The British Golf Industry Association (BGIA) held its 27th AGM at The Inn at Woburn on Monday 15th April. At the AGM Doug Poole stepped down after serving three years as Chairman, his place was filled by Nigel Freemantle who had formerly been operating in the Vice Chairman’s role.
Nigel is the Managing Director of Brand Fusion who are a leading global distributor of branded and licensed products to the golf trade. They have been in operation since 1980 and their head office is in Leatherhead, Surrey. Nigel himself has been in the Golf Industry for over 35 years.
Nigel will have familiar faces around him on the BGIA Executive Board in 2013/2014 as all the existing board members agreed to re-stand and were elected en-block. Doug Poole will take over the position of BGIA representative to the Golf Foundation which was previously held by another former Chairman, David Wells from Motocaddy.
Nigel’s first task in his new role was to chair the BGIA’s Annual Evening Meal, sponsored by Golf Monthly, which seated over 90 members of the BGIA and their guests. The entertainment was provided by Bobby Davro and the event raised almost £2,395 for the BGIA’s Grow Golf Fund. The Grow Golf Fund was set up in April 2007, when four giants of the golf industry joined forces in an unprecedented move to help grow the game of golf. These original trustees have now been joined by several other BGIA members.
The eventful evening was followed by a rather windy day on Tuesday 16th for the BGIA’s charity Golf Day which (with a sizeable donation from the Grow Golf Fund) raised £15,000 for the Golf Foundation. The individual winner was Phil Barnard with 36 points and the winning team comprised of Neil Parker, David Wells, Oliver Churcher and Lawrence Bailey from Motocaddy.
The BGIA would like to thank all its members that entered teams or donated prizes and Woburn Golf Club for donating the course.
The BGIA is the lead trade body representing UK manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors of golf products and services.