NewsAn Open Letter from Mark Barnes3rd January, 2007Since I came up with the idea of The Pool Card I have met some remarkable people locally and the instances of this have increased over the last few months. However, so has the amount of times that I hear the word apathy; "I tried to do this but I never got a response people locally can be so apathetic". I feel that the time has come to harness the potential of these people and the unsung heroes that I have also discovered beavering away in the background for the good of our community and unite them all in a common good. Now, I do not have an agenda for this but I do know that if we all got together with the community behind us there is nothing that we cannot achieve. So I suggest that we call a meeting of everybody who is inclined, who has given up because they let apathy win, who can make change happen, our leaders, Councillors and the every day residents just like me to unite and create a community that works. I know we can do it because I have met the people who will make it happen. If you are interested in making this meeting happen give me a call on 01938555984 or email m.barnes@the-pool-card.co.uk Social Enterprise Development will reinvigorate local economies.
Lembit Opik MP and Stephen Kearney, the Chief Executive of the International Charity RE:generate have met with the Directors of The Pool Card and other MP’s from different parts of the UK to discuss how the card is working in Mid Wales and how it could work to enhance economic and social enterprise strategies in other parts of the UK and Africa. RE:generate, works to encourage local strategic partnerships and national governments to listen in communities and develop active networks of customers, clients, leaders and entrepreneurs who will build a local grassroots based sustainable economy. All parties agreed that the Pool Card Initiative was an excellent example of the local business development that is sustainable and offers a local alternative that will be good for communities. Julia Olsen, the Development Director of RE:generate said “The Pool Card offers a unique product that benefits local people. By connecting local business interests with social responsibility and environmental sustainability in a mutually beneficial network, the Pool Card is clearly a tool for delivering local sustainable economic growth”.
Lembit Opik MP said: The round of talks concluded that the Pool Card and RE:generate’s can collectively deliver more customers to local businesses through collaboration and skill sharing.
Stephen Kearney said, The Pool Card Directors agreed that as a community based business it would be very happy to donate a significant proportion of its profits to local social enterprises. The Trustees of RE:generate have agreed to administer the fund when it is fully developed and work with Pool Card to develop income to the fund. Mark Barnes, Managing Director said “This is a win, win opportunity for the local community and its economy; through working together we can help keep consumers in the doors of independent businesses and be able to give something back to the community wherever we work.” Glyn Davies - Parliamentary candidate for Montgomeryshire
"I’m pleased to have this opportunity to give my support to The Pool Card. The principle on which The Pool Card is based has underpinned much of the public work I’ve done in Mid Wales over the last 30 years. Firstly The Pool Card helps business in the area by encouraging people to ‘think local’ and ‘buy local’. By bringing local businesses together it helps counterbalance the commercial advantage that national chains have through their sheer size. Since I’ve joined The Pool Card, I’ve tried to make a special effort to patronise the local businesses that advertise in the ‘Update’. I feel that all of us who have joined The Pool Card are part of the same team – striving to live successful lives in Mid Wales. And secondly The Pool Card is a good friend of the environment. The more we each buy locally, the less we have to travel to do our shopping – and the greater our individual carbon footprint.. In addition, by shopping locally we ensure a greater variety of products become available locally. It really is a win/win position. I have long been particularly keen on reducing ‘food miles’. It seems environmentally and economically stupid to spend such huge sums of money on transport when, very often, the food can be produced locally – and is often already available locally. So join The Pool Card and support the advertisers. You’ll be saving money, supporting the local economy and helping the environment." Come & celebrate The Pool Card’s 1st Birthday!We are celebrating 12 months in business at the end of October and would like to invite all Card Holders to come and meet the member businesses. There will be special one day offers just for that day! Come and have a drink and a nibbles, meet the team and go home with a bundle of savings. Not got a Pool Card yet? This is the perfect time for you to join, allowing you the opportunity to celebrate with us. Don’t forget The Pool Card is FREE and saves you money. Any Pool Card Business member is invited to attend at no cost. See you all there between 10am and 6pm, 22nd October in the Corn Exchange, Town Hall, Welshpool. Entry is free. THE PRINCE AND THE POOL CARDAt a recent visit to Welshpool I was given the golden opportunity to discuss the work of The Pool Card with Prince Charles. He singled out myself and the three people in the office that I could persuade to wear Pool Card t-shirts in the crowd and asked where we had escaped from. He then went on to enquire as to what The Pool Card is. He listened very intently and then told me to ensure that we signed the rest of the crowd up. I was very impressed by the fact that he must talk to many people yet he could take time out from his hectic schedule to take a genuine interest in the stories that are shaping the area that he was visiting. Mark Barnes Managing Director 5000th MEMBERWe are proud to welcome our 5,000th Pool Card holder Rachel Meldrum from Welshpool. Rachel is pictured above with Carol Arran who presented Rachel with a £25 gift voucher kindly donated by The Derwen Garden Centre. That was just one week ago (at writing) and we now have just over 5,500 Pool Card holders, so it won’t be long before the 10,000th! Who would have thought we would have come so far in such a short time? You, the public, have decided you want this loyalty card and we thank you for your continued support. For those of you who don’t have a Pool Card, you can apply for one on-line at www.the-pool-card.co.uk; you can write into the office at 20a/21a, Berriew Street, Welshpool, Powys, SY21. 7SQ; or call into any of the businesses where you see The Pool Card sign. GET BACK TO BUSINESS WITH THE POOL CARD!Thought that outsourcing was just for big business? Well you’d be wrong! At the Pool Card we are used to being innovative and so have launched an outsourcing service for our members so that they can have big business benefits without the complexity that goes with it. We employ people so that you don’t have to. People go into business because they love what they do but quickly find that much of their time is taken up with administration and other tedious tasks. They also need to work in areas that they may not feel comfortable in such as marketing or dealing with employment contracts. We can take these from you and give you the time back to do what you do best and enjoy the most. The benefits are many – first of all you can use your time to make more money and grow your business (or simply take more time out to enjoy yourself). You can free up time to take on new customers or tackle the backlog of work that you keep promising yourself you will do! You won’t have to go through the minefield of employing more staff and the issues that can come of this as a company grows (health and safety for example). So, what do we offer? At the moment it is broken up into 4 main areas – marketing, admin, accountancy and HR as follows: Marketing – Planning, campaigns, design and branding, printing, leaflet production and distribution, telesales and telemarketing, advertising, access to Pool Card sales representatives and collaborative marketing. Administration – Envelope stuffing, leaflet insertion, other work by individual negotiation (come and tell us what you need and we can tell you if we can do it!). HR – Employment law, recruitment, payroll, contracts, disciplinary advice, general HR duties. Accountancy – Bookkeeping, VAT, statutory returns, final accounts, general advice. You, hopefully, are already gaining great benefit by being a Pool Card member and getting opportunities through the lower cost of advertising, the networking meetings, the website and the large consumer database as well as many other services. Now we offer much more to local businesses than ever. We care about our community which means that we care about your business. If you want to take advantage of these great new offers just give us a ring at the office – 01938 555984. NEW AMBASSADOR FOR THE POOL CARD
The Pool Card is very pleased to announce that Lembit Öpik MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Business, is to be the ambassador for The Pool Card. United, they intend to focus consumer attention back into the high street and promote independent businesses. Mark Barnes, Managing Director The Pool Card Ltd, states “I am extremely pleased to say that Lembit and The Pool Card share the same vision and believe that by working together we can help give some national chain advantages to independent businesses”. The Pool Card has big plans going forward that will bring numerous benefits to all involved. "The Pool card isn't a piece of plastic - it's a hugely effective trading tool for firms and for the public. If you're in the Pool Card, you get benefits which save money for consumers and build business for sellers. There really isn't a downside to this, and I believe the opportunities are virtually limitless. That's why I'm backing the Pool Card and, whether your in the business of selling or the business of shopping, I hope you do to."
Lembit Öpik Meet our team at the open Pool Card meeting chaired by Lembit Öpik |
Website developed by Gloversure LTD Specialists in SMS, MMS and Website Design services.
Powered by Zen Cart