The annual GGF Chairpersons’ Forum took place via video conference on 18th March, with all the GGF’s technical groups, committees, regions and countries represented by 33 Members as chairs, vice-chairs or as nominated representatives.
Chaired and hosted by Greg O’Donoghue (Chair of the GGF Marketing and Communications Committee), the Forum was opened by GGF President, Tony Smith and then followed by a comprehensive presentation from John Agnew, GGF Managing Director before an Open Forum when representatives of the GGF’s 14 Technical Groups, 4 Committees and 11 Regions were invited to make comments, raise concerns and ask any questions of the GGF Board, President and Managing Director.
In his opening remarks Tony Smith paid tribute to Stephen Byers, a GGF stalwart and a former Chair who sadly passed away recently. Tony also praised Mark Austin, for his contribution as President, the GGF Board and GGF Group Staff for their outstanding commitment and productivity during an extraordinary year that was 2020.
In his presentation, John Agnew clearly showed the Forum where progress has been made and the extent of the developments of the GGF over the last 12 months including:
- An increase in technical influence across standards committees (International, European and UK) as well as more direct technical meetings with Government departments BEIS (Business Energy and Industrial Strategy) and MHCLG (Ministry for Housing Communities and Local Government) on energy efficiency and fire safety.
- The output of the GGF technical department highlighting that the GGF holds over 70 technical meetings per year for its Members and has published 44 technical documents in the last 12 months.
- The investment in Health, Safety and Environment, with the appointment of a new manager leading activity in this area that has seen output, during the COVID-19 pandemic, of dozens of updates and articles, a suite of safe guides and the new Health, Safety and Environment Webinar Programme which has been launched recently.
- The increase in consumer awareness through the GGF’s Stay Safe with MyGlazing.com campaign which attracted over 200k unique visitors to the MyGlazing.com and has received coverage that has reached a potential audience of over 100 million.
- Other new products and services were highlighted such as the GGF Deposit Insurance Scheme, the GGF Digital Marketing Toolkit and the new training courses available through the re-launch of GGF Training and the partnership with Total Support Training.
On the Forum, GGF President Tony Smith said, “I was pleased to see over 90% of all the GGF’s Chairs present at the Forum and also to hear their views and concerns for the Federation’s future. We all share the same goal for the GGF to be an exceptional trade body that not only represents Members to Government but also helps us grow our businesses.”
John Agnew added, “It was great to see Members from all parts of the GGF represented at the Forum and I was pleased to demonstrate the progress we have made in what has been an incredibly tough year. We will continue to work on behalf of Members to ensure the Federation progresses to even greater heights. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all those who attended and shared their views at this important GGF annual event.”
