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MASSEY SHAW
DINNER
NEW WEB SITE
The Future
Colin Simpson
PR & Marketing Committee
This annual dinner to honour Captain Sir Eyre
Massey Shaw, first chief officer of the
Metropolitan Fire Brigade, was held at the
Insurance Hall in March. The Father of the
company, Gerald Clarkson CBE OStJ QFSM was
present and the principle guests were Murray
Craig, clerk of the Chamberlain’s court and
Edward Crossley, Master of the Worshipful
Company of Hackney Carriage Drivers.
Murray Craig gave an entertaining address on his
role in giving the Freedom of the City to various
celebrities. The Master presented him with a
beautiful mounted Fireman’s axe as a memento
of his visit.
The Master took the opportunity to award
certificates to the various companies who
supported last year’s Charity Ball. He also gave a
framed photograph of the use of the hackney
cabs commandeered during the war as fire
fighting vehicles to Edward Crossley.
Overall, it was a very pleasant evening, with good
food and jazz music provided by Silk Street
Swing.
As members of the PR & Marketing Committee
we were asked to look at the Worshipful
Company of Firefighters web site and put
together a plan for the refurbishment of the site.
The site has to be simple to navigate and, above
all, pleasing to view and informative.
We have put together the first draft of the new
site using the original text but with a new “Fire
Theme” as the masthead image. It was then a
matter of putting together a navigational route
that could be followed in a meaningful way.
These common headers include The Company,
History & Customs, Charities and Events. From
these heading we can easily put in future pages
and ensure the whole site can be updated with
ease.
From an administration point of view, the
membership could find it a benefit to look online
for all notices, events and membership directory
changes. We have a “Members login” from the
public menu that will allow a member to login
using a username and password. An online
membership directory is among one of the new
features that we have provided allowing instant
updating of all members details. The member
also has the ability to change their contact
information and password if required.
Future work is to look at eCommerce
allowing members to pay online for
memorabilia and events. A number of
options are available and the priority is to
provide the Accountants and Auditors
with exactly what they require.
A history of Fire Safety and Breathing
Apparatus is shown on the website and it
is hoped that members would be willing
to add to these and maybe bring in more
areas of history that our Worshipful
Company cover making the website a
source for history and learning.
At the last meeting of the PR & Marketing
Committee it was agreed that a switch over
and go live date would be the 3rd June 2012.
The website belongs to the membership so
please get in touch with the PR & Marketing
Committee should you have any ideas or
suggestions for the site.
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