On Friday we were joined by customers, suppliers, and trainers in celebrating Verner Wheelock’s 35th anniversary.
Verner Wheelock Associates Ltd was incorporated on 5th September 1990 – the same year that the Food Safety Act was introduced. So much has changed since then. Nowadays we think nothing of dashing off an email or visiting a website for information. In fact, we get impatient if a page doesn’t load straight away!
Back in the 1990s it was a different story. Our courses and conferences were delivered using overhead projectors with acetate sheets and flip charts, and booking forms arrived via Fax or in the post with a cheque! Nobody had really heard of the internet, although we launched our own website with the vwa.co.uk domain as early as 1995!
Nevertheless, invitations via snail mail didn’t stop over 100 people from attending our first major seminar ‘Implications of the Food Safety Act 1990’ held in December 1990. We were off the starting blocks and raring to go!
From 1990 to 2025 – a time of Change
Fast forward to 2024 and by contrast, we delivered 215 training courses last year and trained more than 2500 delegates – many of them remotely via Zoom. Additionally, our ethical team undertook 226 SMETA ethical audits.
Having already invested in the latest phone technology, all staff were able to continue working throughout the Covid 19 lockdown period to ensure that the food industry could still receive the training they needed. We felt very fortunate that our customers were classed as ‘key workers’ which enabled us to stay in business.
This ability to adapt and thrive was the theme for the 35th anniversary celebration, held at Elsworth at the Mill, in Skipton. Attendees watched a presentation which gave a whistle-stop tour of VWA through the decades. It demonstrated how our course delivery has evolved over time – training is now delivered both face-to-face and through live remote sessions. It also showed how our course offering has expanded over the years, driven by legislation, industry trends and customer requests.
New Auditing Video
In addition, everyone was treated to a sneak preview of “The Good, The Bad & The Auditor”, the new training video we have just completed for use during our Auditing Skills and other courses.
This was followed by a healthy eating talk by Hälsa Wellbeing and a nutritious lunch where attendees and VWA staff could socialise and network.
A lovely day was had by all. Keep watching this space for our 40th anniversary celebrations!