GFTU BGCM Minutes 2017

THE VICE PRESIDENT: To second the vote of thanks please welcome Oshor

Williams from the PFA.

BRO OSHOR WILLIAMS (PFA): Brothers and sisters, it was a great privilege for me

to be asked to second the vote of thanks to Ben. I knew that Ben was moving

into that kind of formal arena of writing speeches and delivering them in that

dignified manner, because I saw him produce his new suit for today’s event,

which suggested that this was a special occasion and it is.

It was really only when I agreed to second the vote of thanks to Ben that it

dawned on me how long I have known him. I have known him for, more or less

to the day, eight years when I joined the Executive Committee in 2009 and that

is hard for me to believe. Whilst I am able to endorse ringingly the words of our

General Secretary in respect of the tremendous work undertaken by Ben on

behalf of the Federation, I felt I wanted to offer a deeper insight into Ben

Marshall the man, which was quite difficult really! (Laughter) It is very easy for

me to say he is an absolutely top guy in terms of the work that we undertake on

the committee and any downtime that we have, he is a man that can converse

on a wide range of subjects. Everybody within the Executive Committee would

agree on that.

But, as Doug said, we were looking for that little gem, that story, that quirky

kind of fact or factoid that was going to define Ben in a way that we had never

seen him before. Ben has spent a lifetime working in telecommunications and

advancing digital technology. I decided that the obvious place to look would be

the internet, just Google a name in and people’s life stories pop up before you.

Ben, I think, two years ago emphasised that new digital media advances were

transforming the way that we live and the way that we are going to live, so I

though the irony would be fantastic, it would not be wasted on Ben. So I

Googled in the name, looking for the hidden gem. The first two pages of

articles brought up a range of people, sports people, a footballer who plays for

Wolverhampton Wanderers. That was no good to me. Ben Marshall,

Wolverhampton Wanderers, all these stats and I thought, although I have

admired your energy and verve and the speed with which you can dash from

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