run an event and made a lot of money to help the people affected. I woke up the next morning, and it’s all I could think of. I called Mick, and I told him that I thought we could run a golf day and raise a load of money with raffles and auctions, but I would need someone to underwrite it. Mick didn’t hesitate; ‘I’ll do that’, he said.’

It is this kindness and generosity that kept being mentioned by everyone we spoke to about Mick.

The London Irish Rugby Club has certainly seen this generosity. Kieran McCarthy, Chairman of the London Irish, says; ‘I met him 22 years ago through the rugby and Chelsea football club events, of which he is a massive supporter. One day, unprompted, he offered to support the London Irish Academy Scholars program [a platform that provides young players with an environment in which they can grow, express themselves both personally and professionally and realize their dream of becoming professional rugby players]. He has organised regular fundraising initiatives; golf days and celebrity dinners. During the 16 years of his patronage, we have been able to produce one of the most successful rugby academies in England, with dozens of scholars going on to achieve international honours.’

David Beasant knows Mick from when he played football with him, before being signed for Chelsea. He says that Mick ‘is most proud of his family, not his business. Mick followed in his father’s footsteps, and he knows that Edward [his son] will follow in his.’

For Edward, he knows that he has a lot to live up to but feels confident he can achieve what he sets out to do. “He has rubbed off on me, I don’t just want to give people money, I want to help them access opportunities, give them the chance to get to where they need to get to in life.”

We were honoured to have Mick, his family and friends with us on the evening, and to be able to recognise and point out the incredible hard work he does with young people across London and beyond.

“I had no idea that I was here to collect a lifetime achievement award,” said Mick, “I can’t believe I’m here, but the real people who should be winning are those that run the schemes, sports clubs and training programs that the young people benefit from, I just help where I can.”

Humble words from a wonderful man; congratulations Mick!