Emlyn’s widow cuts ribbon at Barrow travel HQ
Last updated at 08:50, Monday, 28 May 2012
LOCAL dignitaries and potential cruise-goers turned out in force for the official opening of a new travel centre.
A ribbon cutting ceremony was held at Cumbria Cruise Specialists at Emlyn Hughes House on Thursday.
Around 40 jobs were saved after Scottish company Barrhead Travel stepped in after the closure of Barrow’s Cumbria Cruises in April this year.
The centre, which is Barrhead’s first in England, was officially opened by Barbara Hughes, the widow of the late former England football captain Emlyn Hughes.
Business people, politicians and local dignitaries were joined by the staff, who began work for the new centre last month, for celebratory drinks.
Chairman Bill Munro said the staff’s experience meant they were adapting well to their new roles.
He said; “A lot of the technology has been used by the staff before, which has meant things have gone smoothly.
“The back office system is not too different than the one they have used before so that is making life easier to start with.
“We have a group of fully experienced cruise specialists who have been doing this for long enough. We may operate a bit differently than other companies though, as we are not a large PLC.”
Mr Munro gave a speech prior to the ribbon cutting in which he praised Furness Enterprise and Barrow Borough Council chief executive Tom Campbell for helping the company set up in Barrow.
He said: “The support we have had has really made this happen. It was quite difficult and at times we thought we may have to give up.”
New mayor Councillor Wendy Maddox and Furness Enterprise’s Stuart Klosinski also gave speeches praising the company’s decision for choosing Barrow as its first headquarters south of the border.
Cllr Maddox told the Evening Mail: “Since we built Emlyn Hughes House it has only been half full and it is nice to see somebody come in at last and make use of it.”
Mrs Hughes said seeing the building which was named after her husband being used made her feel proud.
She said: “It is nice for it all to be open and people to be in here.
“It is a huge honour for all our family for the building to be named after Emlyn and when they asked if they could erect a statue of him.
“Every time I come to Barrow I give him a little wave.”
First published at 10:38, Saturday, 26 May 2012
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk
Emlyn Hughes might finally be full but sadly we still have an empty building namely the old call center they moved from
View all 3 comments on this article
Have your say
What a churlish, negative comment 'anon'. Is that the best you can manage?
Posted by Roger Green on 28 May 2012 at 21:10