British council-Achievement
Transcript of the podcast
Listen to this speech given at a party being held for the retirement of an employee, James Dawson
Thank you all for coming today
As you are all aware we are here to celebrate 35 years of continuous service by our friend and colleague James Dawson
He started as an administration officer in 1972, in our accounts department and worked his way up the career ladder over the years
Finally becoming vice president in 1989, of the company, and managing over three hundred employees
As most of you who have been working here long enough will know, it has been a long struggle to become one of the European market leaders in our field
And you may remember in 1982, when we had a huge setback, with the plans for a merger with our top rival company falling through
Because of that, we had to make some workers redundant, however James was lucky enough to keep his job
Yes, those really were the worst few years
However we managed to get through these difficult times by working hard and James was a key player in the struggle to get us back on the path to becoming one of the largest computer manufacturing companies in Europe
One of James’s biggest strengths has been his immaculate timekeeping and organisational skills
in fact I have never known him to be without his diary
His negotiation skills and determination led to a tactful action plan to become one of the leading companies in Europe
I will never forget that day in 1987 when we had the final negotiations for the takeover of our rival company
James and his superb presenting and negotiating skills was one of the key factors to our success
The turning point in our company came with the successful takeover, and despite all the obstacles we have faced
The hard work and dedication of all our workers has made our company the success it is today
And I have to say that James, as one of our managers, has always acknowledged the work and contribution made by others
James, you rewarded your best employees with some of the best perks any company has given
Today we want to acknowledge the hard work and significant contributions which you have made
So thank you James for your loyalty to the company and your hard work