Over 200 delegates got together to celebrate 50 years of advancing tower safety – and what a day (and night) it was!
From the daytime conference to the gala dinner, industry pals reconnected, old stories were told and magic was made.
Together, we reflected on five decades of progress, cheered for the people who have shaped tower safety and shared our hopes for the future.
Delegates received a warm welcome from the PASMA team upon arrival, where they picked up their name badges and a copy of our 50th anniversary event programme.
This 53-page commemorative edition included not just the event agenda, sponsor details and a tongue-in-cheek user guide for the day, but also highlights from PASMA’s history and a complete list of all members.
Thank you to our sponsor the Test & Research Centre for this lovely keepsake. Order your very own 50th anniversary event programme.
Our history zone was a must-see, and for good reason!
Set up to take delegates on a journey through 50 years of PASMA, the exhibits celebrated milestones and achievements that shaped the association.
For those of us who’ve been around for a while, it was a nostalgic trip down memory lane; for newer members, it was a fascinating insight into the history of tower safety.
Delegates enjoyed a delicious spread of salads, mains, deli platters, and desserts while mingling with industry friends, both past and present, at our networking lunch, sponsored by Harrington Safety. This was followed by tea, coffee and an array of sweet treats during the conference break, courtesy of ET Hire. A special thank you both of these sponsors!
PASMA’s conference, hosted by our chairman Steve Booker (Kentec Training), saw a whopping 15 speakers take to the stage, each with first-hand insight into the industry’s biggest advancements and ambitions.
Over the course of the afternoon, they shared their knowledge of the past, present and future of tower safety.
A big thank you to each and every one of them for helping to make our 50th anniversary such an insightful and meaningful occasion.
Relive the experience and the best moments of the day by browsing the photos below.
As we transitioned from the conference to the black-tie gala dinner, guests were treated to sparkling drinks at our welcome drinks reception. It was a perfect moment to mingle and celebrate 50 years of progress and innovation in tower safety.
A special thank you to Lakeside Industries for sponsoring our drinks reception!
Guests took their seats for an evening of great food and drinks, fantastic entertainment and the very best company. Our host was magician Ben Hanlin – back by popular demand after his memorably funny performance at last year’s annual members’ meeting.
We also heard from Moira Cameron, the first woman Yeoman Warder of the Tower of London. We were left impressed, inspired and entertained by her ‘tales from the tower’ – albeit a very different kind of tower than we’re used to!
Event delegates were delighted to find a special pin badge at their table, commemorating PASMA’s milestone occasion. If you were there and are now making your colleagues jealous, why not order one for the whole team.
A big thank you to Skyward Access Training for sponsoring our 50th anniversary pin badges.
Our generous guests donated a total of £7,309 to our charity of the night, No Falls Foundation.
Notably, this includes £3,000 from HSS Training, who signed up to become gold supporters of the charity, and £1,000 from PASMA pioneer Mike McGuire. Big shout out to them!
All the money raised will help prevent falls from height and support people affected by the consequences of a fall.
Thank you to our dinner sponsors for their contributions: Adapt UK for sponsoring our wine and UTS for sponsoring our beer. Your support made our celebration even more special!
Throughout the years, many people have helped make PASMA into the respected, trusted organisation it is today. There are too many to name, but some have truly have gone above and beyond. On the occasion of our 50th anniversary, we took a minute to thank the people who have made a significant personal contribution to advancing tower safety.
A lifetime achievement award was presented to Mike McGuire, the man so deeply affected by the death of an electrician who fell from a tower in 1974 that he was moved to start a trade association.
A lifetime achievement award was presented to Roger Verallo, managing director of Euro Towers – a dedicated PASMA member, a champion of tower safety and a legend in our industry.
PASMA presented commemorative quaichs to the individuals and groups present who have played the biggest role in PASMA’s achievements in recent years.
PASMA staff were specially recognised by chairman Steve Booker for their dedication and hard work, as well as everything they do to keep the association running smoothly every day.
The night didn’t end there. The AlleyCatz took the stage for an energetic musical performance, allowing everyone to boogie like it was 1974. We celebrated PASMA’s five-decade milestone, busting a move for each year on the dance floor. Guests visited the popular Kentec Cocktails bar for a Booker’s Old Fashioned, Kentec on the Beach or a ‘Fab at 50’ mocktail.
A special thank you to our sponsor, Kentec Training, for helping us end the night on a high!
Our 50th anniversary illustration is a thank-you to everyone who has helped advance tower safety. It’s now available to buy as a print – the perfect way to brighten your office walls – with 20% of proceeds going to the No Falls Foundation.
Get yourself a limited-edition PASMA 50th anniversary pin badge. These 35mm soft enamel keepsakes were given to each guest at our gala dinner last month. There are a few left over, so you can have one of your own.
Our 50th anniversary event programme is a 53-page commemorative edition given out to delegates over the course of the day. It includes not just the event agenda, sponsor details and a tongue-in-cheek user guide for the day, but also highlights from PASMA’s history and a complete list of all members.
PASMA has started our journey towards net zero. We’re doing this by making lots of small, sustainable choices in our daily activities and a lot of big, bold changes too. For example, we’re recycling more, buying second hand technology and choosing public transport more often. But we’ve also started an ambitious digitalisation programme to help reduce our carbon footprint even further. This will see PASMA cards switching from plastic to digital, a no-printing-required policy for training courses and more audits taking place remotely. With our first goal being to half our emissions by 2030, our 50th anniversary celebration had to be as sustainable as possible.
Venue
The Royal Lancaster London is Silver Certified for net-zero by EarthCheck. It is committed to its green policies and supports global forestation projects. Its zero-landfill status means all waste from this event will be recycled. And when you leave your bedroom, underfloor heating, towel rails, and air-conditioning will switch off automatically.
Suppliers
Wherever practical, we chose suppliers who could help us reduce the environmental impact of our event. For example, we scrapped the plastic wrappers for our pin badges, ordered gifts for speakers from a sustainable bakery, and made sure our conference lanyards and badges were eco-friendly. This programme has been produced using FSC® certified, recycled materials and uses gold foiling instead of lamination, making it fully recyclable.
Catering
All food and beverages supplied for this event (including the honeycomb served at breakfast, which comes from the hotel’s resident bees) are sustainably sourced. A vegan dessert is a first for PASMA, chosen not just for its taste and stylish presentation, but also because it’s a sustainable choice. According to Klimato, who help the food industry reduce its environmental impact, tonight’s dinner has a carbon footprint of:
Standard menu: 3.9 kgCO2eq
Vegetarian menu: 1.2 kgCO2eq
In this special film made for our 50th anniversary, past chairmen and current members tell the story of how PASMA has advanced tower safety over five decades.
There was plenty of chat on social media using the #PASMA50 hashtag, along with some lovely comments on our post-event survey.
It was a very well organised event at a great venue with some highly original touches. Meeting up with old friends was just a joyful opportunity not to be missed.
Great event – very well organised – great to learn about the history of PASMA. The venue was great, and so was the food. Great presentations and good to catch up with other PASMA instructors.
The event was well organised and structured. Entertainment, food, drinks, was good. Most of all it is a chance to meet up with colleagues in a social atmosphere to celebrate PASMA's 50 years.
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