The JET Annual Dinner took place on Thursday 9th May at the M Shed Museum in Bristol. As the flagship event in JET’s fundraising calendar, the dinner serves as an opportunity to celebrate the exceptional support we and our young people receive each year from our network of corporate and military partners, funders, volunteers, Patrons and Trustees.
A stellar evening
The evening was hosted by our CEO, Dr Emma Egging and JET Patrons, Air Marshal (Ret’d) Sir Stuart Atha and Air Marshal Harv Smyth. Our grateful thanks to them and indeed to all our guests who helped to make the evening so memorable, and to those who kindly donated and pledged their continued support to JET
We are thrilled to announce that the dinner raised over £30,000, which will go directly to supporting our vital work across the UK.
Ambition takes flight
A special thank you also goes to our inspirational Youth Ambassador, Josh Feathers, who took centre stage with a stirring Q&A.
Josh spoke about being at school “where I was a bit of a rebel (to put it politely)”, to his time on Blue Skies and landing his first job in a warehouse, before training to become a plumber. Josh is now embarking on his private pilot license and has ambitions to go to university to study aeronautical engineering. He talked about the profound impact that Blue Skies has had on his outlook and on honing his communication, teamwork and leadership skills. He says: “Speaking to people who use those skills on a day-to-day basis taught me so much, and as I went through the programme my behaviour improved and I was able to get along with people better. JET helped me get my first job.”
Honouring excellence
The evening also shone a spotlight on some outstanding achievements within the JET community. Presented by Paul Livingston, CEO of headline sponsors Lockheed Martin, perpetual trophies were awarded to three exceptionally deserving recipients:
Corporate Team of the year: RAL Space
Military Teams of the year: RAF Brize Norton and RAF Coningsby
Unsung Heroes of the year: Southampton University Air Squadron
Read the full citations here.
A surprising twist!
The evening also included an unexpected addition to the awards lineup. Dr Emma Egging, JET’s visionary CEO, received a standing ovation as the recipient of a surprise JET Outstanding Achievement award; hugely deserved recognition of her 13 years of leadership and dedication to JET’s mission.
Thank you
As the curtains close on another memorable JET Annual Dinner, we would like to extend final thanks to our fantastic compere, journalist Helen Fospero, our inspiring speakers and our auctioneer extraordinaire Air-Vice Marshal Simon Edwards, and of course to our generous sponsors, Lockheed Martin.
See you next year!
ENDS