In Your Shoes - Heather Whyte

Monday: The Calm Before the Storm!

Today feels more like the calm before the storm, although I must admit, calm isn't exactly the vibe around here!

We're diving headfirst into preparations for tomorrow's Dundee Loves Local DACC123 and gearing up for the High Noon Lunch on Wednesday. With a mountain of name badges to print, the office is buzzing with activity! Glen and I also had a nice chat with Iain from Lilac Jobs, swapping stories from his travels around the globe and brainstorming ways to make the most of his membership.

And talk about a sweet surprise! Jigsaw Media came to the rescue with a bag of Fisher and Donaldson goodies as a token of appreciation for helping them out with a place to work during their office flood. Needless to say, it made the name badge job a lot easier!

Tuesday: We Love 'Dundee Loves Local'!

This morning, I led the Ops Meeting for tomorrow’s High Noon Lunch to go over the logistics of when and where we needed the teams help. Lynsey and James are looking after the registration table, so make sure you say hello if you’re attending the lunch!

After the meeting, we packed the event box into Grace’s car and headed Taypark House for today’s DACC123. The sun shone into the dining room as over 50 of our members discussed ways businesses can get involved with Dundee Loves Local.

Once the event finished, it was back to the office to take all of the name badges out of their holders and refill them with the names for tomorrow's lunch! I like to make sure all of the event prep is done the night before the event so I know we won't be rushing around trying to get organised in the morning.

Wednesday: On Wednesday's We Wear Pink!

I wanted to wear something that would make me feel confident that I could get through another huge event without any hiccups, so of course I wore a bright pink suit - it's Wednesday after all (if you know, you know)!!

We arrived at the Apex Hotel around 10am to set up for our High Noon Lunch. The Apex team had already done a great job of setting the room, so there wasn't a lot for us to do! We set out our name badges on the registration table and placed our banners around the room. Our speaker, Major Richard McCord MBE and two of his colleagues were on hand to run through their presentation and make sure they were happy with the display. 

Before we knew it, most of our guests had arrived and we were ready to hear from our first guest speaker. Lynsey and James did a great job making sure people knew where they were sitting which made my job a lot easier!

Major McCord gave us a whistlestop tour of his 39 years service in the British Army, including tours in Afghanistan and living overseas in Germany. He shared stories of how the military has changed since he enlisted and it was super interesting to hear how he had to change his leadership approaches to accommodate. Rich (or Jo, as he is known by his friends and family) is a good friend of my parents, so it was lovely to catch up with him !

After a yummy lunch and a short presentation by Jamie McBearty about his upcoming Open Doors event in May, it was back to the office for Alison and I. I don't know about Alison, but I was definitely struggling to keep my eyes open after what felt like the busiest two days ever!!

I finished my evening off with some yoga at Heart Space to relax and switch off before heading home for a very well-needed sleep!

Thursday: A Well-Deserved Quiet Day!

After the hustle and bustle of the events this week, I knew I'd need a day to catch up with emails and get myself back on track, so I decided I'd work from home today. 

I started my day with a big bowl of raspberry yoghurt, granola and frozen raspberries, then I put my earphones in and got to work. I cleared some of the emails in my inbox before moving onto my to-do list (which felt as long as my arm!). Before I knew it, it was time for lunch - if you don't know already, I am absolutely led by my stomach, so there was no way I was going to forget!

I had a call with my mortgage advisor to discuss my new rate which is coming up for renewal soon -  I've been dreading this for weeks but was pleasantly surprised with what she'd managed to find! As a treat for "adulting", I had a couple of chocolate biscuits and some pringles (see, more food) as I ticked some things off my to-do list.

Friday: Fri-yay!

We've made it to the end of another week - woohoo!! 

I had a super short day today as I was taking some time back in the afternoon, so I spent the morning finishing off the last few bits and pieces on yesterday's to-do list and made sure I was prepared for next week. 

After I finished, I went for a walk along the river front - my favourite place to walk - to clear my mind ahead of the weekend. 

It's been a busy week at the Chamber so I'm glad the weekend is in sight - time to rest!