A close shave nets £7.5k for charities
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Ian Flounders before his close shave
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And after
Ian Flounders, sales manager at Woodlodge Garden Products, raised over £7500 when he was persuaded to sacrifice his whiskers for industry charities.
He had spent the last 12 months cultivating his John Knox style beard.
At last week’s GCA conference the stubble of an idea sprouted that Ian might be persuaded to lose his whiskers if a suitable donation could be raised for charity.
The bidding started in the bar after dinner on Tuesday night, led by the chief auctioneer, Old Railway Line’s Liam Cleary. When the promises reached £7,650 Ian Flounders caved in.
Immediately, in a corner of the bar he was pinned to a chair and with the precision of an executioner, Barton Grange’s Carol Topping chopped off the beard before Ian could protest.
£39,650 raised for charity
The proceeds will be donated to Greenfingers, one of the charities supported by the GCA.
Greenfingers will also receive the proceeds from the auction of the last ever bag of compost that contains peat to leave the Evergreen Garden Care production line. Stewarts Garden Centres topped the bidding at £8000.
Earlier the same evening a further £24,000 was raised in a raffle of prizes donated by the industry that included holidays and stock items. Raffle tickets were selling at £250, £500, and £1000 each. The proceeds will be split between Greenfingers, Perennial and the Colegrave Seabrook Foundation.
The total raised that evening was £39,650