Mediaboss Marketing

by Colin Brown

England dominated the team events but had to share the main individual trophies with Wales and Scotland when the 6 Nations Junior and Cadets Table Tennis International sponsored by Isle of Man Bank - was held at the NSC over the weekend.

The event brought over 70 visiting players, coaches and officials to the Island from England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and Guernsey. At the end of the two-day team event the awards were presented by Isle of Man Bank managing director Bill Shimmins while Deniese Smith, Area Manager for Branch Banking, did the same in relation to the individual trophies.

England swept the boards in the team event winning all four categories cadet boys and girls (under 15), and junior boys and girls (under 18). Wales finished runners-up in the junior girls contest while Scotland took second spot in the three remaining sections.

The Isle of Man teams were always going to have to battle the odds as they were up against countries with much bigger populations while, in the case of Guernsey, the Island has its own table tennis centre with a professional coach. However, there were notable performances from Ronan McDonnell in both the team and individual events of the junior competition.

Ronan opened the Islands account on the first night of the team event with a hard fought victory over the Irish number two Ryan Farrell. Ronan won the first two games, but was then pegged back to 2-2. He got off to a flying start in the decider, leading 5-1 at the changeover and clinching the point by an 11-4 margin. This put the Isle of Man into a 1-0 lead but Ireland stormed back to win the remainder for a 4-1 scoreline.

Best chance of an overall victory came in the last of the team matches when Guernsey provided the opposition. Ronan again rose to the occasion winning both his singles matches 12-10 11-7 14-12 against Alex Robinson and 11-9 in the fourth against Liam Robilliard. The Island team came agonisingly close to gaining the extra point it needed for a match win. The doubles pairing of Will Bayley and Mason McLarney lost in four after having game points in both the third and fourth legs while Mason lost one of his singles in four games, again after having game points in a leg which he lost. The end product was that Guernsey triumphed 3-2.

It was a similar story for Masons brother Hadyn in the under 15 team event. He just lost out on several occasions in five games but finally got his reward when he came back from two games down to defeat Guernseys Sam King 11-9 in the decider to get a point on the board for the Island.

The individual competition saw another battling performance from Ronan. After losing to Irelands Ryan Farrell - whom he had beaten in the team event - in the group matches he then needed to beat Scotlands Blair Fowler to qualify for the knockout stage. He did so in five games to progress to the quarter-finals where he was up against English number two Adam Harrison. Ronan had a game point in the first leg before losing it 12-10 and then lost the next two as well, but it had been good experience for the Manx senior champion who still has further years in this age group.

Roll of Honour for the weekend was as follows:

See the original post here:
England Dominate as Island Stages 6 Nations Table Tennis International

by DEFA

The search is on to find the very best farmers on the Isle of Man as the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture launches the nomination process for this years award, which is again sponsored by Manx Food retailer Shoprite. There are two categories: the Tomorrows Farmers Award and the Judges Special Award for a Young Farmer. In both cases, the award recognises and rewards farmers who are committed to the future of the agricultural industry on the Island.

Nominations should be made before the 30th March 2012, giving a brief reason for the chosen nomination and describing how the farmer meets the awards selection criteria which are:

Farming efficiently and profitably Being market focused Local food promotion Diversification and Conservation

Nominations should be sent to Aud rey Fowler, Marketing Officer, DEFA, Thie Slieau Whallian, Foxdale, Isle of Man IM4 3AS or email: audrey.fowler@gov.im DEFA Minister Phil Gawne, MHK said: These awards not only aim to showcase the best farmers in the Isle of Man but provide an opportunity to share best practice, to inspire others and to let people know more about the hard work that goes into producing the quality produce that we can all enjoy every day. The award is a chance to celebrate all that is good about Manx farming and give individuals the chance to shine. We have some excellent Manx farmers so we look forward to receiving plenty of nominations. Gareth Cromie, Fresh Market Place Manager at Shoprite, commented: These awards are hugely important for the Isle of Man as they recognise quality production which Shoprite prides itself on as well as encouraging future generations of farmers on the Isle of Man. Supporting local production is hugely beneficial to the Isle of Man as it stimulates the local economy as well as providing long term sustainability and traceability in our food stock.

Last years winners were Andrew Sanders and family from Ballalough Farm, West Baldwin and Juan Hargraves, The Views Dairy Farm, Port Erin. These farmers cannot be nominated for an award this year. The judges will be: Minister Phil Gawne, MHK; Gareth Cromie from Shoprite; the SAC Agricultural Adviser; the Vice President of the Manx NFU and the President of the Royal Manx Agricultural Show. A shortlist will be selected from the entries and farms will then be visited by the judges in July. The winners will be revealed at the Award ceremony, which will take place at the Royal Manx Agricultural Show, on Friday 10th August 2012.

-ENDS-

If you'd like to send any information or news releases to us then please feel free to do so and we would be more than happy to consider sharing your news with the Isle of Man!

Send your Isle of Man news to:webmaster@manx.net

Manx Telecom Ltd 2012

Read the original post:
Nominations for the 2012 Tomorrows’ Farmer Awards

by Isle of Man Constabulary

On Friday the 16th March 2012 Police Dog Rosco, a German Shepherd Dog, will retire from duty having given almost 9 years service to the Isle of Man Police Service. He has been handled since May 2003 by PC 01 Ray Brondon, passing as top dog on his initial General Police Dog Course in the West Midlands in July the same year. This was featured in the Manx press at the time. He has had many operational deployments and assisted in the arrest of numerous persons for offences ranging from burglary to public order offences. He has located many vulnerable people, reported as missing from home and attended the majority of island schools to assist PC Brondon with educational visits. He was seriously injured during one operational search, sustaining a severed artery in his paw but made a full recovery. Rosco will be remaining with PC Brondon in his retirement as a pet and PC Brondon will be rehandling Police Dog Bodie.

-ENDS-

If you'd like to send any information or news releases to us then please feel free to do so and we would be more than happy to consider sharing your news with the Isle of Man!

Send your Isle of Man news to:webmaster@manx.net

Manx Telecom Ltd 2012

Manx Telecom Ltd, Isle of Man Business Park, Cooil Road, Braddan, Isle of Man IM99 1HX Registered in the Isle of Man Reg no.5629V Vat Reg no GB 003-2919-12

Continued here:
Retirement of Police Dog

by Alex Wilson

MOSAIC, the islands annual Christian womens conference, is this year supporting the very worthwhile work of Crossroads Care (Isle of Man). Women who attended the conference, from across the length and breadth of our island, and beyond, have given their pledge to raise money for this cause and have so far raised 4,000 since the conference in November 2011.

The Mosaic team who organise the conference are too playing their part and plan to raise over 1,200 for Crossroads by taking part, with friends and family, in a charity walk.

Helen Edwards, who heads the Mosaic team, said "this is a really exciting way for us to make a difference to the lives of Carers in our communities. We came up with the idea of walking to the crossroads at Tynwald Hill from each of the four compass points representing the differing communities on our island and we have created a 5km walk from designated starting points to meet together at the crossroads.

It's a perfect distance for all, and is open to anyone who would like to help support this worthy cause. We are thrilled to be supporting the worthy work of Crossroads Care (Isle of Man) and the Carer community and hope this will be a great way to highlight their cause, one we may all need one day".

The walk is open to all who attended the Mosaic conference and also anyone else who would like to enjoy a family friendly walk in aid of a great local cause.

The walk will take place on Sunday 15th April 2012, with registration from 1pm for a 2pm start. Registration will take place at the four designated starting points at Fenella Beach Car Park, Peel, Marown FC Car Park, Crosby, Foxdale School Car Park or Whitestrand (parking area on Switchback Road, South of Knocksharry). Peel and Whitestand routes are also buggy friendly (off road buggies only). Registration is 10 for an adult or 20 for a family and will include refreshments on arrival at Tynwald Methodist Church. Alternatively, walkers can complete a sponsorship card available to download from http://www.livinghope.im. For more information please visit http://www.livinghope.im or email Mosaic team at gems@livinghope.im.

Mosaic Conference is an initiative of Living Hope Community Church. 'Love God, Love People, Love Life'.

Crossroads Care (Isle of Man) provide meaningful respite for family and informal Carers looking after someone with an illness, disability, frailty, substance misuse or mental health issue on the island.

-Ends-

See the rest here:
Congregate At Crossroads In Aid of Local Charity

by Anne Crowther

Forward Ladies has announced bigger and better Women in Business Awards for 2012, with four new categories, and the hunt is on to find the Outstanding Business Women of the Year from the cream of North West and Isle of Man businesswomen.

This is the second year of the awards in the North West and Isle of Man, following the outstanding success of last years inaugural event.

Professional women from all walks of life are invited to enter the awards which are free - by either nominating themselves, or by getting a friend or colleague to nominate them. A 500-word award entry is required, along with a 50 word biography, high quality photograph and supporting documentation. Entry is via a new dedicated micro- website: http://wiba2012.com/ .The closing date for entries is Friday 6 July, and shortlisted finalists will be invited to a prestigious ceremony on 26 November at the Midland Hotel in Manchester.

Etta Cohen, the founder of Forward Ladies said: Our previous awards have been tremendously well received and we now have a very worthy winner from last year Nasira Majid of PIN Properties, who has made a huge contribution to the development of the women in her company, and also to the wider region. This year in tough economic times, it is even more important to recognise professional women who are continuing to create new opportunities for success.

This year there are 12 individual awards, leading to an overall winner who will be chosen from the winners of each category. The awards are once again being sponsored by Barclays.

The categories are: Start-up, Not for Profit, Corporate, International, Home-based, Property, Manufacturing, and Young, with new categories for this year: Professional Services, SME, Retail and PA of the Year.

Etta said: We have had a very successful year with a number of excellent development workshops to help our members to learn new skills and diversify, as well as our usual senior industry speakers and social events.

Forward Ladies was founded by Etta Cohen with a handful of women who met to find mutually beneficial ways of working together. It is now the Norths largest womens business support organisation, and is committed not only to encouraging greater levels of female entrepreneurship in the region, but also to supporting all professional women.

-ENDS-

Continued here:
Looking For The Cream of The North West & Isle of Man Businesswomen