Blair King’s 

Farewell to Fitwise

It has been a remarkable and enjoyable journey. Having worked at Fitwise for over twenty years, I can confidently recommend it as the best working environment of my life despite serious competition from a previous employer, Johnson & Johnson, where I had 14 happy years. In so many ways it is sad to be leaving, but having officially retired in 2011 and moved on to working part time for the last four years, it’s now time to hang up my hat and move on to permanent retirement. 

I will certainly miss all the people I work with, the banter, the wit, the company social activities, the social interaction and especially the gentle jocular abuse which, to me, has to be a part of everyday working life.

The original office where it all started was a converted attic above a double garage at Drumcrosshall, which could best be described as cosy, but in the good sense of the word. In 1994, John, current chairman of Fitwise, and I formed a partnership and in 1996 appointed our first employee, Catriona, who stills works at Fitwise and is the elected company director in what is now an employee-owned company. Our first major client was the National Association of Theatre Nurses, now known as the Association for Perioperative Practice, and that relationship resulted in a series of recommendations which brought in new clients who continue to work with us today including the Infection Prevention Society, The British Association of Urological Nurses and the Association for Continence Advice.

When the office outgrew its original attic home it moved a distance of some 20 yards to a converted barn attached to John’s house and even expanded into John’s living room, which subsequently became the events office.  And yes, John and Maggie did move out and built an extension at the other end of the house to compensate. In 2003, Fitwise changed its legal status from a partnership to a private limited company and in 2005 passed a significant milestone when we ran our first global event with the IDSc Global Decontamination Conference in London. 

The year 2009 saw another significant milestone reached when we secured ISO 9001 registration thanks to the hard work of Lynn, our current Head of Administration and Company Secretary. In 2011, we ran another landmark event with the International Paediatric Radiology Worldwide Conference, an event that demonstrated how significantly we had developed our conference and exhibition organisational skills, mainly due to the expertise of Stacy, our Senior Events Manager. Other significant milestones in 2012 included a move to a new office at Blackburn House, the first Fitwise baby called Anna, Lynne and Jamie’s first daughter, and the securing of Investors in People status.

I think Henry Ford just about got it right when he said:

…Personally, I would do it all over again. It was more fun than I ever thought it could be.

Finally, a big thank you to all my colleagues at work for all the help, advice and instructions doled out over the years.