Business diary: '˜Calendar Girl' provides boost for community foundation

Ms Stewart and her fellow WI members caused a sensation in 1999 when they posed nude for a charity calendar.

Calendar Girls became a film, a book, a hugely successful musical and an international brand that continues to raise money for charity.

Ms Stewart delivered an entertaining speech to more than 140 guests at a charity ball, which was held at The Principal York hotel to raise funds on behalf of the Two Ridings Community Foundation.

The charity ball, which was hosted by the York office of investment management firm Brooks Macdonald and Two Ridings Community Foundation, raised more than £7,000.

The Two Ridings Community Foundation, which operates in York, North Yorkshire, Hull and East Riding gives money to local charities and community groups supporting people in need. In 2017 the foundation awarded more than £720,000 in grants to 242 local organisations.

Guests at the ball included independent financial advisers (IFAs), professional and private client advisers and clients from across the region who have supported Brooks Macdonald since it opened for business in York in 2012.

Andrew Wilson, senior investment director and head of Brooks Macdonald’s York office, said: “We are proud to continue supporting the Two Ridings Community Foundation, a highly respected charity, and are thrilled to have raised such a significant amount to enable it to continue providing much-needed funds to local charities and community groups.

“We’d like to thank everybody for their generous donations on the night, and look forward to raising more money in the future.

“At Brooks Macdonald we strongly believe in giving back to our local community and support a number of local charitable causes.”
Jan Garrill, the chief executive of Two Ridings Community Foundation, added: “The money from this year’s charity ball will help to sustain the work of the foundation in supporting local projects.”

Diary is delighted to hear that the Calendar Girls are still raising money for good causes, almost two decades after their calendar made headlines around the world.

Cratsman Tools powers ahead

WHEN Craftsman Tools first opened for business, Britain was preparing for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and Dwight D Eisenhower had just been sworn in as President of the United States.

Sixty five years later, the family-owned precision engineering firm has grown to employ 44 staff after forging relationships with some of the biggest names in global engineering. It is still flourishing and investing in its staff and technology.

Robert Johnson, the managing director of Craftsman Tools Ltd, has been heartened by the recent news that UK manufacturing output has reached its highest level for 10 years.

He believes it’s the perfect time to expand the £2.5m turnover company’s worldwide customer base for toolholding, workholding and sub-contract machining.

The company, which is based in Otley, West Yorkshire, exports more than 60 per cent of its products to countries such as Russia, China, and Brazil. In 1999 the company opened Chevin Tools, a sister office in Chicago, US.

It has been awarded a £50,000 grant from Leeds City Council’s Business Growth Programme which will go towards the cost of a new machine and taking on five extra members of staff.

Mr Johnson said: “For the past 65 years, Craftsman Tools has owed its success to the skills, dedication and loyalty of its workforce.

“With our continuing investment in technology and local people, the short and long-term future of the company looks very bright indeed.”