A letter from the CEO

Dear Members,

As I write my final letter of 2022, I wonder where this year has gone, as the last 12 months have flown by and already the signs of Christmas coming are appearing everywhere.

It was good to see the Members who attended our AGM at the National Painting and Decorating Show in Coventry last month. To have seen even more would have been heartening as numbers were somewhat sparse. This is your opportunity to raise any points or concerns that have arisen during the year, along with the chance to meet up with fellow Members.

If you couldn’t make the meeting and have something you wish to raise or share, please don’t hesitate to either call or email it to me directly. We are only a phone call away if you need to talk to us. Let’s hear more from you in 2023, please don’t be strangers. After all, it’s your Association, so please do feel that you can be more involved. As with most things, you only get out of it what you put in.

I’d like to welcome several newly elected Members onto the Management Board, namely, Samantha Costa, Philip Jones, and Simon Martin. I look forward to working alongside them all in 2023. We now have the requisite number of nine Members covering all sizes of business.

Thank you also to our National Contractor Member, Mr Stephen Bagnall, for acting as Chair for the past two years. You really did a splendid job. A SME contractor, Mr Stuart Yates is up for election for this role for the next two years at the board meeting on 14 December 2022. The board, along with myself and the office team will develop and implement the future strategy of the PDA

In addition, I must acknowledge a huge debt of gratitude to Mr Bob Smith, the retiring National Treasurer. We thank him for all the exceptional work he has carried out for the Association over many years. Thanks a million Bob, we will surely miss you, but you will never be forgotten. Enjoy your retirement.

Looking ahead to 2023, preparations are now well underway for both the Premier Trophy Awards and our series of Apprentice events which will take place in spring. For the first time one of the apprentice heats will take place in Glasgow. I recently visited this college which was built in 2019 and is reputedly one of the largest training facilities in Europe, complete with a state-of-the-art painting and decorating department.

In the meantime, we are aware that life is going to be financially challenging for us in the coming months and years, whether from rising food prices, fuel costs, raw material costs, or inflation and interest rates. As a Membership organisation we will do everything we can to support your business

As a final thought, none of us yet know what challenges lay ahead in 2023. The PDA is still in great shape, and I am in no doubt that it will remain so. I am confident that there is much to look forward to and grounds for optimism for our industry and our Association. Through working together, we will succeed in meeting the challenges that lie ahead. Let us ensure that when we reach 2024 which sees us celebrating the Association’s 130th year, we do it in style by remaining ‘Simply the Best’ in our sector.

For now, please stay healthy, happy, and safe. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, along with a buoyant and prosperous New Year. I look forward to speaking with you all again throughout 2023.

Neil Ogilvie, Chief Executive – email neil@paintingdecoratingassociation.co.uk