08/06/2012 (press release: OnlinePR)
A statue celebrating International Year of Co-operatives (IYC) has been unveiled at Midcounties Co-operative’s HQ in Warwick.
The 4ftx2ft statue was erected to celebrate the United Nations designating 2012 as International Year of Co-operatives.
It is based upon the IYC logo and was painstakingly crafted by mason Chris Wilkinson, who spent three weeks working on it at the Midcounties Co-operative Memorial Masonry centre in Walsall.
Father-of-two Chris, who has worked for the Co-operative for more than a decade, said: “I’ve not worked on a project like this before so I feel very privileged.
“The hardest part was facing the unknown. The Portland stone is very unforgiving of mistakes so it was a little nerve-wracking at times.
“It’s a neutral tone so it will change colour as the seasons alter and the sun moves around it. I’m really proud of the end result and I’d love to do another project like this.”
As well as a commemoration, the statue was crafted to showcase the skills possessed by the Masonry team’s highly-trained staff.
Simon Fisher, The Midcounties Co-operative Group General Manager, Funeral, said: “It’s a wonderful statue and a unique opportunity to celebrate the IYC and the 1.4million co-operatives across the globe that help to build a better world.”
The Midcounties Co-operative Funeral Group is the largest funeral director in the region, carrying out more than 8,000 funerals each year across the group.
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NOTES FOR EDITORS
About The Midcounties Co-operative
The Midcounties Co-operative has its headquarters in Warwickshire, with trading outlets in Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Shropshire, West Midlands, Worcestershire and the surrounding counties.
The Society’s trading groups are food retail, funeral, travel, pharmacy, childcare nurseries, employee benefits and energy.
The Midcounties Co-operative is the largest independent co-operative society in the UK and has more than 470 branches, and 245,000 active trading members. It is in The Sunday Times Best 25 Companies To Work For list for the second year running.
The Society’s mission statement is ‘To be a successful consumer co-operative working towards creating a better, fairer world, and to enhance the lives of our colleagues, members, customers, and the communities we serve’.
About The Midcounties Co-operative Funeralcare
The Midcounties Co-operative funeralcare has over 70 local funeral homes throughout the West Midlands, Oxfordshire, Swindon and Gloucestershire areas which offer a full range of services for all types of funeral. We also offer a complete range of co op memorial options through our Masonry service together with the opportunity to make funeral plans and a memorial in advance through selecting one of our excellent range of Pre-Payment Funeral and Pre-Payment Masonry Plans.
For more details call Sam Webb at Seal on 0121 616 5800. Visit www.midcounties.coop
The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2012 as the International Year of Co-operatives, highlighting the contribution of co-operatives to socio-economic development, particularly their impact on poverty reduction, employment generation and social integration. The Year will highlight the strengths of the co-operative business model as an alternative means of doing business and furthering socio-economic development.
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