A concert fan has been honoured for creating a coach scheme which helped generate over £200,000 of seat sales.
Former Southwell U3A Chairman, Roger Bennett, and his wife, Chris, have been honoured by Nottingham’s Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall venue in recognition of their outstanding achievements over the past ten years.
The pair have been presented with named plaques for their regular seats as well as certificates noting their achievement.
Roger and Chris have been attending concerts at the venue since 1994 — and in 2013 the management of the Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall was seeking volunteers to operate coach schemes.
At the same time, Roger recognised a need for transport for members of Southwell U3A who wanted to attend concerts, but didn’t like driving at night into Nottingham.
Roger formed a U3A interest group to solve this issue, and the rest is history.
Those on the coach trips receive a ticket discount, so for the normal cost of a seat U3A members effectively benefit from free travel to and from Southwell.
As well as providing a great deal of pleasure for many, Roger’s work has made a major contribution to the venue’s revenue — over £200,000 worth of seat sales have been generated from just two coach schemes, of which Roger’s is one.
