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A cracking congress and a crowded calendar ahead

  Viki Bell  ·  1 minute read

October is always a busy month internally at the CEA. It is month one of our new financial year, so we are busy finalising year-end and seeking Board approval for next year's plan and budget.

Celebrating CECE Congress 2026

Of course, all the above happened but were somewhat overshadowed by the final preparations and delivery of the CECE Congress 2026 in London. As the current CECE President is from the UK, Phil Layton of JCB, it falls to the local association to host the biannual congress. Work on the event began back in Summer 2025, and I want to say a huge thank you to the CEA team for delivering a highly successful and memorable event.

I won’t go into more detail here as Lou has prepared a full write-up and lots of images will be made available soon. Suffice it to say we have received lots of positive feedback, and it has generated a lot of interest in the CEA with multiple new member enquiries.

It was great to see so many CEA members at the event as we looked at ways to Create, Innovate and Inspire.

Prepping for the CEA Board meeting

I am now busy preparing for a CEA Board meeting in two weeks’ time. This was somewhat delayed due to my surgery, but my convalescence gave me plenty of time to finalise the 2027 plan and strategy and work with Suzanne on the budget, all of which is looking good, and I am excited to present to the Board for final approval.

Entering Awards Season

Looking forward to the rest of November, we enter Awards Season, and it is a busy one.  I am off to Liverpool on the 5th together with Dave Luscombe to represent the CEA at the CPA Gala Dinner. The following week, on the 13th, I am off to London for the Association Excellence Awards, as I was a judge for 2026. It is always interesting to see what other Associations across different markets and sectors are up to and to network with my peers.

Later in November, we have the CEA Board, followed by a CESAR Committee & Donor Meeting kindly hosted by the HAE.

And, if all the above looks like ‘lots of posh lunches and dinners’ rest assured, amongst all of this we are already preparing for PlantWorx 2027, the CEA Awards and our next Members' Forum in the Spring.