Posted on Thursday 22nd June 2023
L-R: (Front Left), HR Director at Alton Towers Resort Jo Mountney, (Front Left Middle) Defence Relationship Manager at the Ministry of Defence, Philip Sinclair, (Back Left) Ex armed forces and Alton Towers Engineer, Russ Clay, (Back
Two Staffordshire businesses have re-signed the Armed Forces Covenant, promising to support local armed forces communities.
Alton Towers Resort and Community Games have reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the county’s Armed Forces community and to recognise the huge contribution they make to Staffordshire.
The businesses joined representatives from the county council and Ministry of Defence (MOD) at today’s event held at Shire Hall in Stafford. The event, attended by more than a dozen local organisations helped showcase the wide range of support available to armed forces communities. Local businesses also got an understanding of the valuable skills former serving personnel and their families are bringing to Staffordshire.
Jo Mountney, HR Director at the Alton Towers Resort, said:
"At Alton Towers Resort, we work hard to make sure our attraction is as accessible to as many people as possible, both from an employee and guest perspective.
“We have pledged to uphold the key principles of the Armed Forces Covenant as we continue to strive to create a culture of inclusion and engagement. As a business, we understand that many of our employees have served or have family who have served in the Armed Forces, and we recognise the contribution that Service personnel, reservists, veterans, the cadet movement, and military families make to our organisation, our community and to the country.
“We are proud of the work we have done to date and look forward to working more with veterans and the Armed Forces as we look to further support the community.”
Dennis Kennedy, from Community Games, who deliver activities for young people in Staffordshire explained they were delighted to sign the Armed Forces covenant. Dennis said:
“We’ve been working with the armed forces and its communities for around 3 years now, inviting local members of the community to as many sports and activity providers as we can.
“We’re all about community and being inclusive and signing the covenant is an important step towards this. We also offer discounts to anyone that has been in the forces as well as their families, just to offer that extra bit of help.”
Alan White, Leader at Staffordshire County Council said:
“As a former serving member of the armed forces, I know how important it is that the community is well supported and recognised as a valued part of our communities.
“This was an important event for the county that helped explain what our armed forces do, the significant role they play, and to recognise the valuable skills and experience they bring to Staffordshire. It’s great to see more and more organisations coming forward, signing, and re-signing the Armed Forces Covenant.”
Philip Sinclair, Defence Relationship Manager at the Ministry of Defence (MOD) said:
“I am delighted to be here in Stafford today to support the Armed Forces Covenant insight event. The day is all about raising awareness of the covenant and the importance of supporting our armed forces communities. It’s also about explaining to businesses why partnering with defence can help and will prove to be a benefit to them in the future.”
Stef Lawfield from Black Onyx Concepts Ltd who spoke at the event said: “We are a veteran owned, veteran managed organisation and we predominantly employ veterans.
“We have already signed the armed forces covenant and received the gold award last year. The benefits are amazing, and the veteran community have the will to work, they get things done and they have so many transferable skills. We also have a training academy, so we can train local people and veterans, and bring them into the industry to help assist with what we are trying to achieve.”
More than 170 organisations in Staffordshire have already signed the Armed Forces Covenant and are supporting the Armed Forces community.
Further details are available on the Armed Forces Covenant website.