Message from the Master – Terry Withers
It is with great pride that I was installed as the 46th Master of our wonderful Company.
As I start my year, I would like to pay tribute and thank the outgoing Master, David Sheehan, truly one of the most amazing leaders this Company has had. The achievements of the past year will long mould the future of the Company.
He has been ably and willingly supported throughout by his wife, Lindsey. I thank her on behalf of all of you.
At my installation we heard from Professor Richard Fitton telling us about the amazing work that is happening at Salford University. This is a message that everyone should hear as, if there is going to be a future, this work must form part of it. Our Climate Action Committee is the envy of most Livery companies and contributes greatly to the COL Climate Action Group. We are, indeed, the first and only Carbon Net Zero Livery Company and I will be supporting joint Chairs, Rob Beales and Paul Sheedy, to further enhance our reputation in this field.
I would like to welcome Father James Titley who performed his first installation ceremony for us. I wish him a long term of office at St Lawrence Jewry and hope he will install many more Masters and involve himself in the life of the Constructors.
I would also like to note that due to the generosity of our members, our Charitable Trust donated the funds for a new set of vestments for James, the others are now surplus to requirements, plus a paschal candlestick. Our Charitable Trust has doubled its giving over the last two years to £55,000 and it hopes to increase grant giving in the year ahead but, as always, this depends on continuing Members’ Donations and the all-important Fund Raising.
We also monitor our Pro-Bono contribution to society. In the Past Master’s year this totalled an astonishing £189,684.81. Please everyone, continue, or start, to record your data on our QR code, it is hugely important, which, if you do not have this, it can be found on our website.
Well done and thank you all for your generosity with your time and donations.
So what are the aims of my year?
We have a 5 year plan that I aim to further, with the help of the Wardens and the Committee Chairs.
Last year we welcomed 78 new members who are having a refreshing and invigorating effect on the Company. We aim to repeat this feat.
We are the second biggest social media influence in the city, after the City of London Corporation; recently passing 4,000 LinkedIn followers. Our aim is to increase our presence within the Livery, the City of London and the Construction Industry.
To aid this we are already collaborating with other Livery Companies on projects of topical importance. We are in discussion with our affiliates, the Federation for the Built Environment, about setting up a panel of experts to comment on all things Construction. We have great and influential members; let’s get their voices heard in the construction environment.
In our business lives, it was not always fun because we had jobs to do, targets to achieve. In the Constuctor’s Company, we are all volunteers and everything we do should be fun.
For every Constructor who becomes an active Constructor we make a small difference. Just imagine 350 Constructors uniting; the world would be our oyster.
And we’ll do it all with a smile on our faces!
Finally I would like to thank, in advance, my wife, Alison, for the support she will give to me over the next 12 months as Mistress Constructor.
I look forward to working with you all, over the next year, to achieve these aims. If you are currently not involved and want to be, just give me a call. 
Terry Withers
Master for the Worshipful Company of Constructors
St. Lawrence Jewry next Guildhall Guildhall Yard, London EC2V 5AA
020 7600 9478 www.stlawrencejewry.org.uk
