2 August 2019

Industry recognises young persons of outstanding achievement in Westminster

The awarding of the Victor Watson Trophy for young persons of outstanding achievement took place during the 2019 All-Party Parliamentary Print Group Reception at the House of Lords on 9 July.

The award was created in memory of Victor Watson CBE - a leading figure of the industry who had a passion for encouraging young people. Victor's own achievements were outstanding - as Chairman of Waddingtons he led the internationalisation of Monopoly. He was President of the BPIF, President of The Printing Charity and Master of the Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards. The BPIF, along with The Printing Charity and the Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards created the Victor Watson Trophy in his memory.

Nominations were received from across the country and the achievements were truly inspiring. They covered the spectrum of the industry - in print and allied trades. They were from large corporations, small businesses and some inspirational start-ups.

Anthony Komedera, ex-Master of the Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards presented the winner's Trophy to Lewis Houghton, full time Graphic Designer and a self-employed illustrator for children's books.

Lewis said of winning the award, "Being nominated for and winning this Award has made me appreciate all the hard work I've put into perusing my dream career. It's not often I stop and look back at everything I've done, over the last five years, so it's really special to me that I'm being recognised for my hard work and I'm really grateful for that. Thank you so much."

Alison Graham, Learning and Development Manager, who nominated Chad said, "Chad had been with Communisis for 2 years before we introduced our internal Apprentice Academy, where he has played a pivotal role to the rest of Apprentice group. His teamwork and project have been invaluable, he has been committed to the business and the academy. He is progressing all the time and with a full implementation of his project, he is in the process of saving the company a fantastic £67,000 per year - outstanding savings!! An achievement to be very proud of early in his career and development."

The BPIF, The Printing Charity and the Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards would like to congratulate Lewis, Chad and Fiona and all nominees.