Rugby star returns to Bridgend to celebrate St David’s Day with forum members

Welsh rugby star, Ryan Jones made a welcome return to Bridgend County Borough where his momentous career began to deliver an inspirational talk at the Bridgend Business Forum’s annual St David’s Day business breakfast.

Ryan thoroughly entertained over 120 business people with amusing anecdotes of his time with the Welsh squad and British and Irish Lions. However, there was a serious side to his talk, as he shared his own personal experiences on how perseverance, positivity and strong leadership lead to his many successes on the sports pitch. Ryan was keen to demonstrate how these key qualities could also be translated into running a successful business.

Councillor Richard Young, Bridgend County Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities, who introduced the guest speaker

The annual St David’s Day event provided another useful opportunity for local businesses to come together to network and celebrate success across the county borough. St David’s Day is about celebrating all that is good about Wales and the Welsh community, including entrepreneurship and business growth.

As a cabinet member of the council, I’m proud that we have been able to support the forum in Bridgend County Borough for the last ten years. With a membership of over 900, and 1,000 delegates attending business forum events annually, it is clear that the county borough has a strong and vibrant local business community.

Ten years on, the business forum plays a vital role in the Bridgend business community, promoting collaborative working, encouraging economic development and growth and providing a strong link between the public and private sector in the county borough. The numbers of attendees here today is a true reflection of this public and private sector partnership

Councillor Richard Young, Bridgend County Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities

Local businessman Mike Baldwin from DAC Training Solutions, said: “This is the first forum event I have attended, and I have to say, I was very impressed by the large turnout of local businesses and the fantastic networking opportunities the event offers. I thoroughly enjoyed Ryan’s talk, it was truly motivational. I really liked the way he linked the skills he has developed in his sporting career to a business context.

“I’m looking forward to attending many more business forum events in the near future!”

Further details about becoming a Bridgend Business Forum member as well as information on all upcoming events can be found at www.bridgendbusinessforum.co.uk.

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