Mark Godfrey steps down as Chair of South West Board.

After five fantastic years as Chairman of our South West Fundraising Board, Mark Godfrey, Director of Deer Park Country House, has stood down.

We caught up with Mark after our triumphant South West Polo Day to learn more about his time in this important role:

Why do you support Hospitality Action?

Hospitality Action is such a great charity that supports an industry which I have been a part of for some 38 years. Helping industry colleagues that fall on difficult times is such a positive thing to do and to be a part of. This year alone, the South West Board has raised over £120,000 and I couldn’t be more proud.

What have some of your highlights been as Chair of the South West Board?

I've chaired the Hospitality Action, South West Fundraising Board for the last five years. And it's been such a whirlwind what with two years of COVID in the middle, when all our events were closed down, and at a time when there was a massive demand on funds. That was a tough time for me, as I like to be active!!

I have so many highlights but a couple of them stand out. Like the year we had 400 guests at our Polo Day. What a day, raising over £60,000. A colossal amount of money!

And of course, I have to say the Rugby Legends dinner at Deer Park was such an amazing night with the likes of David Flats, Matt Powell and many more rugby legends. The room was absolutely buzzing. And we made a chunk of money for Hospitality Action too.

And let's not forget about cycling 20 miles for Tour de Cuisine in a dinner suit…on one of the hottest days in June 2018. Very, very sweaty.

Would you encourage others to fundraise for Hospitality Action?

Absolutely.

It's such a positive thing to do. Every event we host is so much fun to work on. And there's lots of opportunity to meet other industry colleagues, learn new skills and generally feel good about giving back. Let's face it, we never know when we will need help ourselves.

Tell us about South West 660

During COVID lockdowns two friends and I were inspired by North Coast 500, a great road trip in Scotland. It was being talked about a lot and also in the press. So, we decided to curate a road trip for the Southwest. It's 660 miles from the start point in Poole, Dorset along the south coast, to Land's End and back up the Atlantic coast all the way to Watchet in North Somerset.

We have partnered with so many hospitality businesses so it made a lot of sense to choose Hospitality Action as our charity partner and so far, we have raised £3,000! I was over the moon to present our cheque to Hospitality Action Patron Michael Caines MBE. Supporting really helps to get the Hospitality Action brand out there in the southwest and gives a lot of credibility to Southwest 660.

Heartfelt thanks to Mark for his dedication and service to the role. We are delighted that Mark will remain a member of the Board, and we are thrilled to announce our new Chair is Simon Numphud, Managing Director of AA Media. Simon is a dedicated champion of our work and is currently part of the Walk for Wellbeing Bath-Bristol organising committee, and we are also one of the nominated charities at the forthcoming AA Hospitality Awards.

If you have a fundraising idea, or would like to support our work, regardless of where you are in the UK, please get in touch.

Blog. Mark Godfrey steps down as Chair of South West Board.