Mary Smith Email & Phone Number

United Kingdom

I secured funding from Defra and The Prince’s Countryside Fund for the continuation of my role after the closure of the Regional Development Agencies.I secured the funding for, and was a founding member of the executive team behind, the Taste Cumbria food and drink events and networking initiative. Our inaugural event was in Cockermouth, Cumbria, in 2010, following the devastating floods. It attracted over 20,000 visitors and generated significant ROI, as well as hundreds of thousands of pounds of local spend over one weekend.I was responsible for ensuring the legacy of Taste Cumbria events by 2012, and managed a team to secure private/public sector match and continuation funding to do this. In the same year, I managed the safe transfer of the Taste Cumbria brand and ownership to CN Group.

My role was to promote and champion the region’s amazing produce, people and food networks, as a means to increase tourism spend in the region. I was also tasked with securing significant inward investment for high profile food and drink networks, partnerships and events.When the RDAs closed in 2012, I achieved funding and support to continue the role through Cumbria Tourism.

I wrote press and media releases and features, translated written material, secured press opportunities and coordinated international trade event attendance for European clients using my French language skills.