Sarah Wolfenden kindly reviews our Summer Soiree 2013, which took place on the beautiful rooftop terrace of Nomura’s London headquarters. See if you can spot yourself in our official photos here.
I almost didn’t make it to the SLA Europe’s Summer Soiree on 3rd July as I managed to get myself lost amidst the streets of London and then went to the wrong floor where I accidentally ended up in a financial investment networking event. Having a very limited knowledge in this field, I quickly backed out and found the correct floor where familiar faces, friends, glasses of wine plus the chance of winning a huge Fortnum and Mason raffle prize awaited me. I had arrived.
Coat off and wine glass in hand, I spied some colleagues from SLA Europe’s Digital Communications Committee across the spectacular roof terrace so joined them to catch up and swap stories of everything currently going on in our lives. Shortly after, the SLA Europe President Stephen Philips officially opened the social event, thanking the sponsors Nomura, Integreon, Alacra and Business Monitor International and welcoming everybody to the event.
Over a sumptuous feast of burgers, hotdogs, fish, salmon, salad, coleslaw and chocolate brownies, colleagues continued catching up with each over, laughing and reconnecting – all while taking in the incredible views over London and the fragrant smells of the nearby kitchen garden.
After dinner, I was given the fantastic opportunity of being introduced to Janice Lachance; none other than the CEO of SLA itself. I had wanted to listen to Janice speak at the Umbrella Conference in Manchester earlier that day but due to financial reasons and little luck with receiving a bursary I had been following the tweets from what came across as an illuminating talk.
Janice was friendly, approachable and easy to talk to. Over half an hour we discussed the requirement for transferable skills in a time when jobs are difficult to come by, the need to have leaders of the future and, finally, the best ways to pack for a conference (someone to carry the suitcase is always useful). We parted ways with her wishing me the best for my future as part of SLA.
I had an absolutely lovely time at the Summer Social. It was a great opportunity to catch up with old colleagues and meet new faces. Being a member of SLA means being part of a big supportive and engaged community and it felt great – I didn’t win the raffle but, ultimately, it didn’t matter.