The beautiful city of Bath provided a picturesque backdrop for this year’s National Management Team Annual Conference which saw our senior staff get together to share their future visions for Eville & Jones.

Our ambitious growth plans, opportunities to provide new services and the learning and development of our UK-wide team of veterinarians were key themes at the event, which was described by several staff as the best to date.

Speeches from our Chief Executive Charles Hartwell and other leaders paved the way for our ambitious aim to double in size over a 5-year period – and there was also an opportunity to celebrate the long service of our staff who are the driving force behind our dedication to protecting public health and animal welfare standards.

The annual event was a significant opportunity to foster better communication and teamwork, discuss our day-to-day challenges openly, highlight the positives, and identify improvement areas. Over 40 members of the National Management Team attended the conference at the University of Bath, travelling from locations across the UK. Here’s what some of those in attendance had to say about the event:

“These events are the highlight of the year for most of us, as they are not only an opportunity to bond with each other, but also to be informed in which direction the company is headed.” – Jesus Garcia, Area Manager.

“We got to bond and develop healthy working relationships – and for sure this will make our day-to-day work easier. I learned of the importance of teamwork and that we all have a voice which we can use to speak openly,” – Raluca Dobre, Operations Manager.

The Eville & Jones story to date has seen us grow from a handful of vets to becoming the largest independent provider of veterinary controls in Europe. At the heart of that journey over the past 30 years has always been our staff and we now have  further plans to celebrate more of our long-serving colleagues across the E&J family.

Those who were recognised at the conference included:

– 20 years’ service: Georgios Kakarantzas, National Technical Lead for Exports

                                                                                                                                                                  ­

– 21 years’ service: Jesus Garcia, Area Manager

– 21 years’ service: Patricia Gonzalez, National Technical Lead for Imports

– 22 years’ service: Jose Teja, Regional Director

– 23 years’ service: Ester Benguerel, National Technical Lead for Food Safety and Animal Welfare

– 23 years’ service: Jon Stanford, Operations Director

– 26 years’ service: Duncan Garfield, Chief Operating Officer

– 27 years’ service: Josetxo Garmendia, Technical Manager