As Chester Business Club celebrates its 40th Anniversary, we look back at the people, ideas and experiences that shaped the Club from its earliest days.
It all began over lunch.
In September 1986, six Chester businessmen met for what was to become a very significant lunch at the Abbots Well Hotel – then part of the Embassy Hotel Group and now the Mercure Abbots Well Hotel.
The six were Keith Mather, David Parry-Jones, Chris Macdonald, Pietro Sanna, John Nicholson and Bob Clough-Parker – a solicitor, newspaper editor, building society manager, hotelier, butcher and public relations consultant.
As Bob Clough-Parker recalls in his history of the Club, they were then “still young and some even with hair!”
The idea for the Club grew from two earlier gatherings: a lunch hosted by Pietro Sanna which brought together several Chester business representatives, and a fundraising event organised by Keith Mather and Chris Macdonald in support of Help the Aged. It was during these conversations that Pietro and Bob began discussing the possibility of creating an association for Chester business people, influenced in part by the established Cardiff Business Club.
A different kind of business organisation
From the outset, the founders wanted to create something different.
Rather than another organisation that businesses felt obliged to join because of their profession or sector, they wanted to create a Club that people would want to belong to – bringing together businesses and individuals from across the city with a shared interest in Chester and its future.
That founding principle has remained remarkably relevant 40 years later.
The early lunches continued, initially with each Founder Member inviting another businessman to the next gathering, followed by the expanding group doing the same. Before long, 96 people had accepted invitations to become members, with the original intention being to “close” membership at 100.
The Club’s first officers were then appointed, with Tom Hunt becoming President, Pietro Sanna Chairman, Keith Mather Vice-Chairman and Bob Clough-Parker Secretary, alongside Glyn Hewitt as Treasurer and Rory Lea as Honorary Solicitor.
The Constitution established a set of aims that still feel remarkably familiar today: promoting Chester and the district through trade, commerce and tourism; fostering friendship, contact and information between the business community; and holding meetings, seminars and conferences, together with visits and study tours.
The official launch
The Chester Business Club was formally launched at a dinner at the Abbots Well Hotel on Thursday 18th June 1987, with the Mayor of Chester, Councillor Douglas Haynes, and the Mayoress in attendance.
In true CBC style, the Mayor and Mayoress arrived with the Club Chairman and his wife Noreen in a horse-drawn carriage.
The Club quickly established a distinctive programme of events, with regular black-tie dinners designed to provide an impartial forum for leading commentators from business, politics, media, the arts and public life. The aim was not simply to entertain, but to encourage awareness and discussion of important issues of the day.
And the guest list certainly lived up to that ambition.
Over the years, CBC dinners welcomed an extraordinary array of speakers from the worlds of business, politics, public life, sport, media, the arts and adventure. The Club’s historical records include names such as the Duke of Westminster, Enoch Powell, Sir Edward Heath, Sir Peter Ustinov, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Sebastian Coe, Sir Trevor McDonald, William Hague, Peter Waterman, Jeremy Paxman and many more.
More recent speakers have included Jamie Christon, Steve Morgan, Dr Susan Gilby and Dr Simon Dowell, demonstrating that the Club’s appetite for hearing from influential and interesting voices has continued into the present day.
From the Bosses Walk to the CBC Charity Walk
Charity also became an important part of the Club’s story.
In 1988, CBC organised the first of what would become its annual Charity Walk. It was originally known as “The Bosses Walk”, before later becoming the CBC Charity Walk and, more recently, the CBC Chester Charity Walk.
The first walk was intended to be no more than 10 miles. It subsequently turned out to be closer to 14 miles – earning Chris Macdonald the role of “Walkmeister” and, according to Bob’s recollection, his subsequent and rather contented loss of the job!
The early refreshment stops included Mars Bars, orange juice, bacon butties and coffee, finishing with gin and tonic. Today’s six-mile format might be a little more manageable, but the tradition of combining business, friendship, fun and fundraising has remained at the heart of the event.
The Charity Ball also became an annual feature from the mid-1990s, providing another important opportunity for members and their guests to enjoy themselves while supporting charitable causes.
Business, friendship and shared experiences
CBC’s activities have never been limited to formal business events.
In 1992, the Club organised its first social trip – a two-night weekend at The Ritz Hotel in London – which went on to inspire further trips and weekends to destinations including New York, Venice, Florence, Paris, New Orleans, San Francisco, the Cotswolds and Dublin.
The Club also developed a longstanding association with the Chester Literature Festival, sponsoring and hosting the annual Chester LitFest Dinner and welcoming a succession of prominent authors, broadcasters and public figures.
That combination of business, social activity, friendship and community involvement is one of the characteristics that has continued to distinguish Chester Business Club.
Finding a voice for Chester
Another important strand of the Club’s history has been its ambition to become a “Business Voice for Chester”.
From an early involvement with Chester City Council’s Economic Development Forum, CBC developed an increasing interest in engaging with public sector representatives and making the business case for an economic environment in which local businesses could prosper, and jobs could be created and protected.
That ambition remains relevant today as Chester and the wider Cheshire and Warrington region look towards the future.
40 years on…
Four decades after those six businessmen sat down together at the Abbots Well Hotel, Chester Business Club has grown considerably, but many of the founding principles remain unchanged.
The Club is still about bringing people together, encouraging friendship and meaningful business relationships, enjoying great experiences, discussing the issues that matter to Chester, and giving something back to the community.
Of the original six Founder Members, Pietro Sanna and David Parry-Jones have sadly passed away, Keith Mather resigned, and Chris Macdonald has quietly withdrawn from active membership while remaining a Vice-President. This leaves John Nicholson and Bob Clough-Parker as the remaining active Founder Members, and both have now been recognised with Honorary Membership.
As we celebrate 40 years of Chester Business Club, we’re looking back not simply to remember where we came from, but to recognise the people whose ideas and commitment helped create the Club we have today.
And there are still plenty more stories to tell.
Looking back – and hearing from those who were there
Over the coming months, we’ll be continuing our 40 Years of CBC series with personal memories and interviews from some of the people who helped shape the Club in its early years.
We’ll be hearing more from Founder Members, early members and former Club leaders, sharing memories of the people, events, friendships and perhaps some of the more unusual moments from CBC’s first four decades.
Watch this space for the next chapter of the Chester Business Club story…