Issue 22 | Page 4

EVENTS REMEMBER WHEN... Those were the days. When we used to actually meet people, shake hands, discuss local issues and network over a cuppa and a sandwich. It seems such a long time ago now, but just three weeks before lockdown on March 23, we held the official launch of This Is Tees Valley – our new national publication – in front of a packed 300-plus audience in the newly-opened conferencing facility at Teesside International Airport. A lot has changed in the four months since, with remote meetings and networking – via online facilities like Zoom and Teams – becoming the so-called ‘new normal’. At Tees Business, we’re already adapting. We’ve announced exciting plans to hold the inaugural Tees Tech Awards virtually. We still plan to have a small number of people in attendance, but we’ll be beaming the event live via social media. You can read more about that on pages 18-19. Before then, however, we have replaced what used to be the Tees Business Leaders panel – which would coincide with the launch of every issue of Tees Business – with a weekly debate on Facebook Live involving three leading business personalities, discussing various subjects with my co-editor Dave Allan. Online discussions are here to stay and it’s something we’ve certainly embraced at Tees Business. But we hope the old-fashioned person-toperson events will make a slow return and we can get back to enjoying large gatherings like we did back in February. In the meantime, let’s all try to keep Talking Up Teesside. Martin Walker Co-editor, Tees Business 4 | Tees Business