Honouring the memory of Nectar’s founder

The directors of Nectar Limited, a group of companies that represents various internationally-renowned food brands, decided to honour the memory of the founder Charles Abela (1952-2010) by transforming his own office into a welldesigned memorial room celebrating the various aspects of his life since childhood.

While the original features of his office were all retained, elegant showcases now display other significant items related to the setting up and development of the business, like Abela’s first business ledger, as well as photos highlighting the salient moments from his life.

Exhibited items vary from a school exercise book from 1966 which shows Abela’s ability in translating excerpts from Julius Caesar’s De Bello Gallico from Latin into English at the age of 14 years through to his school satchel which was only recently discovered. Meanwhile, a short video pays tribute to his integrity, experience, humility and discipline, all qualities that stood out in his work.

Other memorabilia portray his love for football. The Mosta community greatly benefited from Abela’s generosity during his nine-year stint as president of Mosta FC, in which time Mosta also won the promotion to the MFA Premier Division. As a result, the Mosta football ground was officially named Charles Abela Memorial Stadium. In 2010, he was posthumously awarded Ġieħ ilMosta in appreciation for his contribution to the community.

The memorial room, which was blessed by Mons Joseph Agius, also comprises the boardroom table on which major decisions about the company’s development have been taken.

Nectar’s chief Executive officer, Roderick Abela, said: “What we admire most about our father are his values together with his clear vision and sense of purpose in life. He never shied away from taking difficult decisions when certain situations demanded such actions. After building the business literally from scratch and putting it on firm foundations, he has bequeathed us with a cherished legacy that we treasure both as a family and a business. Therefore, we decided to develop his office in a memorial room to celebrate his life and his legacy for many years to come.”

Nectar’s chief Commercial officer, Carlos Abela, commented: “Our main goals are to meet clients’ demands as well as to always look to better ourselves. Nevertheless, we must never lose sight of how our business was established. Therefore, the conversion of our founder’s office into a memorial room ensures that all those who are linked to the company, as well as clients that visit us, will always remember our founder and the hard work that went into building this organisation.” Abela noted that this memorial room does not only portray Charles the businessman, but also Charles as a family man and a respected member of the Mosta community.