Good causes benefit in firm’s milestone year
Fundraising for charities to mark 25th anniversary
A Perthshire business is celebrating a milestone anniversary by targeting a £25,000 donation to local charities chosen by staff.
It was 25 years ago that pest controller Jimmy Graham set up a “one man band” in Blairgowrie which has mushroomed to become one of the area’s biggest employers.
Family firm Graham Environmental Services – the biggest independent pest control and hygiene company in Scotland – now has a 75-strong workforce and they have thrown themselves into a year-long charity challenge which culminates on Saturday, February 10, with a sold-out charity ball being held at Perth Racecourse.
The good causes in line for a boost are CHAS at Kinross, Scottish Huntington’s Association and Tayside Children with Cancer and Leukaemia (TCCL) – with the charity ball rounding off fundraising ventures including a quiz night, a charity shop, 80s disco, cycle run, golf and fun days.
Directors Ross and Stuart Graham have expanded the business created by their dad, after spells in the Royal Navy and Black Watch respectively. Long-time friend and co-director Phil McKenna joined the group in 2010.
Stuart said: “We wanted to do something significant to mark the 25th anniversary and leave a legacy.
“The staff here really have bought into the fundraising over the last 12 months.
“We have supported CHAS for many years, and as parents it’s a charity which ticks lots of boxes for us.
“Staff also have close connections to Scottish Huntington’s and TCCL and we knew that they would be popular beneficiaries of our fundraising efforts.”
Perthshire North MSP and depute The Graham Environmental Services team is toasting a 25th birthday milestone with a charity fundraising drive
First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney, has agreed to be guest speaker at the charity ball – 18 years after opening the company’s Skirmie Park head office.
Business founder Jimmy (75) recalled: “That investment was a major step forward.
“When I decided to go it alone, with the support of my wife Anna, I was working from a small office at the house and the pesticides were in a locked cage in the garage.
“My first clients were farmers in
Perthshire, Angus and the Mearns and under the boys the business has expanded to cover the whole of Scotland.
“I am very proud of what we have achieved and it will be an emotional night for me.”
Nowadays Graham Environmental Services can count an array of local authorities and government agencies as clients, along with renowned golf resorts Gleneagles Hotel, the Old Course Hotel, St Andrews Links and Carnoustie Links, which hosts this year’s Open
Championship.
Managing director Ross, the current president of Perthshire Chamber of Commerce and vice-chairman of Forfar FC, said: “We have had fantastic support from generous clients and the business world for superb raffle and auction prizes.
“We have set ourselves an ambitious target of raising £25,000 in our 25th year of business, but we are hopeful that we can reach the target for our chosen charities.” back 1993 Jimmy Graham with his van