These are, indeed, tough times in the world of finance. Needless to say the company clubs we have at financial institutions are not immune to these pressures.
Many of you will be aware that Bank Street Speakers in Canary Wharf was a Lehman based company club. This club has been going through tough times for a while as members of the club were made redundant in successive cost cuts. However, the remaining folks were proud of what they had achieved and had plans in place to re-invigorate the club. But with last weeks bankruptcy announcement from Lehman, the club has had to be put into abeyance for the moment.
On Friday I received a note from Kris Kasperkiewicz, the founding President of the club. I will let it speak for itself:
It has been 9 months since we began Bank Street Speakers and it has been a wonderful experience. We got off to a roaring start, and in a short space of time, there was a visible improvement in the confidence, speaking and leadership skills of our regular attendees.
However, as times got harder, our membership was hit, but nonetheless we continued in our efforts to make this a successful club.
Most recently, we were attempting a relaunch of our club, by way of a showcase event. Unfortunately, you all know what happened to Lehman and so the club is now in limbo.
I would just like to publicly say how grateful I am to my committee for all their hard work, with a special mention to Joli Riley and Greg Ros, without whom we would have never got this far.
Equally, a big thank you to the toastmaster community, who have taken a lot of their time in helping us, especially these last few months.
So, what does the future hold for Bank Street Speakers? These are uncertain times, but what is certain is the the core members of Bank Street speakers are Toastmasters, and I'm sure we will rejoin the community in due course, whether it be via Bank Street Speakers revisited, or something else.
Once again thank you.
While the Lehman’s US investment banking assets have been bought by Barclays, staff here in London are still unsure of whether they have jobs or if they are even going to get paid. Having personally been through an identical situation earlier in my career, I can only wish Kris and all our Toastmaster friends at Lehman all the best over the coming months. If there is anything we can do to help just let us know.
Let us hope that buyers emerge for the UK business. Perhaps out of the carnage a new Toastmasters club can emerge, stronger than ever.
