One year ago today....
On May 20th, 2017 - exactly one year today - a group of passionate volunteers gathered on a former air-force base in Oxfordshire to partake in the first Guild of Professional Chauffeurs Executive Committee meeting.
For the previous 6 months there had been several chauffeur-industry open consultation meetings, the biggest held at the Crowne Plaza hotel at Heathrow airport. Many discussions had taken place via social media and the Chauffeur Network UK Facebook page.
And the topic of discussion? The UK Chauffeur industry is in a state of rapid decline, and if we don't take action now then there's a very real danger that the special skill-set and 'art-form' of a being a truly professional chauffeur will simply fade away into history.
After much discussion and brainstorming, with both experienced chauffeurs and industry associated businesses, we came to the conclusion that the best way forward was to form an organisation that could be a benchmark for quality & standards, and exist for the right reasons. Being a not-for-profit organisation with the view to eventually becoming a charity was all important. No one will benefit financially from being a Committee member, as all are volunteers. Indeed, the only ones to benefit financially will be the professional chauffeurs who embrace the concept, and take action to protect and save their own industry.
We are holding our very first informal networking event next weekend, on Saturday 26th May, at the very same location as our first official Executive Committee meeting last year! There's a lot going on, thanks to the amazing support we have received from our supporting industry services friends and members. So why not pop along, the weather forecast is good - bring lots of business cards, relax, network, have fun and get a chance (if you wish) to talk with the members of the Guild of Professional Chauffeurs....
and find out more about why we're so passionate about our industry, why we have so much support and why we're giving up so much of our own time for free for this important cause. We feel we are on the winning team!
Be part of it!
