Review: BCFA Annual Luncheon 2017

The BCFA held their 25^th Annual Luncheon at The Dorchester last week, and what an afternoon it was! The event sells-out within hours and it’s not suprising when there is such a buzzing throughout the day. One of THE contract design events of the year served a fantastic lunch and entertained with an excellent motivational speaker…The afternoon kicked off with a drinks reception and music from a 3-man swing band playing through the entrance hallway as guests arrived. The guests walked the red carpet for some paparazzi style photos in front of a back-drop highlighting sponsors logos, it was great to see so many people getting involved and having fun! The toastmaster David Collins, then called the guests to the ballroom for the Luncheon to begin.After everyone was seated, the chairman of the BCFA, Milan Cvetkovic delivered a speech welcoming the guests to the event. It was great to hear the aspects and values of being a BCFA member mentioned, as well as highlighting the key benefits. Milan also gave a special thank you to this year’s sponsors of the event; Agua Fabrics, Alger Triton, Astro Lighting, Ena Shaw, GROHE, Hansgrohe, O’Donnell Furniture and Protocol.After the introductory speech, everyone tucked in to the delightful 3 course meal. Plates were cleaned, and tummies truly satisfied as glasses clinked around the room whilst guests networked enthusiastically.

After the Lunch, the Social Director of the BCFA, Charles Rae gave a loyal toast to the HM Queen. This was followed by the Panaz BCFA Lifetime Achievement Award; once again, the award was presented by Mr Tony Attard OBE, CEO of Panaz. It was lovely to see how much of an impact the award winner had on the industry, with so many companies in the room familiar with such an asset to interior design. The award was presented to Olga Polizzi, Director of Design and Deputy Chairman of Rocco Forte Hotels, the group of 11 individual hotels and resorts, across Europe, Middle East and Russia. Olga was delighted to accept the award and was overwhelmed by the response of the guests who were very supportive of her win. Congratulations Olga! The afternoon concluded with this year’s choice of entertainment; international motivational speaker and blind adventurer, Miles Hilton-Barber. Since the age of 50, Miles has set numerous world records undertaking extreme events across all seven continents of our world in the fields of mountaineering, desert and polar ultra-marathons, power-boat racing, scuba-diving, motor-racing, and long distance aerobatic and supersonic flying, amongst other achievements. Miles reminded us that we too can live our dreams, because “the only limits in our lives are those we accept ourselves”.The audience were blown away by the success stories of Miles and all the things he has achieved after losing his eyesight. The impact that Miles had on the audience became clear when he finished as he then received a standing ovation, which was a first for the BCFA Luncheon!