Playing your business cards right in Blackpool
29 May 2016
This year saw the Silver Anniversary of the CIU Beer and Trades Exhibition and, as usual, Dransfields thoroughly enjoyed being part of the event.
The 25th annual exhibition was held at Blackpool’s Norbreck Castle Hotel as part of the CIU Conference weekend.
Hundreds of club members from all over the country came to talk to the country’s top suppliers of products and services to clubs about everything from how live sport can boost business, to how to cut your club’s energy bills and make sure you have the right insurance cover.
Dransfields had a great day, with plenty of chances for us to talk to customers old and new about our huge range of products, from gaming machines, fruit machines and family entertainment products to jukeboxes, pool tables and bingo, and a chance to talk to club members about the latest in cutting edge gaming technology.
We did our part to make sure the event was fun for all who attended - our regular bingo sessions throughout the day proved very popular and there were more prizes on offer at our stall with a ‘play your cards right’ game which drew lots of interest, as did our ‘speed pool’ competition!
The all-important Annual General Meeting took place the following day. In his address, Union President George Dawson CMD spoke about the need to recruit more clubs to the Union and urged the crowd of over 400 delegates to support existing clubs to keep them up and running.
He talked about the importance of showing unregistered clubs in England and Wales that the CIU could offer them help and assistance and asked members to encourage these clubs to join the Union.
He also reassured clubs who pay the bingo tax that if they have received letters from the Gambling Commission about new restrictions, these do not apply to clubs. If your club has received a letter, he said, let your Branch Secretary and the Union know straightaway so they can respond on your behalf.
The successful weekend closed with the Dransfields CIU National Quiz which we were proud to sponsor once again – watch out for a full report on the afternoon’s events in our next blog.
Many thanks to the CIU for staging another excellent Conference weekend – see you all again next year!
Photograph shows Union Vice-President John Tobin (left) with Dransfields’ Operations Director Alan Jackson (left) and Managing Director Chris Haley.
Photograph courtesy of Club Journal.