Welcome to our February newsletter. 2026 has got off to a flying start and we have some exciting things to share with you.
Our first 2026 networking event took place in January and we enjoyed a fabulous morning the New Wolsey Theatre. Thank you to them for hosting and sponsoring this event and we all thoroughly enjoyed the backstage tour.
On Wednesday 11th March, we will be holding a fun quiz night at Ipswich Wanderers Football Club. Join us for an entertaining evening – you can either book a team or as an individual and we will make sure everyone is part of a team on the night. Book your place now.
If you haven’t yet secured your space for the anniversary year of Anglia Business Exhibition, book quickly as places are filling up fast! Our 2m x 1m spaces have now sold out but we do still have some shelled booths and outside spaces available. There are also still some sponsor places available so why not go for maximum impact. Email contact@angliabusinessexhibition.com for more info or read our ABE update to find out more.
This month we’d like to thank Kate Nudds, Grieve Then Achieve, who has written a sensitive but informative piece about dealing with grief in the workplace. It is a difficult topic but we hope you find this useful in terms of supporting your staff and colleagues.
Our February Member of the Month is Leading Motion. Read their article to find out how they help businesses with strategic, proactive marketing.
In January, we announced an exciting opportunity for three ISSBA patrons to be instrumental in taking us forward into the next decade as well as benefitting from an amazing package designed to increase your profile and boost your business. Visit our ISSBA Patron page for the full details.
Reminder to ISSBA members – if you would like to be included in our newsletter as a Member of the Month, please let us know on mail@issba.co.uk so that we can schedule you in. It is a fantastic chance to tell people about what you do or share some exciting news or updates. Alternatively, if there is anything new or exciting going on in your industry (or just something you think people need to know about), we’d love you to write an interesting and useful article for the newsletter. Rather than a sales piece, you’d be providing valuable info to readers but you are welcome to include your logo, contact details and a call to action if you wish.
Remember that if you are an ISSBA member, you can send us your events to include on our website events calendar. Don’t forget to keep an eye on the calendar to see what is coming up. Email details of your events to mail@issba.co.uk.
Don’t forget our Recommend a Friend scheme, it is great to see ISSBA members benefiting from this. Any current ISSBA member will get one month's free membership for each new member they recommend, plus the new member also gets one free month, so Win-Win! There are no limits to how many referrals each ISSBA member can make as long as you have a current, paid up membership, so if you bring in 12 new members, you'll get a whole year for free!
GoCardless is making the renewal process much easier for many of our members. If you haven’t signed up yet, either let us know on mail@issba.co.uk or keep an eye on your inbox for an authorisation request. GoCardless is a direct debit system fully protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee and means that you never need to worry about forgetting to renew again. By signing up to this you will help your committee save valuable time in chasing renewals, so please, if you aren’t already signed up, please do!
Graham Barton, ISSBA Chair