IStructE Centenary Annual Dinner |
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| Location | |
| Guildhall, Aldermanbury, London UK, EC2V 7HH | |
| Information | |
The Centenary Annual Dinner, sponsored by Atkins, took place on Friday, 9th May 2008 at the Guildhall, London (UK). Amongst the many guests at this very special Annual Dinner were 16 former Presidents, 3 Vice Presidents and IStructE representatives from five continents (North America, Africa, Europe, Asia, and Australasia) were in attendance, as were very special guests Her Excellency Mrs Glenda Morean-Phillip, High Commissioner for the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Lord Howie of Troon, Claire Curtis-Thomas MP and Stephen Wiltshire MBE. The evening began with a Champagne Reception in the glorious setting of the Guildhall's Art Gallery. The guests were then ushered into the grand Great Hall, and after the Welcome Address from Sarah Buck, IStructE President, a fine three-course dinner was served. During the meal, the 'Singing Waiters', who had been disguised as serving staff, revealed themselves and delighted their audience with a well delivered mix of opera and show tunes.  Following the Loyal Toast to Her Majesty The Queen, Sarah Buck presented former president Bill Eastwood with a certificate commemorating his 60 years as a Chartered Structural Engineer. Bill also has the record of being longest serving former President of IStructE. The 16 former Presidents then joined Sarah to cut a cake marking the Institution's 100th birthday. This was followed by the presentation of two distinguished Institution awards: Young Structural Engineer of the Year Award 2008 and the Gold Medal 2008. The former was awarded to Mike Sefton of Buro Happold for his work on the Khan Shatyry Entertainment Centre (Kazakhstan). The runner-up was Nick Hewson of Techniker. Mike Glover of Arup was presented with the IStructE Gold Medal or his outstanding contribution to the design and construction of major multi-disciplinary projects around the world.   Sarah Buck then delivered a speech celebrating 100 years of IStructE. She commented: 'This is a year of celebrations. The Centenary provides an opportunity to look back at the origins of IStructE and its development and to celebrate what we have achieved. Perhaps more importantly it provides a chance to look forward to what the future may hold.'  Sarah then handed over to Sahar Hashemi, the guest speaker, who closed the evening with with her reflections on her experiences as an entrepreneur and founder of Coffee Republic. Sahar spoke on how she set up Coffee Republic in 1995 with her brother Bobby and then proceeded to build it into one of the UK's most recognised high street brands with a turnover of £30m.  Keith Eaton, IStructE Chief Executive, remarked: 'The Centenary Annual Dinner has been a splendid evening and fitting way to celebrate the Institution's 100th anniversary. This has certainly been one of the highlights of our Centenary year. I would like to thank all of our guests for joining us and in particular our sponsor Atkins for their support.' |
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| Contact | |
To book your place at the dinner, please download the form by clicking here . .
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