70th Anniversary celebrations.
We recently held a party for 600 of our team, friends, family and business contacts to celebrate our 70th Anniversary and to say thank you to them for all their hard work and commitment to the business.
The business also celebrated several of our senior team’s own personal landmarks:
- Clive Goatham, Senior Partner celebrating 50 years with the business
- Steve Everard, Director celebrating 40 years with the business
- Nigel Stewart, Technical Director celebrating 10 years with the business and 40 years in the fresh produce industry
- Debbie Roberts Packaging and Fruit Quality Standard Manager, celebrating 25 years with the business.
- Ross Goatham, Managing Director celebrating 20 years with the business.
Carol Ford, Commercial Director comments: “We hosted a fun filled, family friendly afternoon and evening and it was wonderful to see so many families come along to join in. The business has changed considerably since it was started in 1947 by Clive’s parents, Arthur and Phyllis Goatham, who began buying fruit directly from the farm gate, picking it, packing it and taking it to wholesale markets. We are now one of the largest apple and pear growers in the UK and 1 in every 4.5 British apples sold in the UK and 1 in 3 Conference Pears is grown by the business here in Kent.”
During the evening we also held an auction which raised over £13,000 for the charity Help for Heroes.
We will be raising more funds for Help for Heroes and Kent Sports Trust with the first ever Goatham’s Great Kent Cycle Ride. The ride will cover nearly 200 miles across the county with Dame Kelly Holmes and former Kent and England wicket keeper Geraint Jones MBE taking part. The three-day event takes place 14-16 July and will see hundreds of cyclists get on their bikes.