2016 in review: Sarah McLeod, Arkwright Society

Sarah McLeod, chief executive of the Arkwright Society, looks back at 2016.

What has been your highlight of the year?
Without question the opening of Building 17 after six years of a rollercoaster of a project. There were times when we thought the odds were just too stacked against us but somehow, we kept going and today we have a first class visitor destination and four floors of creative industry work units that are all full of new tenants and buzzing with creative energy!

And your lowlight?
Brian Blessed was due to be our guest of honour at the opening of Building 17, but with 200 guests all waiting for his arrival, I received a call from his agent to say he’d been caught up in a hideous tailback on the M1 and had to abandon the journey. Not the best way to celebrate our achievements – it seems the man can make it up Everest, but the M1 just proved too much!

How do you think 2016 will be remembered?
As the year of the outsider! I was really shocked by the US election result – after Brexit I thought nothing could surprise me, but I was genuinely shocked to see Trump elected. I fear a lot of love is being lost in the modern world.

Hero of the year (business or otherwise)?
My hero of the year has got to be Ben Smith who incredibly ran 401 marathons in 401 days to raise money and awareness for Stonewall and Kidscape, both of which are anti-bullying charities. I hate bullies – whether they’re children or adults and I think what Ben did was just incredible.

And villain?
It’s got to be the bloke who stole our parking meter! All the funds we raise from the car park go back into our charity and just three weeks after our new meter was installed, somebody went at it with an angle grinder in the middle of the night and took it clean off. The police managed to retrieve it with the £80 still in the money box – though unfortunately the meter itself couldn’t be fixed and at £5,000 a unit it was a costly affair!

What’s your New Year’s Resolution?
Take more time to smell the roses – Derbyshire is one of the most beautiful places in the world and I spend far too much time at my desk and not enough time out in the peaks appreciating what is right here on our doorstep. Oh, and I suppose I shall try to drink less but that never seems to last beyond January!