InTouch Spring09_v5
Transcription
InTouch Spring09_v5
JET News Views People Lending a helping hand In this issue... ConocoPhillips Repositioning 20 is Plenty Campaign Post Graduate projects A Symphony of Song Walk across Wales and more... Local Care Home, 14 Marloes Walk, really needed our help. In Touch looks inside our three days of hard but rewarding work... Issue 18 Autumn/Winter 2011 Corporate Perspective Creating two leadin intouch 1 ConocoPhillips’ historic repositioning sets a powerful course for the future In July, ConocoPhillips announced plans to reposition the company’s upstream and downstream businesses into two independent energy companies. This repositioning is consistent with the company’s previously stated strategies and focus on value creation for its shareholders. "Consistent with our strategy to create industry-leading shareholder value, we have concluded that two independent companies focused on their respective industries will be better positioned to pursue their individually focused business strategies”, said Jim Mulva, chairman and chief executive officer. R "Both companies will continue to benefit from the size and scale of their significant high-quality asset bases and free cash flow generation, allowing them to invest and create shareholder value in a changing environment." Over the past months, significant progress has been made towards the creation of the two independent companies. The downstream company will be named Phillips 66 and will be headquartered in Houston, with Greg Garland (pictured right) designated as chairman and chief executive officer. The specific location in Houston for the Phillips 66 headquarters will be announced at a later date. R g energy companies “The repositioning will create a standalone company with a unique, diverse and highly competitive portfolio of segmentleading businesses”, said Garland. “Phillips 66 has strong brand recognition and value and it provides a link between our rich history and our exciting future. Our name reflects an independent spirit and drive - two attributes of our future company.” ConocoPhillips will continue as a pure-play exploration and production company, with Ryan Lance becoming chairman and chief executive officer at the completion of repositioning. It will continue to be headquartered in Houston at the existing ConocoPhillips facility. “ConocoPhillips will retain the size, scale and capability to pursue any project globally, with the additional benefit of greater focus”, said Lance. “With our enhanced balance sheet and strong capabilities, we will pursue the goals of the repositioning plan, including investing in good opportunities, maintaining capital discipline, and continuing to return available cash to shareholders.” Jim Mulva will continue to lead ConocoPhillips as an integrated energy company until the repositioning is completed. He will retire at the completion of the transition, which is expected during the second quarter of 2012. intouch At the completion of the strategic repositioning, Phillips 66 will be a leading independent energy company with refining, marketing, midstream and chemicals businesses operating across the globe. The consumer-facing marketing businesses of ConocoPhillips will transfer to Phillips 66 and continue to operate under the brands Phillips 66®, Conoco®, 76® and JET®, as well as other specialty brands. 2 HSE Initiatives Safety? We’ve g intouch 3 We’ve just bagged 10 years without an employee recordable accident Stefan Wulkan, Manager, UK and Ireland Marketing, thanked everyone for their outstanding safety performance over the ten year period as he concluded the presentation with this message: “Great performance doesn’t just happen by luck; I know that this is a result of the hard work and involvement of all employees and their embracing of a safety first culture. Well done to everyone.” On 30th September 2011, UK and Ireland Marketing (UKIM) ‘bagged’ a milestone of ten years without an employee recordable accident and as a celebration of the outstanding success, employees received a stylish and functional travel bag as a token of appreciation for each of their efforts towards this achievement. In a video message from Houston, Andy Viens, President, Global Marketing, said: “Safety is a key part of what we do and our business success is built around ensuring that everyone works in a safe environment. The gift was presented following a quarterly UKIM meeting where Nicola McDonnell, Marketing Manager, Customer Support, took a look back on how our safety performance has evolved over the last decade, together with presentations from John Banholzer and Russell Best. “Those of you who drive for work will be acutely aware of the safety risks we face on a daily basis. In other parts of marketing, the risks may not be so obvious but still require a mindset of owning the issues that arise and ensuring that we continually assess our practices and processes. Everyone has displayed an outstanding focus on this for the last ten years. “I’m pleased to report we’re not only doing well in employee safety performance; our contractor safety and environmental performance is also excellent. UK & Ireland Marketing has shown excellent results in addressing site defects and raising the safety expectations of contractors and customers. Therefore, it comes as no surprise we can report no contractor accidents over the past two years and a year without a spill. “I know that as an organisation we’re not resting on our laurels and have set ourselves challenging goals to further reduce risk and get even better at what we do. You can never say we have achieved all our goals when it comes to safety, but the important thing is to keep up the good work.” Pictured left to right: John Banholzer, Stefan Wulkan, Russell Best and Nicola McDonnell Cup winners!... The Warwick Office HSE Team is pleased to introduce the new HSE cups, each carrying a different HSE message, in a variety of fun and colourful designs that are sure to be a winner with everyone! These have been commissioned for use by ConocoPhillips at various locations across the UK and serve as a reminder of best practices we can all share. got it bagged!... In Touch takes a look at money raised for charity through Safety initiatives... Safety Observation of the Month Safety Observations are recorded by employees. They help us to rectify unsafe conditions and learn from the misfortune of others whilst, on occasion, enjoying a serious message written in a light hearted manner. UK & Ireland Marketing Charity Initiative, rewarding safe behaviours On approaching ten years without a recordable accident, the Marketing Leadership Team (MLT) debated the simple things they could do to keep HSE high on the agenda for the next ten years. Our first idea was to reward the good HSE behaviours we wished to see, listed opposite. MLT members rewarded these behaviours, when they saw them, with a special token, ‘especially commissioned!’ and named ‘One Wulkan’, after our Manager, UK & Ireland Marketing, Stefan. On receipt of a token, the employee went to the charity initiative board in reception, selected the charity they wished to support and posted their token. The initiative started on 1st September 2011. We commenced with the three charities supported by the Warwick HSE Team Myton Hospice, Guide Dogs for the Blind and St John Ambulance. The charity receiving the highest number of tokens at the end of each month received £100, second highest £50 and third highest £25. Ten HSE Behaviours to reward: 1. Driving safely through the car park, at or below 10 mph 2. Parking safely, within white lines and in reverse where appropriate 3. Holding handrails when going up or down the stairs 4. Having a tidy, uncluttered and ergonomically sound desk space 5. Demonstrating a ‘see it, own it’ mentality 6. Submitting Safety Observations 7. Ensuring hot drinks being carried have lids and sleeves 8. Ensuring any external visitors receive a safety briefing 9. Recycling cups and paperwork in the appropriate bins 10. Saving energy by turning off lights and computers when they are not needed Pictured are Anne Day and Jaimi Paton. intouch This year, as an incentive to encourage people to record more Safety Observations, we decided to make a monthly award of £25 available to the person who submitted the best safety observation. The recipients decide which of the three nominated charities their money will go to. The charities chosen by the Warwick HSE Team were: Myton Hospice, Guide Dogs for the Blind and St John Ambulance. 4 Cover story Community Day This July, staff from UK & Ireland Marketing at ConocoPhillips’ Warwick office once again went out and about in the local community, helping out over a three day period at local Care Home, 14 Marloes Walk, situated in Leamington Spa. As well as supporting this ‘emotionally moving’ and deserving cause, everyone enjoyed the great opportunity to mix and work together as teams to achieve a most rewarding result. 14 Marloes Walk is a Care Home which provides nursing care for eight young adults with profound learning and physical disabilities and serious health issues. These young adults are permanent residents and require 24/7 care. As the priority of the staff is to look after these residents, jobs such as painting and gardening take second place and they really needed our help... Commun intouch 5 About 14 Marloes Walk Care Home 14 Marloes Walk Care Home in Leamington Spa consists of two bungalows that were purpose built when the home was opened in 1994. Turning Point, the UK's leading health and social care organisation, are the service providers at the care home which is owned by Warwickshire Council.Turning Point aim to provide care, support and a good quality of life, primarily for people who have very little independent mobility and who have great difficulty in communicating their needs and wishes. Care is provided around a core group of staff who have worked with the people living in the home for a number of years and have a good knowledge of them. They work hard to ensure that the residents enjoy experiences and activities that, because of their disabilities, require a great deal of support, organisation, commitment and foresight...they are exceptional people doing an amazing job, true heroes! Eight young adults are accommodated in the home, four in each bungalow. The bungalows are connected and have a shared office, sensory room and laundry. Each bungalow has four bedrooms, a specially adapted bathroom, lounge, dining room and kitchen. Our brief... Our project was to paint two lounges, two dining rooms and two kitchens, together with the hallways and corridors. This involved emulsioning walls and ceilings and gloss painting skirtings and architraves. With the rooms emptied ready for painting, we also took the opportunity to give the place a ‘spring clean’. In addition, the front and back gardens needed attention - lawn mowing, weeding, fences and decking stained, cutting back shrubs, removing brambles - generally a lot of green-fingered tender loving care! A great few days... After it was all over on the third and final day helping out at 14 Marloes Walk, staff gathered at The Newbold Comyn Arms for a celebratory barbecue and skittles night, together with some of the carers from 14 Marloes Walk. Everyone was in good spirits and the sense of satisfaction for a job well done was shared by one and all. Sally says... Sally Barlow Team Leader - 14 Marloes Walk Care Home (pictured opposite) was delighted by the hard work put in by everyone and said: “Just to say on behalf of all the individuals, their families and the staff team, a massive thank you for all your hard work, time and enthusiasm over the last three days. It has really made a big difference to us all. We are busy putting new photos up and admiring all your work. We will then enjoy a rest on the lovely garden bench you kindly donated. “Once again, thank you so much. Turning Point’s mission statement is about how we turn lives around, this time you've done it to us!” nity Day intouch s e r u t c i p n ...i 6 Retail Round-up Manchetts the intouch 7 big The Manchett family celebrated half a century in business with the Jet filling station and car workshops in Ness Road, Burwell on 1st July 2011 and gave every 50th customer that day a golden ticket worth £25 for fuel or shopping to mark the occasion. Martin Claydon of Westhorpe in the village was drawn from the 30 winners that day to receive a full tank of fuel worth over £90 and a hamper stuffed full of goodies including wine, beer, shortbread, fruit and jam from their Budgens store. Mr Claydon, who runs MC Cars, a taxi company, has been a customer ever since he started driving almost 40 years ago, said: “It’s absolutely fantastic. I’m not normally in the right place at the right time but this time I was.” Local Burwell born and bred Oliver Jarvis, a racing driver for Audi Sport Team Abt, presented him with the fuel on Tuesday 30th August. Anne Manchett said: “It’s super Martin has won as he has been a customer for 38 years. We know him well and his son Darren is a technician at Manchetts Commercials so it really is a family affair!” Manchetts is the oldest Jet dealer filling station in the country. Since its launch in 1961, three generations of the Manchett family have worked to make the business the success it is today, employing 115 staff and offering everything from fuel to an MOT centre with car commercial workshops, an accident repair body shop and a Renault repair specialist. In March 2010, the car sales showroom was converted into a local Budgens store,with car sales moving to the family’s own Renault specialist garage in Isleham, Ely, Cambridgeshire. 50 Robert Manchett,director,comments: “Business is understandably tough in this climate but we all strive to give great customer service and I strongly believe this is where our success lies. I hope we can continue to service our local community for many years to come. The Manchett family and all our staff are very proud to be part of a family business that is celebrating its 50th anniversary.” Tony Conway, marketing manager at Jet, comments: “This really is an amazing milestone both for the Manchett family and for Jet. As a company, Jet is very focused on ‘fuelling the local community’ and Manchetts has certainly achieved this and much more, over the past 50 years. There are countless examples of the site’s staff going above and beyond what is expected of them to help members of the local community. We are delighted to have worked with Manchetts over the past five decades and hope that this partnership will continue for many years to come.” Best Giving 100% JetMax Display In June, Jet retail sites were invited to enter a competition by submitting photographs of their JetMax displays. The competition was to win tickets for motor racing events at Brands Hatch, Donington Park and Knockhill. Photos of two of the winning entries are shown here. A number of entries were received and we would like to thank all the sites that took part. We hope all the winners enjoyed their time at the motor racing events. That’s all well and good and, as you’d expect, ConocoPhillips demands its dealers meet the minimum standards in this respect. However, the culture of going the extra mile and performing to standards way in excess of the minimum is pretty standard fare across the Jet dealer network. “A 100% score is no mean achievement”, says Geoff Patching, Retail Sales Manager. He continues, “Suresite audits are a very detailed inspection of all forecourt equipment, procedures and processes, documentation including site register and on to branding and point of sale check. This checklist not only ensures all Jet sites comply with current legislative requirements, but puts a focus on providing excellence at the forefront of a dealer’s mind. “These dealers who achieve 100% score are not only doing the basics well, but have dotted every ‘i’, and crossed every ‘t’. It is an objective that all dealers should be aspiring to and to encourage them to do so, we’ve introduced a new incentive, called ‘£100 4 100’. “All sites who achieve the accolade of attaining full marks in their Suresite audit will receive £100 for a local charity of their choice. This is a huge achievement and one we want more sites to strive towards in the future. “Standards and Service are at the cornerstone of everything we do and I’d like to thank those dealers who have excelled by scoring top marks and encourage others who are aspiring to do so to keep the momentum up and keep working hard towards that goal”, concluded Geoff. intouch Competition Standards and Service on all Jet sites are paramount in terms of customer experience, Health and Safety and our responsibility to be legislatively compliant. 8 Retail Round-up intouch 9 Jet goes rugby mad with the launch of its ‘Drop Kick Your Kit’ campaign Rugby fever had well and truly arrived at 56 Jet petrol stations across the country with the launch of Jet’s ‘Drop Kick Your Kit’ campaign. The campaign saw the stations reaching out to their local communities to drive rugby kit donations in order to help disadvantaged children and young adults in Africa. To ensure that the donated kit finds a good home, Jet teamed up with LV=SOS Kit Aid, a charity that provides second-hand and new rugby kit to underprivileged children in the UK and overseas. Local communities around the 56 Jet sites were encouraged to donate their unworn or unwanted rugby kit by bringing it into stores. For a three week period in September, all clean rugby shirts, shorts, protective gear and boots were all donated as part of the ‘Drop Kick Your Kit’ campaign. As an added bonus, the first ten people to donate kit at each site received a copy of Lawrence Dallaglio’s new book, World Cup Rugby Tales, which he launched to coincide with the World cup. England flanker, James Haskell, also expressed his support for the campaign: “‘Drop Kick Your Kit’ is a great way to bring people together through rugby, raising awareness and really making a difference to those less fortunate than ourselves in Africa. Rugby is all about team spirit and Jet’s customers were able to show their own team spirit by donating kit to the Jet sites.” retail Snippets See us on YouTube... http://www.youtube.com/user/Jetlocal Why not take a look at our YouTube pages next time you are on line? We have recently launched a series of news articles to keep you up to date with anything and everything ‘Jet’. John Broadfoot, co-chairman of LV=SOS Kit Aid comments:“We are delighted to be working with Jet for the ‘Drop Kick Your Kit’ campaign. We hope that local residents, clubs and schools will all get involved so that we can help even more youngsters in Africa improve their health, their enjoyment and quality of life through participation in the SKRUM programme.” At the end of the campaign we received 600 kilos of kit, around 2,500 items. Deals and dealers Carl Smaller, one of Jet’s retail Regional Managers, tells us about a couple of ‘dealer developments’ from his Northern patch... “Armstrong Massey based in Driffield, East Yorkshire recently joined the Jet brand after 20 years with a competitor. Our competitive deal, security of supply and quality products from the nearby Humber refinery convinced Managing Director, Chris Turner and Site Manager, John Musgrave, that we were the brand for their future plans. A promotional weekend saw the newly branded site open with coverage in local press and much interest from the local community.” New faces, same brand... “After almost 30 years as a Jet dealer, Chris Stern has decided to place his pump nozzle back in the holder for the last time (retire, that is!). Experienced forecourt retailer, Nazir Musa, has purchased three Jet branded sites in the Huddersfield area from Chris. He has already started on a programme of significant investment for the sites, upgrading the fuel storage, pumps and point of sale. I’d like to thank Chris for everything he has done under the Jet banner for all those years, wish him a long and happy retirement and at the same time, everyone at Jet wishes Nazir the best for the future.” A sweet ‘thank you’ to our midnight heroes From Monday 7th November to 13th November, 34 Jet sites celebrated their community’s midnight heroes – emergency and breakdown service personnel who work tirelessly through the small hours to keep us safe. Between the hours of midnight and 5 o’clock in the morning, participating Jet sites provided refreshments to members of the police, ambulance, fire and breakdown services working night shifts in the area. intouch LV=SOS Kit Aid passed the collected kit onto one of its partner projects, SKRUM, for distribution to children and young adults in Africa. SKRUM uses rugby to develop social skills necessary for healthy and responsible living. African children and young adults are encouraged to attend SKRUM rugby courses and, at the same time, have medical HIV/AIDS checks and receive preventative AIDS awareness programmes. 10 Retail Round-up Earlier this summer, 72 Jet sites around the country joined forces with road safety charity Brake to launch Jet’s ‘20 is Plenty’ campaign. Aimed at encouraging a community-wide commitment to improving road safety for children in local areas, the initiative was very well received, with more than 14,000 Jet customers signing in-store pledges in just a couple of weeks. ‘20 is P Y’ CAMPAIGN T N • JET'S ‘20 IS PLE JET'S ‘20 IS PLE Above: Pupils from Mexborough Doncaster Road Junior School join Doncaster North MP, Ed Miliband, Judith Lindley, manager of Jet’s Intake 4 petrol station and Ellen Booth, senior campaigns officer at Brake the road safety charity, to celebrate the success of the recent ‘20 is Plenty’ road safety campaign. Right: Doncaster North MP, Ed Miliband, is presented with 2,617 signatures by Judith Lindley, manager of Jet’s Intake 4 petrol station in Mexborough. The Intake 4 site collected the highest number of signatures of the 72 Jet stations that took part in the ‘20 is Plenty’ campaign nationally. Campaign P Y’ CAM AIGN NT intouch 11 The pledge forms gave customers the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to driving at or below 20mph in built-up areas. Many of the Jet sites received hundreds of signatures, with one site, Intake 4 in Mexbourough, South Yorkshire, collecting an incredible 2,617 signatures. Jet’s • More than 14,000 Jet customers agree ‘20 is plenty’ for local communities ’ Plenty Julie Townsend, campaigns director at Brake, says: “It’s fantastic that Jet has collected so many signatures in support of its ‘20 is Plenty’ campaign. This is further evidence that there is a huge amount of public support for slower speeds within communities to protect children and other vulnerable road users. Slowing down to 20mph or below in built-up areas is a life-saving act – if more drivers committed to doing this, our communities would be far safer places for families to get out and about on foot and bicycle without fear of fast traffic.” The pledge forms have now been passed on to local MPs for the Jet sites in a bid to highlight local concern about speed limits in built-up areas. intouch n Above: Puva Mishaharan, owner and manager of Ramper Service Station, presents local MP, Stephen Phillips, with 100 signatures of local drivers. Above: North Oxfordshire MP, Tony Baldry (left), is presented with 390 signatures of local drivers by Elliot Fairbrother (right), owner of Jet’s Antelope Garage in Banbury. Pupils from The Grange County Primary School in Banbury were also present to support the ’20 is Plenty’ initiative. 12 Retail Round-up ‘Jetting’ off for family trip of a lifetime Ken Cowell from Gateshead has won a family holiday of a lifetime, courtesy of fuel brand Jet and Paramount Pictures UK. believe I’ve won. I don’t think it’ll sink in until we’re actually on the plane and on our way!” The two brands joined forces to promote the global film company’s recent offering – RANGO, setting up a month-long promotion which saw all Jet sites throughout the UK offer fuel customers the chance to win an all-expenses-paid family road trip to Mexico. Jet’s Regional Manager, Carl Smaller, presented Ken with his prize at Dunston Service Station. Carl adds: “Jet is delighted to present this fantastic prize to Ken and I am especially pleased that the lucky winner has been selected from our region. We are always looking for ways to add value to our customer offering and what could be better than the trip of a lifetime!” Ken entered the prize draw at his local Jet service station, Dunston Service Station in Gateshead, in the hope of winning this amazing holiday. And, with more than 23,000 entries from across the UK, Ken’s entry was drawn as the overall winner. intouch 13 Jet... ‘at th Ken comments: “It’s still a bit of a shock – when I got the phone call I thought it was a wind up! Exploring Mexico is something my family and I have always wanted to do and there’s no better way of doing it than on a road trip. I’m a regular customer of the Jet site and remember quickly filling in an entry form on one of my visits but I still can’t quite RANGO is the story of a lonely chameleon on a journey from solitude to the vastness of the Mojave Desert. Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean franchise) directs this family animated adventure starring the voice of Johnny Depp as a family pet on an adventure to discover his true self. Land’s End to John O’Groats Challenge Mike Garner, Hampshire based Jet Dealer, tells us how some of our Jet Dealer network contributed to this charity event in aid of the Royal Military Police Association Charity. “I first became aware of this charity event and the existence of the Close Protection Unit – Royal Military Police (CPU-RMP), when Corporal Ben Slater contacted our site, Woolmer Service Station, in April 2011 seeking sponsorship. At the start of the year his group had accepted the challenge of raising £20,000 for the RMP Charity through a number of gruelling events, this one being the major fundraiser. “The area where Woolmer Service Station is located has a large military population, which local businesses look to support, so being a keen cyclist I replied saying we would help and I also asked if I could ride too. “Subsequently, Ben came to the site for what turned out to be the first of many meetings and I agreed to fill up their support vehicle (provided free of charge by another local business) at the start and end of the challenge. The ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats is about 950 miles but obviously the support vehicle would cover well in excess of 2,000 miles, so refuelling would be a major expense, affecting the net funds raised. “At some point the idea of asking Jet’s Dealer network to help by providing free fuel along the way surfaced and I discussed this with Dave Short, our Regional Manager. He circulated his fellow Regional Managers and Roger Watts in the West Country responded immediately, asking his Dealer customers for their help and suddenly I was overwhelmed with offers of assistance. “Using Ben’s route, we plotted the location of volunteer Jet sites all over the country and with one exception, the North West area where Jet is not represented, were able to guarantee they would have free fuel for the entire journey. To address the North West problem, I contacted former Jet Dealer, Ken Kay of the Kay Group who is based in Blackburn and he immediately agreed to help, meaning the entire route was covered. he movies’ Roaring onto a forecourt near you... For the first time ever, this autumn, the unforgettable story of Disney’s The Lion King has been brought to the big screen in breathtaking 3D animation. It follows the adventures of Simba, the feisty lion cub who just can't wait to be king. The Lion King is a timeless tale for all ages, perfect for the whole family. The Lion King Diamond Edition is out now on Disney Digital 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray and Disney DVD. To enter into the online draw, customers must enter unique reference numbers found on six individual Collector Cards. Customers also have the opportunity to download free and exclusive The Lion King display panels to mount and keep their collectible cards on. Go to: www.jet-petrol.co.uk/thelionking 14 “The CPU-RMP had decided to ride a constant relay, riding two hour shifts in pairs, so some site visits were in the middle of the night but this was no problem as arrangements were made by the respective Dealers. The group travelled to Land’s End on 28th June, started riding at 5am the following morning and arrived at John O’Groats early on 2nd July, as planned. “I calculated the generosity of the Jet Dealer family who effectively contributed more than £700 to the RMP Charity and importantly, meant the team didn’t have to worry about when, where or the cost of filling up along their route. “Did I get to ride - unfortunately not, I was second reserve. The first reserve was called into action but my services weren’t needed. However, on 30th July, Ben and I did ride the South Downs Way, all 100 miles of it, in a day – this time supported by Jet, in aid of the British Heart Foundation.” intouch Jet have teamed up with Disney in an exciting promotion which offers customers the chance to win a selection of prizes – including the grand prize of a family holiday for four. Running for six weeks, the promotion sees a weekly home entertainment bundle as well as 1,000 copies of The Lion King Diamond Edition on Disney DVD to be won by lucky Jet customers. © 2011 Disney The following Jet Dealers all supported the CPU-RMP Land’s End to John O’Groats Challenge, which raised more than £3,700 for the Royal Military Police Association Charity. St Blazey Service Station Four Cross Garage Maynes Garage Honiton Garage Greenway Motors Ambassador Filling Station Park Garage Service Station Cooper Brothers Rapid Service Station Intake One Brobot Beaston Woolmer Service Station Retail Round-up intouch 15 Two Jet stations have been rewarded at the prestigious Forecourt Trader Awards in London for fuelling their local communities. Sebastian Nonis is the proud owner of the site and remarked that the team there are “still on cloud nine” after the wins, whilst Paul Yates - Jet’s Regional Manager for Scotland - praised them all, noting that they ‘truly are a credit’ to the brand. Held at the Hilton Park Hotel at the end of September, the awards are now in their 21st year and honour those who have maintained high operating standards, exhibited entrepreneurial skills and set standards to which others aspire. Also celebrating at the awards were Lee Whiteman and his team from the Jet site at Cotgrave in Nottinghamshire, which was presented with the prize for being the best Midlands station in its size category. One of the big winners on the night was Jet’s Forfar Road Service Station in Dundee, which not only won the award for being the best Scottish forecourt in its size category, but also the overall Best Scottish Forecourt Retailer prize. The site was hailed by the judging panel for its continued programme of investment and improvement, which has led to the installation of new pumps and a store that’s now three times larger than previously. The Forfar Road station was also praised for its work with the local community and putting customer satisfaction at the heart of operations. The judges praised the service station for being a fantastic example of a family-run business which plays a big role in the local community, including sponsoring the local school football and cricket teams, as well as helping towards the village’s Christmas celebrations. Lee Whiteman, owner of the Jet site, comments: “We’re delighted to have won this award and to be recognised at such an influential national event. I’m very proud of the work we’ve undertaken recently to improve the forecourt and strengthen our customer offering; this award is great recognition of the investment we're putting back into our local community.” Jet Dealers Shine at 2011 Forecourt Trader Awards Mark Durden-Smith, Lee Whiteman of Cotgrave Service Station and Martyn Ward, from Palmer & Harvey who presented the award. Sarah Archibald pictured with Sebastian Nonis of Forfar Road Service Station. Customer Support Wincanton’s Driver of the Year 2011 Big Bike Fun Day On a warm and thankfully sunny September day, against the backdrop of the Buckley Barracks and the wide expanse of Hullavington Airfield, 20 of Wincanton’s best LGV and FLT drivers pitted their skills against one another as they competed to be the Wincanton Driver of the Year 2011. 14th September marked Wincanton’s sixth Driver of the Year final and once again they teamed up with 101 Logistic Brigade of the Royal Logistic Corp at Buckley Barracks. After a gruelling day of competing, the scores were totted up and the winners’ names confirmed. Following an address from Colonel Hall and Liam McElroy, Wincanton's operations director retail, silence fell over the hangar as the winners were announced. Drum roll please… Wincanton LGV Driver of the Year 2011, Norman Lejeune, ConocoPhillips Contract, Stockton on Tees intouch Following a rigorous qualification period, the event celebrated the excellence of Wincanton drivers as they joined forces with some of Her Majesty’s finest to tackle some difficult driving skills tests. With event names such as Rocky Road, Chicane, Mind that Wall and Finlay’s Folly, the contestants knew they were in for a tough challenge. Keep Scotland Beautiful is an environmental charity which aims to achieve litter free and sustainable environments throughout Scotland. They organised a cycling event called the Big Bike Fun Day on Saturday 27th August as part of the Cycle Stirling campaign. The event, which was attended by over 500 people, was held at Forthside, Stirling and a section of Forthside Road was closed to all traffic from 11.30am. The aim of the event is to increase cycling skills and confidence by having a traffic free space to cycle in and also free cycle training and other activities to participate in. Two drivers, Dean Swan and Kevin Graham from DHL Supply Chain contractor for ConocoPhillips (JET), agreed to participate to increase perceptions of road safety. DHL currently promote Truck and Child Safety (TACS) which is designed to deliver a better future for children on our roads. TACS is an award winning national safety programme run by DHL Foundation and DHL employees. Demonstrators like Dean and Kevin take a lorry mainly to schools targeting children between the ages of seven and 11, where they talk to children about keeping safe around larger vehicles. The demonstrations are free of charge and aim to teach children to be safe on the road by creating a greater awareness of larger vehicles and their associated dangers. Photo (left to right) Paul Fullwood - Wincanton / ConocoPhillips Driver Trainer. Amanda Slowley - Wincanton / ConocoPhillips National Operations Manager. David Cooling - Wincanton / ConocoPhillips Regional Operations Manager. Norman Lejeune - Wincanton / ConocoPhillips Driver (Stockton). Tony McHardy - Wincanton / ConocoPhillips General Manager. Stuart Cufflin - ConocoPhillips Regional Manager. 16 Wholesale Round-up Well Oiled!... In July, the Wholesale Group held their annual Oilers Golf Day at the Welcombe Hotel and Golf Course in Stratford-upon-Avon. The event also had representation from the Retail group. The day was attended by a cross section of customers from Wholesale and Retail and was followed by an awards dinner, raffle and auction in the evening. The event is notable in the calendars of many of the attendees. Ian MacMillan... nice taupe tank top! Guy Pulham master auctioneer! Kevin Day blending well with the foliage intouch Geoff Hall hacking one out! 17 The golf was of a high standard(?), as you will see in the photocall, and the eventual winners were the Retail Rejects Geoff Patching, Joe Richardson, Peter Manchett and Ian Brady. After a splendid dinner and prize-giving, there followed a raffle and auction which was a resounding success and £4,500 was raised for the Shakespeare Hospice in Stratford-upon-Avon. This shirt belonged to some bloke called ‘Shearer’? The Auction prizes were kindly donated by the following Wholesale and Retail customers: BWOC Ltd, Ocean Connect, Heltor Ltd, Crown Oils, FlyBe, Three Mile Garages, Jos Richardson & Son Ltd, Oasis Garage, Cheshire Gas and GB Oils. My stroke-saver says 200yds up the A46 Tony! Peter Manchett... swinging low! John Shade and Pete George share a joke - or were they discussing Pete’s last shot? We make a great team It is never a chore for Guy Pulham (Wholesale Regional Manager for the North West & West Midlands) to pay a visit to see Staffordshire Fuels as he knows he is only a few miles away from the Britannia Stadium and the Stoke City lads in red and white. Of course, it’s also a pleasure to catch up with Glenn Davies, the Managing Director of the company,especially since Staffordshire Fuels have re-signed as an Authorised Distributor for the next three years. transportation or customer service but the three are a really flexible group as they can all drive the trucks as well! They are complemented by Amanda Westwell, the Office Manager and Steve Matthews, who leads the sales field force. Speaking at the signing of the contract, Glenn Davies said: “We have been an authorised distributer of ConocoPhillips Ltd for over 10 years. Our single source of supply ensures that British standards for fuel are maintained to the highest possible level. Our customers can be assured that their supply of fuels is not only secure, but also competitively priced.” “It is a pleasure to secure Staffordshire Fuels’ business for the next three years”, said Guy. “We look forward to continuing our business partnership....even if they are Port Vale fans.” intouch Staffordshire Fuels is a family run fuel distribution company supplying domestic, agricultural, commercial and haulage markets throughout Staffordshire and the West Midlands. Founded in 1995, the company has enjoyed significant growth and has secured a reputation as a leading provider of fuels with excellent customer service. They operate six vehicles (including an urban artic) and are looking to grow their current 35 million litres per annum turnover. Glenn’s core office team includes his three sons, Steven, Chris and Andrew. Each has a particular responsibility in marketing, Pictured (L to R): Pete Geo rge, Glenn Davies and Guy Pulham Authorised Distributors chippin’ at Cotswold Conference A beautiful autumn day in the Cotswolds greeted Jet’s Authorised Distributors (ADs) for their annual ‘get together’ at Chipping Campden on 14th September. The Cotswold House Hotel was the venue for a day of Wholesale talk. Hosted by Pete George, Marketing Manager, Wholesale, the day opened with a review of the 2010 AD council from Jon Lovesay of Barton Petroleum. Alasdair Moores,Regional Manager (RM) presented feedback from the AD survey which considered the importance of truck painting, the Jet brand, CPNet and depot inspections, to mention just a few of the things that come under the ’mantle’ of AD support from ConocoPhillips. Delegates considered ConocoPhillips’peer group comparison and what can be done to improve support for ADs. Conclusively, the AD Council was very much valued and here to stay. Bruce Mackie (RM) looked at FPS (Federation of Petroleum Suppliers) Depot Audits,in particular focusing on wet stock revised processes. Guy Pulham (RM) gave an insight into an exciting new electronic supply management solution on CPNet (see article on following page), which was well received and viewed as a really positive step forwards in managing and continuity of supply. Paul Carey (RM) presented a review of the Wholesale marketplace, together with Mark Esling, a Warwick Business School MBA student, whose project was to review pricing structures within the industry, (see page 22). Stefan Wulkan talked about the future changes to ConocoPhillips and its corporate repositioning; in particular the challenges and opportunities this presented to those gathered. However, forget all of this business talk - the highlight of the day was yet to come as a visit to The Three Ways Hotel, home of the famous ‘Pudding Club’, loomed. After dinner!...everyone got stuck into many a sponge and steamed ‘pud’ covered in lashings of custard as another Cotswold day concluded. 18 Wholesale Round-up CPNet keeps ‘TABS’ on volumes intouch 19 To help both ConocoPhillips and its Wholesale customers supply management functions, Matt Miller tells In Touch about a new and exciting software development which went live on 1st November. “Over the past year we have been researching and developing an electronic supply management solution to smooth out and add efficiencies to the whole supply and demand fuels challenge. “The main aim is to make life easier for customers by ensuring they have the key information they need to make planning decisions. In turn, we have the information and controls to manage supply at our terminals. In essence, a ‘win-win’ situation for everyone. How does it work?... CPNet is already the mainstay for all customer information and data used throughout the business. As such,it is the ideal tool to add this function to. Under the heading ‘Lifting Limits’ the system uses customer volume forecasts, by terminal, by product, as agreed with their Regional Manager, to generate limits on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. It shows the customer their lifting limit,how much product they have already lifted and the amount remaining they can lift in a given period. This operates on a green,amber and red traffic light system for ease of use,on a live real-time basis. “TABS, short for Terminal Accounting and Billing System, is our chosen system which is a well tried and tested system used by our colleagues in the USA. From the outset it was imperative that we had our customers ‘on board’. We conducted a pilot of TABS with our Wholesale Account Managers and a small group of customers. We used their feedback and ideas to tailor the solution to meet customers’ needs”,says Matt. “Driven by the Wholesale business team and supported by a technical team, the project affects almost every facet of the UK and Ireland Marketing business, except the retail guys! From credit to supply, the Hub to field-based staff, feedback from the pilot scheme launched on 17th October this year is already very encouraging. Less administration, supply efficiencies, real time reporting and information on demand, all mean everyone from customers who lift just a few loads a month, to large accounts with multiple daily loads, can keep ‘TABS’ better than before!” Guy Pulham, Wholesale Regional Manager, commented: “DTN Tabs is the missing link at Bramhall. Terminal Automation was introduced to the terminal as part of the Bramhall upgrade but customers could not see real time information regarding lifting limits. As a result, I am sure they sometimes sent their trucks elsewhere rather than risk coming to us and being turned away. DTN Tabs is the perfect solution.” Other useful features are the ability to export the data to an Excel spreadsheet, alerts when nearing volume and credit limits and three restricted levels of user roles, each one allowing enhanced access to business information. Customers can also request an increase above the uplifted forecast volume and this can be ‘Blackberry’ approved by their regional Manager who knows the customers’ circumstances. At the moment the system operates from Bramhall terminal but further expansion to other ConocoPhillips terminals is planned for the near future. Business Improvement Green Belt Accreditation The training and mentoring of the Green Belts is undertaken by Business Improvement’s Dean Farrell and David Hoy. This involves understanding the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve and Control) methodology and working through various business improvement tools and techniques, including statistical analysis, and even involves firing catapults! Kelly’s project involved setting up a process to track capital costs across the business. Through the use of control charts, she was able to identify any expenditure that required further clarification from the business. Stuart gained his accreditation through carrying out a complete review of the Credit group’s processes. This involved identifying all of the processes, pulling together a team of experts in that process, mapping the process, producing a RACI, completing a risk analysis of the effects of a failure in the process and implementing any improvements identified. As well as the above success stories in gaining accreditation as Green Belts, the following have undertaken the training and are currently working on projects to gain their own accreditation – Jacqui McElfatrick, Sarah Pollard, Paul Yates, Sharon Morrow, Wayne Oakes, Nathan Stockwell, Adam J Russell and Kirstin Nachenius. Once accredited, they will join Lee McCloskey, Tim Handy, Annelise Burgoine, Lucy Stragnell, Dave Short and Paul Turner as Green Belts. Pictured (L to R): Russ Thomas, Stuart Braidley and Dean Farrell Pictured (L to R): Paul Wright, Kelly Speller and Dean Farrell Pictured (L to R): Dean Farrell, Simon Bannister and Tony Reddington intouch Kelly Speller, Stuart Braidley and Simon Bannister have achieved accreditation this year as Six Sigma Green Belts through undertaking an intensive training course and leading a business project through to completion. Simon’s project was to understand the drivers behind STA (Standard Temperature Accounting), in terms of product temperature, density, sales and stock levels and if a more robust process could be put in place to calculate STA for the annual standards setting exercise. The project was able to identify product temperature as having the greatest influence on STA. Using historical temperature data and a statistical forecasting technique known as Winter’s Method, Simon was able generate temperature forecasts on which to calculate the 2012 standards. 20 Business Improvement David Hoy, Continuous Improvement Leader and Tony Reddington, Manager, Finance, tell us about five very special students who undertook some interesting and challenging projects with ConocoPhillips over the summer. David Hoy takes up the story: “As part of strategic planning and business development, we are always looking at ways of how we do things; widening our knowledge base and challenging ourselves to further improve what we do. “One of the things we considered was whether we could make use of any academic and research support available, especially considering that one of the world’s finest universities is literally ‘just up the road’. So we decided to contact the University of Warwick Business School (WBS) which has a global reputation, being in the top one percent of Business Schools. We were able to use ConocoPhillips’ corporate membership of the WBS based Knowledge and Innovation Network to help establish an initial relationship with the University. intouch 21 “We proposed sponsoring various post graduate projects for MSc and MBA students studying for Post Graduate Management Qualifications. The Business School’s project process is very much a partnership between themselves, us and the students. Students work on the things we scope which are important to our business needs and also meet the academic requirements of the University. We anticipated this giving us dedicated resources providing an external perspective backed up by academic rigour while working in partnership with us and our business partners in addressing real business issues. Vinod, Hannah and Piotr Opportun “From the students’ point of view, they get the chance to work on live business projects as part of their dissertation, gaining valuable experience as well as exploring life in the world of business and commerce. Working for a global company like ConocoPhillips is also a feather in the cap of any student on their CV!” ...from just up the road! The students, the projects - showed improved channels of communication between head office, the Jet Dealer Council and dealers may be beneficial. Piotr Dorda I thoroughly enjoyed my time at ConocoPhillips and would like to thank everyone involved in supporting me through this valuable part of my course.” “Hi, my name is Piotr Dorda and I’m studying MSc Marketing and Strategy. As part of our course, one third of our final mark is made up of our project based dissertation. This project can either be a purely academic one, normally internally based at the university or, as I chose, a placement or consultancy based position in industry. “Moving into the real world of work, from the application and interview process, through to submitting my final piece of work, was a rewarding and challenging experience and one I thoroughly enjoyed. My specific task was to look at ConocoPhillips’ Standards and Service programme for its retail dealers; the brand, shop and customer service levels, which is currently packaged ‘Aim 4 Success’. To benchmark the programme and understand fully how it worked, I began by researching what other oil companies did in the same respect and how they focused on providing good customer service. “I also tried to understand the programme from a dealer’s viewpoint and as such, I interviewed many dealers and conducted an on-line survey from which I received over 50 replies. Broadly, the dealers like and embrace the programme and see its benefits. My research Vinod Jose “Like Piotr, I am studying MSc Marketing and Strategy and my brief was to understand the changes in the petroleum industry over the years, in particular how convenience retailing has been adopted by oil companies over that time. Strategic alliances between well known brands are becoming more prevalent in today’s marketplace. Would embracing convenience retailing increase footfall and in turn improve fuel sales? “I spoke to industry analysts, the media and industry bodies such as the Petrol Retailers Association, as well as attending the Association of Convenience Stores conference. “Overall, everyone at the Warwick office was thoroughly professional, making me feel valued and I was given the respect of a business colleague rather than a placement student.” Hannah Muitt Mark Esling “Unlike the boys, I’m studying Management Science and Operational Research (MSOR). My task was to build a simulation model of ConocoPhillips’ UK Supply Chain, with the objective of being able to understand and identify ‘pinch points’ in the current system. For example, restrictions in the way product is moved, together with ‘what if?’ scenarios. What happens when certain variables alter and their affect on the ultimate ability to deliver product efficiently where it needs to be? “Independence day, 4th July, was the start point for my MBA project at ConocoPhillips. My brief was to look at the Wholesale market, with particular focus on pricing structures within the industry. “I created a computer model using ‘Simul8’ to represent the supply chain. The model enables us to see the overall effect of all manner of unplanned events within the supply chain and thus allows the identification of appropriate mitigation measures. It also contributes to strategic development by allowing us to model the effects of planned changes to the supply chain. “I also shared my insight into the business with customers at the Authorised Distributor Conference in September. “My time within ConocoPhillips was really rewarding and feedback as I handed over my computer model was very positive. The ‘open door policy’ offered a lot of support, but nothing was forced upon you. All in all, I feel my time at ConocoPhillips was a fantastic introduction into the world of business.” “I interviewed a varied sample of the Wholesale customer base, representing almost 40% of turnover. It was great to experience and understand the drivers that give ConocoPhillips such an outstanding professional reputation. “Having not previously filled a consultancy based role, I really enjoyed the challenge. Everyone was supportive and I had a great time, learnt a lot and hope I added some value to the business by offering clear insight and recommendations, allowing ConocoPhillips to build upon the excellent work already underway.” nity knocks A win-win situation... Tony Reddington concludes, “Our sponsored students each provided us with a significant piece of work that was both of a high academic standard and practical use. We obtained a fresh perspective on things we thought we knew and that enabled us to challenge what and how we do things. Julia Arabadjieva “The access to academic support for our business through the staff at Warwick Business School at regular review sessions gives us a further insight into varied business planning concepts. This year’s experience has whetted our appetite and I’m sure we will be building on this for ventures in the future as it has certainly been a resounding success.” “My MBA consultancy project was to measure, benchmark and suggest new initiatives to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the downstream finance function within ConocoPhillips. “With a finance background, but from very different sectors,I was able to consider things from a fresh point of view. To start with, I studied finance roles within other corporate institutions in order to identify performance standards and reveal best practices. “Ordinarily it transpires that in most businesses the finance function is seen as a supporting role and as a cost centre rather than a value added business tool. Like all other companies, routine tasks such as month end, budgeting, forecasting and transaction processing have to be done to keep the books in order and ensure governance and compliance are met. “Feedback on my project from Tony Reddington and the team has been really positive and I feel my time at ConocoPhillips has been rewarding and very enjoyable.” Julia and Mark intouch Pete George, Marketing Manager,Wholesale, said:“The work Mark has done has identified some opportunities that we will be actively working on to enhance our ability to support our customers in a difficult and volatile marketplace.” 22 Our People 2011 health Challenge The Health Challenge is designed as a fun team event to motivate all ConocoPhillips employees to improve their lifestyle. intouch This year’s goal was similar to last year and that was to travel as many virtual kilometres across the world during the ten week period as possible. 23 At the start, each team had their baseline blood pressure and weight measurements taken and each participant was asked to complete a scorecard for ten weeks. For every five minutes of aerobic exercise completed during this time, participants were awarded one ‘virtual’ kilometre. New Starters Effective 4th July 2011, Jon Moore joined IT in the role of ITSS Applications Analyst, reporting to Morag Millington. Jon graduated from Loughborough with a Masters in IT in 2009 and then moved back home to Sunderland and worked in a private school for two years as an ICT Technician. The top three teams that collectively travelled the most kilometres (along with some additional points for weight loss and blood pressure improvement), at the end of their 10 week period, were the winners. There was also an opportunity to get some bonus points this year for enrolling on a personalised programme on wellbeingworks (an online and offline personal support programme), giving up a bad habit (e.g. smoking, unhealthy snacks, alcohol) and giving an hour of charitable time (e.g. community involvement, blood donations, sponsored walk/run). The scorecards showed a number of global destinations with their distance in kilometres (going as far as Darwin at 15,043 kilometres). Each individual and team sets their own targets. To encourage local competition, the top three winning teams at each site were given money to make a charity donation. There was also a small token gift for everyone who completed it. The winning teams were: 1st Place: The IT Band (Cheryl Huggins, Rosemary Blackburn, Jane Pagett, Neil Plaskitt, Simon Clifton, Simon Holmes) who collectively travelled 1,281.4 kilometres and split their prize of £1,000 between two charities – British Heart Foundation and Multiple Sclerosis Society. 2nd Place: As Good as IT Gets (Tina Venuto, Morag Millington, Helen Evans, Matt Miller, Mark Watson and Sandra Douglas) who collectively travelled 1,009.6 kilometres and split their prize of £500 between two charities – Alzheimer’s Society and Refuge. 3rd Place: From Brussels to Burkina Fatso (Richard Plows, Tony Conway, Dean Farrell, David Hoy, Judy Green and Janet Messenger) who collectively travelled 929.91 kilometres and donated their prize of £250 to Mind. Congratulations to the following employees who, during the second half of 2011, will have achieved these long service landmarks in their careers: Mug Shots! 4th August – Sara Runciman, Senior Supply Coordinator 17th November – Peter Watson, SAP Analyst 11th August – Neil Plaskitt, SAP Analyst 30th September – Helen Evans, IT Business Partner Analyst 30th September – Nicola McDonnell, Marketing Manager, Customer Support intouch (otherwise known as Long Service Awards) 24 9th July - Paul Turner, Operations Coordinator, Warwick 6th August – Debbie Ross, Sales Support Administrator, Warwick 30th July – Claire Cobbold, IT Business Partner Analyst 20th August – Simon Clifton, SAP Analyst 5th July – Emma Cook, Wholesale Analyst, BP&A 31st July – Stuart Cufflin, Regional Manager, Customer Support, Immingham 11th September – Jo Underwood, Operations Administrator, Warwick 6th August – Naomi McKenna, IT Project Manager 3rd September – Emma McKim, Manager, National Accounts 1st October – Sue Pattison, Senior HR Business Partner 1st December – Hari Nanra, Product Accounting Analyst 4th December – Jaimi Paton, Sales Support Coordinator, Warwick 27th December – Kris Hudson, Retail Pricing Analyst Sponsorship and Support Cycle Ride Across Sardinia Peter Cattell, Category Director, Petrol & Tobacco for Tesco, tells us about his 250 miles cycle ride across Sardinia in aid of Action Medical Research. On ‘ye and drink sounds perfect and you get to raise lots of money for a great cause - Action Medical Research - I was well and truly up for this. “The training started - I'm a fairly decent cyclist who could do with shedding a few kilos and thought that the Badgers tour would be great for that. I live in Essex which is pretty flat and found the training was a breeze. Building up from 20 miles to 30, 40, 50 mile rides, culminating in a big 90 mile ride with some pals - I was ready! Or was I? Flat terrain is very different from the hills of Sardinia. intouch “Before we left I read the brief - day one - a gentle 25 mile warm up ride; day two - 80 miles of beautiful rolling hills; day three - a challenging 90 miles traversing the hilly central region of Sardinia; day four - a 60 mile ride along the beautiful coastline. A tip - never ever believe the marketing hype - I'm sure Trading Standards would have a comment to make of this brief! What it should've said was: 250 miles of hell; after one mile of leaving the hotel in the morning you will cycle up hills for the best part of five hours, your legs will burn, your heart will feel as though it is bursting out of your chest and your lungs will feel as though they don't belong to you. Oh and it will all be done at 30 degrees centigrade! 25 “Some six months ago I was (gently) encouraged to take part in the annual Tesco Badgers Cycling Challenge - the Badger bit comes from the fact that the Tesco corporate crest features a Badger that is often found in the Broxbourne woods that surround the head office (or used to until lots of houses were built!). It seemed like a good idea at the time - everyone who has done one or more of that last eight years of Badger Cycling Challenges has returned telling stories of great achievements, the hard days of cycling, the hilly climbs, the support of your colleagues to get you through the tough bits, the stunning views across the hilly regions to the north of Majorca or the Tuscan hills - I missed all of this and only heard the bit about the great party on the Saturday night after the four day ride was over. A few miles in the saddle finishing off with a big “250 miles, 2.5 miles of climbing and nearly 24 hours in the saddle. But, guess what, I'd do it all over again! Yes it was tough, yes it was hilly, yes it was tiring but the sense of achievement was a great feeling and to know that you've raised money for a great cause funding research into neo-natal conditions and finding cures for illnesses in the young made the pain worthwhile. What we endured during those four days is nothing compared to the lifetime of challenge the kids we were raising money for will endure. Sort of brought everything into stark perspective. “Thanks to ConocoPhillips for their support and sponsorship - it was very much appreciated.” Redders Runs for Diabetes UK Tony Reddington, Marketing Manager, Finance, completed the Great North Run (13.1 miles) for the second year in just under two hours this September to raise money for Diabetes UK. Just over two years ago, Tony's younger brother, Gerald, died suddenly at the age of 43 from coronary heart disease as a result of having Type 1 Diabetes for well over 22 years. Diabetes UK is a charity which supports people with Diabetes and works tirelessly to help people with the illness. r’ bike... the odd triathlon and run too! Tesco Charity Triathlon The event took place at Dorney Lakes near Windsor, the venue of the 2012 Olympic rowing regatta, and incorporated swimming, biking and running over both Olympic distances (team and individual events) and the shortened sprint version for individuals only. There were also other races so all employees and their families could participate and help raise funds for their chosen charity. The charity Help for Heroes was launched in October 2007 in response to the desire of ordinary people to do something practical to help our wounded servicemen and women. As individuals we are powerless to prevent war and we feel helpless that we are unable to stop our men and women from being killed and wounded. At Tesco these people are their heroes and they wanted to help them and do their bit. The Tesco Fuel, Tobacco & Car Wash Category Team had a large squad of people signed up to do the Triathlon. Pictured is John Lucas, Petrol Buyer for Tesco. South Downs Way Challenge Mike Garner of Hampshire based dealer, Woolmer Service Station, recently took part in the South Downs Way Challenge to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation. Mike said: “I understand that 177 people entered, quite a number failed to show on the day and out of those that started, only 22 made it to Eastbourne. I set off at 6.20am, had a number of stops totalling about two hours and finished at 10.20pm so was riding for about 14 hours. My backside was very bruised but I’m very pleased to have done it. “For the record, the ride statistics were: distance ridden 161.72km, total time taken 15hr 59min 33sec, 3,515 metres of climbing, 3,543 metres of descents and my fastest speed was 60kph.” For more information on the South Downs Way visit www.nationaltrail.co.uk/southdowns intouch Richard Brasher, UK CEO, and the Commercial Directors of Tesco were delighted to support Help for Heroes charity with their Tesco Charity Triathlon 2011 in June. 26 Sponsorship and Support a symphony The Jet Factor The Jet Factor Winner 2010 Joseph Villiers-Dunn, The Jet Factor winner of 2010, did not get the opportunity to perform at the Carols at Warwick Castle event last December due to unforeseen weather problems cancelling the event. Pictured: John Fletcher, President of the Rotary Club of Warwick, Joseph Villiers-Dunn and Trudy Offer, Mayor of Warwick. However, the carols committee couldn’t let Joseph’s win go unrecognised and therefore the board decided to present his prize at the Rotary Club of Warwick Summer Concert. intouch 27 The concert, which was performed by over 200 young people who attend schools and music groups in the Warwick area, was observed by over 500 parents and took place on 16th June at St Mary’s Church. Joseph was accredited by John Fletcher, President of the Rotary for his achievement in winning the competition. The mayor of Warwick, Trudy Offer, also presented Joseph with his prize (an iPod Nano), which was donated by ConocoPhillips as sponsors. The Jet Factor 2011 Due to the success of the previous two years, ConocoPhillips will again have exclusive sponsorship of ‘The Jet Factor’ competition to find the biggest, brightest and best young singer in Warwickshire. Auditions are being held on 12th and 26th November and the winner will have the unique opportunity of performing alongside the choir at the event as well as winning an iPod Nano and a family annual pass to Warwick Castle. Carols at Warwick Castle ConocoPhillips will again be sponsoring the annual ‘Carols at Warwick Castle’ event which will be held on Saturday 17th December in the festive surroundings of Warwick Castle. The evening is enjoyed by over 2,500 every year and includes carol singing from St Mary’s Church choir accompanied by the Royal Spa Brass Band. All proceeds raised go to the charities supported by the Warwick Lions Club,The Rotary Club of Warwick and the Friends of St Mary’s Choir. The event is also supported by Warwick Castle and BBC Coventry & Warwickshire. Suckling ConocoPhillips staff were guests at Suckling Transport’s annual race day at Worcester and helped to raise £2,200 for the charity, Transaid. Transport Alan Archer (Suckling Transport), who drives on the ConocoPhillips contract, received the cheque as Captain of the winning team in the company’s one million kilometer challenge. Race Day The Suckling Transport one million kilometer challenge has been running since 2009. Drivers are put into county teams based on the location that they work in. y of song Carmina Burana Over 300 children from the AC Academy choirs based in Coventry, Warwick and Stratford-upon-Avon attended rehearsals during June and July to prepare for a major concert at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon on Sunday 10 July. The choirs joined Armonico Consort’s own Symphony Orchestra and Chorus plus 100 professional musicians for a performance of the world famous piece of music, Carmina Burana. Many of the children and their families will know it as the theme tune of the X Factor and most of the children had never performed with a Symphony Orchestra before. As sponsors of the concert, ConocoPhillips employees were invited to join Armonico Consort’s main adult choir. Stefan Wulkan, Manager, UK & Ireland Marketing and Emma Cook, Specialty Products Analyst, took up this opportunity and attended rehearsals leading up to the concert. Stefan commented: “It was my first visit to the RSC, but I didn’t think it would be on stage!...a fantastic experience.” intouch The concert was a resounding success with tickets being sold out prior to the day. 28 Pictured: Stefan Wulkan and Emma Cook. Each team then nominates a chosen charity which receives a donation from the company every time they complete one million kilometers without an accident of any kind. Transaid is an international UK development charity that aims to reduce poverty and improve livelihoods across Africa and the developing world through creating better transport. It does this by building local skills and knowledge to make transport safer, cheaper, cleaner and more effective, ensuring better access to the essentials for everyday life such as healthcare, education, training, and economic opportunities. Pictured (L to R): Dave Short, Regional Manager, Alan Archer, Suckling Transport and Stuart Cufflin, Regional Manager, Customer Support Immingham. Sponsorship and Support Walk across A team of 20 ‘adventurers’ plus three support crew from ConocoPhillips Warwick took on a new challenge for 2011 which was to Walk Across Wales in just 18 hours. The walk took place on 18th June and started on the Welsh coast, following rough track, forest, tarmac, farmland, open moorland and bog for a gruelling 42 miles, finishing just over the border with England, in Shropshire. As well as covering this ambitious distance in a day, the walkers climbed a total elevation of 2,611 metres, equivalent to climbing Ben Nevis twice. The team set off at 4.00am and despite being windy and raining for most of the way, all 20 completed the walk in less than 18 hours. intouch The challenge was organised by the Rotary Clubs of Llanidloes and Newtown and the team raised over £6,000 for The Myton Hospices which care for people across Coventry and Warwickshire with advanced progressive life limiting illnesses. As well as personal sponsorship, the team raised money through a variety of events such as car boot sales, an office tuck shop, car washing and book and cake sales. Matt Miller said: “We had a real mix of abilities in our team of 20 and we were all taking part for different reasons, some in memory of loved ones, some to complete the challenge as fast as possible and others who wanted to prove they could do something they had never thought possible. The end result was fantastic, all 20 crossed the finishing line and we have raised just over £6,000 in sponsorship.” Rachael Stevens, Events Fundraiser for the Myton Hospices, was delighted, saying: “Well done to you all for taking part in this challenge and for all reaching the finishing line. What a fantastic amount you have managed to raise for the Hospice.” Walkers: Tony Conway. Charlie Croydon, Helen Evans, Mike Hill, Kris Hudson, Lee McCloskey, Jacqui McElfatrick, Matt Miller, Danielle Nicholls, Chris Noonan, Sam Payne, Neil Plaskitt, Sara Runciman, Adam J Russell, Johan Swanepoel, Nick Tait, Chee Thoo, Paul Whitesmith, David Whitesmith and Thom Wilkins Support Crew: Yvonne Reardon, Anne Day and Louise Millar 29 Ready for the off... Official?...where’s the paperwork? 4am start...at least Sam (Samantha) had time to put his wig on! Half way...my blisters hurt! Nice view eh!! Wales Clowning around... we’ll keep ‘em walking ...and for Sarah Janet Messenger, Marketing Communications Coordinator, took part in an 11 mile circular walk, ‘Step out for Sarah’. Starting at Bourton-on-the-Water and taking in the villages of Clapton-on-the-Hill and Sherborne, its aim is to raise money for Kate’s Home Nursing and Sue Ryder Hospice, in memory of Sarah Painting, a local nurse, who grew up, lived and worked in Bourtonon-the-Water. She helped organise ‘Leg It’ in 2008 and 2009, a fun community run/walk event which raised over £10,000 for Kate’s Home Nursing. When Sarah sadly died in 2010 following her short illness, both Kate’s Home Nursing and Sue Ryder Hospice were involved in making her last days more comfortable. Anyone fancy a stroll back to Wales? Claire Bicknell, HR Coordinator, took part in the Myton Hospice Moonlight Walk with two friends on 10th September 2011. Now in its third year, the annual Moonlight Walk is an eightmile sponsored ladies only walk around Warwick and Leamington Spa, commencing at 10.00pm. The event started and finished at Warwick Castle. Together they raised over £700 for Myton Hospice. 30 Pictured are Lizzie Walsh, Beckie Rockcliffe and Claire Bicknell Mount Snowdon Made it- now which way’s the pub? Thanks!...what a support team. intouch ...and in the moonlight Naomi Donoghue says: “On the recent climb with my husband, Mark, up Mount Snowdon to raise money for the Cabrini Children's Society, it’s fair to say we didn't get the best weather conditions! Despite being mid-August, there were strong winds, a thick fog which reduced visibility to only a few metres and it also rained all the way to the top. “However, we found that we were still enjoying ourselves and the challenge and after three hours we reached the summit. After a break in the café we faced the slightly easier trip down. Luckily the rain had stopped and the fog started to lift and we saw some of the great views that we had missed on the way up. In total, the round trip took us around six hours and we both found it very physically demanding - the legs took a couple of days to recover! After all the sponsorships were in, we had raised over £2,300 for our chosen charity, which we were absolutely delighted with so thanks to everyone who sponsored us.” Out & about Puppy Power! ConocoPhillips retiree, Philip Swallow, tells us about Acorn’s Puppies born 22nd June 2011. “We live in Barford near Warwick about 15 minutes from the Guide Dog Breeding centre. Acorn, a black labrador bitch, came to us from the centre in September 2010, aged 13 months and she bonded with us very quickly. intouch “She had one season in April 2010 and a phantom pregnancy in July 2010. Acorn went into season again in April 2011 and was mated with Jamie, a golden retriever. Her pregnancy went well and she was due 24th-26th June but delivered on the 22nd. Her first puppy was born at 08.35 and delivery of eight live births was completed at 14.20. Acorn had five black puppies and three golden ones - four boys and four girls. Two of the black ones were later found to be brindle, black with little golden paw ends and nose. “The order of births is as follows: O8.35 Boy - Gus weight 350 grams black O9.24 Boy - Gareth weight 300 grams brindle 10.33 Girl - Goldie weight 325 grams golden and sponsored 10.45 Boy - Titan weight 325 grams golden, sponsored by Manchester United 11.05 Boy - Georgie weight 325 grams black 13.25 Girl - Gilly weight 350 grams brindle 13.35 Girl - Bernie weight 325 grams and sponsored 14.20 Girl - Gemma weight 400 grams black “There have been quite a few visitors (children and adults) who have played with the puppies and some have helped with feeding. We have much enjoyed these puppies and hope they will have successful and happy lives.They left us on 5th August 2011, to be trained as proper Guide Dogs, providing eyes to a blind person (and much love and affection to boot). “We look forward to hearing how the puppies get on.” 31 If you want to follow in the Swallow’s footsteps and become involved in supporting them and becoming one of the many volunteers without whom the Guide Dogs Association wouldn’t exist, simply contact the Guide Dogs Association on 0845 3727432 or visit: www.guidedogs.org.uk ow l l a w S y d u J d Philip an A pilgrimage into yellow and blue... Supported through Nick Baker's Jet Refinery Filling Station, here are the Immingham Pilgrims under 9’s football team resplendent in their new yellow and blue Jet kit. Immingham Pilgrims AFC has a number of teams for local girls and boys between the ages of five and eighteen. A message from the Editor - Judy Green “I hope you enjoyed this edition. Please get ‘in touch’ if you have a story to contribute to a future edition.” Email - [email protected]