The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Union office lands prize as top recruiter
NFU Scotland’s (NFUS) Perth office has scored a hat-trick by winning a prize for recruiting more members than any other union region for the third consecutive year.
The union’s flame award, which recognises outstanding efforts in recruitment and membership retention, has been won by the team of Margaret Hebbourn, Katy Neill, and Marc Robb who look after the interests of more than 500 members across branches in Perth, Crieff, Blairgowrie and Highland Perthshire.
The Perth office finished 2020 having recruited 32 new members, on top of the 64 recruited in the previous two years, and collected 107% of targeted subscription income set for the year.
NFUS chief executive Scott Walker said: “What an achievement by the team in Perth to win the membership flame award again.
“To win the flame once is an achievement, and to win it three years in a row is absolutely outstanding.
“The last year has been particularly challenging time for all our local offices and regional managers with Covid-19 restrictions impacting on face-to-face contact, usually such an important element in getting new members to sign up.
“But this has not stopped the Perth team, all of whom have adapted to the restrictions and had another great year.
“They have embraced the virtual world and held online meetings throughout the year, though I know that they hope we can get back normality this year and bring people together in person rather than on screen.”
The NFUS East Central regional manager, Kate Maitland, also congratulated the team.
She said: “Margaret, Katy, and Marc have not only retained their membership, but gone on to recruit new members while continuing to adapt to the new virtual world, holding a number of online meetings, including a virtual farm walk hosted by the Houstoun family and Glenkilrie Larder.”
The union’s local secretary network works on behalf of both NFU Scotland and NFU Mutual.