Real inspiration is a rare commodity. Who, why or what inspires each one of us is very personnel. Tonight I had 4 inspiring encounters. The first three were at a reception at the House of Commons, not name dropping but creating context for the following.
The first two were speakers at the reception, one a politician, Hilary Benn, a man who today of all days (1st April 2009) must been torn by his routes (his dad was standing on a platform in Trafalgar Square at the same time as he was standing on a small box on The Commons terrace). Tony was talking to 600 plus Stop the War campaigners decrying all that he sees as wrong with the way the west tries to dominate the world (he may have a point). Hilary was celebrating the way that BTCV provides a second, third, forth and more chance for people who do not fit into our modern lifestyle.
This is not the first time I have heard Hilary speak. The last time was at a farmers conference, a hostile audience to the Secretary of State responsible for Agriculture. On that occasion he was open and honest to the questioners. Told it as he saw it. Suggested that the farming community was an important part of the UK economy and would continue to be an important part of the nation but was not the only thing that mattered. Yes we all need to eat and we should all try to eat food that has low food miles but this did not giving farming special status in government and all other forms of business needed consideration from our elected politicians.
It takes a real level of statesmanship to be able to tell a conference hall full of delegates that their collective view of the world is essentially wrong and walk out alive, let alone with the respect of all but the most entrenched bigot.
Benn junior did it again tonight, despite getting the initials BTCV in the wrong order four times, he summed up why we (the societal we) need organisations that do not take no for an answer and stick to their beliefs. In this case that people are the solution to most of our problems even when successive governments think people of subservient to markets and corporations.
BTCV is fifty this years. It’s a charity that combines an enthusiasm for people achieving the impossible, with a love of the world we live in. I was privileged enough to be a Trustees of said charity for the decade that spanned the millennium. They taught me a lot about governance and business as well as politics, loyalty and diplomacy.
At tonight’s celebration of Fifty years, there were a number of speakers beside the SoS. One was a young ma had ended up with BTVC in Leeds because no one else would have him. He had been diagnosed with ADHD and had a very tough time at school. He suggested that his school might have had an equally tough time with him. He had ended up to BTCV as he liked gardens and the outdoors and no other organisation wanted to help him. During his time with the Trust he had gain a qualification (better than his school had done for him), the self confidence to speak to a crowd in the Commons, the confidence to keep coming back even when it didn’t work first time and had experienced success. The team in Leeds had nominated him for a award, which he won and was presented to him by The Prime Minister in Downing Street. At the end of his speech he mentioned how he had received E-mails and letters from some of his teachers congratulating him on his success, as a result of coverage in a local newspaper. He and his teachers had written each off a couple of years previously. BTCV had brought them together through a successful outcome. Without both the teachers, who I believe will have tried to do all they could, and the safety net held by BTCV his young man would not have been smiling and telling a story that had the whole room cheering for him.
Another speaker tonight was BTCV’s Chief Executive. Now CEO’s of charities stand up and give inspiring speeches almost every day and Tom is no different from any other in that respect. A few on the terrace tonight have been on the journey that Tom and BTCV have been on. He has been with the charity for 23 years, there were a couple of others who had been involved for longer. A couple more who had been on the staff or active volunteers for as long or longer but nobody else will have lived and breathed the business for as long or as deeply as Tom.
His inspiration for me has been sticking to what he believes in through the tough times that all voluntary sector organisations have. Working tirelessly to build the profile of the organisation as he went. He has received the rewards he wants along the way and none should begrudge acknowledging the success he has had. I have seen many leaders at work, they all network as if it’s in their DNA, in fact it is, they all have a game face that befits the performance that is required. They all have grace under pressure and an ability to remember names, faces and places, tie a casual comment back to the core message of the event and place a lasting thought in the audiences mind without knowing it. They all do it well but I find the charm and warmth that Toms brings to the process refreshing and stimulating. It is almost possible to see people signing up in the room as he speaks. Much of this is the natural salesmanship of the Irish but there is real commitment visible and I am certain that is what inspires people to support his organisation.
The final figure of inspiration was less of a meeting and more of a passing. I noticed him but he will not have noticed me. Previously I have written about why I became a bunny hugger. Sitting behind me I the standard class carriage that does not allow iPods and cellphones is the man who inspired the sprit of adventure and exploration in me. One John Blashford Snell he of endless expedition to the bet and most adventurous parts of the world. His books on rafting the Congo River and driving a pair of range rovers from the top f north America to the bottom of south America were the focus of my reading at the age of 15.
I return to Wiltshire, via a bus due to engineering works, tiered, slightly drunk but genuinely motivated to not give up on any of my daft plans.
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