THE owner of a Ryde-based hardware store capped his year as national president of retail association the British Hardware Federation (BHF) by proposing a merger with another leading association.
Members of the BHF voted unanimously in favour of the merger, which was proposed by Terry Weeks, the owner of JustHome, in Ryde High Street.
The merger will take place by the end of this year, creating the largest non-food independent retailers’ representative body in Britain, with more than 8,000 members.
Terry has travelled the country over the past year meeting members in their shops and at their gatherings.
New president Sadie Chalkley praised Terry, saying: "I know Terry has given freely and willingly of his time and bought his own inimitable style to everything he has done."
Terry said: "It’s been an interesting, fulfilling and taxing year."
He added: "I’ve achieved what I wanted to do. I’ve also tried desperately hard to act with the professionalism and decorum which I believe our association demands."
Reporter: davidn@iwcpmail.co.uk