WE took another step in our preparations for the Commonwealth Games earlier this week when our Ambassadors emerged triumphant from their Welcome Host training course writes Karen Wheeldon

The course had been established through the North West Tourist Board and was designed to ensure that people dealing with customer service issues would be fully prepared for the influx of visitors the Games are likely to attract. So everyone in the office would like to congratulate Mick, Nigel, Brian, Mary and Norma in successfully passing the course and joining Sharon as Welcome Host trained Ambassadors.

THINK OF A NAME AND WIN!

I would like to lay down a challenge to BEN readers to come up with an imaginative and catchy name for our Snow Tubing slide. The slide will be open from November 30 on Victoria Square and will be set within a winter scene with fir trees, Swiss-style chalets and artificial snow. So if you can think of the perfect name for the event, jot it down on a piece of paper or a postcard and send it to:- Snow Tubing Competition, Bolton Town Centre Limited, Management Offices, Market Hall, Knowsley Street, Bolton BL1 2AR. The closing date for entries is October 31 and the winner will receive a bottle of wine.

PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS!

Sponsorship opportunities are up for grabs in Bolton town centre. Does your business need to raise its profile? Do you have products or services that you want to shout about? Do you want to help your town centre in the process of helping yourself? AND, would you like your company to be known by the people of Bolton as an organisation that puts something back into the community? If the answer to all these questions is 'yes', contact Cathy Savage on 01204 523762 and find out how you can achieve all of these objectives this Christmas.

MAKING AN IMPACT ON THE FLYPOSTING MENACE!

If you have walked down Oxford Street during the last week, you cannot have failed to notice that much of the flyposting has been removed from vacant premises. We have initiated a pilot project with Bolton Metro and property owners to address this issue and remove the offending posters. Those buildings that we have received permission from the owners to carry out works have now been cleaned of fly posters, however, we do not intend to stop there and we would still like to hear from property owners who have experienced the same problems. There will be no cost to individual businesses for this service while the pilot project is running, so, don't waste time, contact this office on 01204 523762 and help us to clean up the town centre!

FORWARD THINKING REQUIRED!

Does the company you work for have a proactive approach to employee childcare issues, or do you, as an employer, want to find out more about how to support your staff and retain your key employees? A group has been established to look at ways in which businesses can address the important issues surrounding childcare and the Working With Employers Task Group is hoping to work with businesses in the near future to develop initiatives. So, have a chat with your boss or, if you are the boss and would like to discuss the matter further, contact this office on 01204 523762.

Karen Wheeldon

Bolton Town Centre Limited

Market Hall

Knowsley Street

Bolton BL1 2AR

Tel: 01204 523762

Fax: 01204 523659

Email: Karen@boltontowncentre.co.uk