The industry bids farewell to Gillie Westwood

Members of the horticultural industry gathered in London recently (November 2012) to officially bid farewell to the previous Garden Centre Association (GCA) Chief Executive.

Gillie Westwood was joined by friends and past colleagues at the Emirates Stadium in London on November 29 to mark her retirement from the organisation with a celebratory dinner.

GCA Chairman, Peter Burks, said “Gillie retired at the end of January but we were keen to hold an official farewell event to thank her for all her hard work over the years.

“She had 13 successful years at the GCA’s helm and we are indebted to her for her hard work. There was a great turn out on the night, which was tribute to all the friends Gillie made during her time at the GCA.”

The GCA represents nearly 200 garden centres nationwide.

Through sharing information and its inspection programme the GCA helps members to achieve high standards in customer service, plant quality and reliability.

Gillie said: “I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the GCA. The variety of the work kept me interested and challenged and I met some inspiring people within the industry who are truly passionate about what they do.

“I was always struck by the openness and generosity of GCA members. The fact that they are willing to share confidential information with other members is very unique to this industry and indicative of the type of people involved in the GCA.

“I was treated with respect and warmth and that is what made my job so special. I was overwhelmed to have so many people turn out to wish me well and I would like to thank everyone who joined me.”

For further details about the GCA, please call 01993 871456, visit www.gca.org.uk, log on to www.facebook.com/pages/Garden-Centre-Association or follow the organisation on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GC_Association.