Volunteer newsletter August 2026
Welcome to the August update, there has already been so much going on in 2026 and still more to come, here are some of the highlights
Give Gain Grow
Recognising and celebrating our amazing volunteers, during the last quarter we have had several opportunities to spotlight the incredible achievements of the global volunteer community during Volunteer Week and the CIPS Volunteer Awards.
During Volunteer Week we recognised 35 volunteers who reached long service milestones equating to an incredible 280 years of volunteering. Details of the recipients on the 2026 roll of honour can be found here, congratulations and a heartfelt thank you to you all.
In July we were delighted to hold our second UK & Europe Volunteer Awards and the inaugural Awards for Australia & New Zealand, plus a Branch of the Year Award in Asia. Congratulations again to the nominees, highly commended and winners.
Volunteer awards winners
Outstanding Contribution
- UK & Europe Winner – Lisa Wojtak FCIPS
- Australia & New Zealand Winners – Tim Richter MCIPS & Peter Morichovitis FCIPS
- UK & Europe Highly Commended – Anita Gibbs FCIPS, Robert Broad FCIPS, Ricky Wallis FCIPS
Volunteer of the Year
- UK & Europe Winner - Lucie Fierdehaiche Mahéas MCIPS
- Australia & New Zealand Winner - Kendall Richardson FCIPS
- UK & Europe Highly Commended - Diamond Fianka FCIPS
Community Champion
- UK & Europe Winner – Neil Clark MCIPS
- Highly Commended – Krishna Harish MCIPS, Steve Kelly MCIPS, Isatou Cham MCIPS, Majula Jaiteh MCIPS
Branch of the Year
- UK & Europe Winner – East Midlands
- Australia & New Zealand Winner - CIPS Profession Steering Committee (CPSC)
- Asia Winner – Hong Kong
- UK & Europe Highly Commended – Thames Valley
Branch Event of the Year
- UK & Europe Winner – Wolverhampton
- Australia & New Zealand Winner – New South Wales
- UK & Europe Highly Commended – Central London, Birmingham & Coventry and Manchester
Australia & New Zealand
The Australia & New Zealand team also acknowledged the outstanding contributions of Craig Lardner FCIPS for his decades of work as a volunteer and industry leader ahead of his retirement.
The best thing about volunteering? The people you meet.
Fresh from the CIPS Volunteers Awards in July, fellow volunteers Lucie Fierdehaiche and Gaynor Smith met each other again in Birmingham recently, complete with awards in hand! It sparked a laugh, as despite meeting countless times in London since connecting through the CIPS Education Group in 2023, this was their first Midlands catch-up. It's a great reminder that volunteering with CIPS is about so much more than giving your time. It's about being part of a vibrant community, making lasting friendships, and creating experiences that stay with you long after the awards are handed out
Mentoring Circles 2026 that’s a wrap…
A huge thank you to our global FCIPS community who through their dedication and desire to give back, enabled CIPS to offer the largest Mentoring Circles programme to date, 20 Circles across all regions.
Circle topics ranged from 'ESG-Procurement's Superpower!', 'Where do you see yourself in ten years’ time?' and 'Progress through changes & challenges'. The feedback has been hugely positive from both the mentees and mentors, with 100% of mentees saying the sessions were helpful
“An opportunity to share good practice and learn from others. Great opportunity to collaborate and network” – Mentee feedback
“They made me think of procurement as a wider career. It has given me more confidence” – Mentee feedback
“These sessions were amazing. They provided access to highly successful and knowledgeable people who shared their time and expertise” – Mentor feedback
“This was my third mentoring cycle with CIPS, I found it highly rewarding to contribute to the progression of the profession, supporting the development of current and future leaders while strengthening my own connection to the CIPS community” – Mentor feedback
The Great Conversation
Since the launch in May thank you for your engagement and promotion of The Great Conversation. It has been fantastic to see all the Branch Events centred around TGC theme and there have been over 60,000 subscribers to the LinkedIn newsletter The Conversation . There was also an opportunity to combine the annual UK & Europe Branch Chairs Dinner with an in person Great Conversation
Meet The Great Conversation avatar!
The Great Conversation is well underway, and now there's a new way to take part. We created our very own avatar in collaboration with the Inspirational Group to help take the conversation to the next level.
What will supply chains look like in 2050? How will emerging technologies and AI transform the way we work? What innovations will shape more resilient and sustainable supply chains?
These are just some of the topics our avatar Nishal would love to explore with you. You don't need to be a subject matter expert to take part. Whether you're an experienced leader, early in your career, or simply curious about the future of the profession, your perspective matters.
By sharing your thoughts, ideas and experiences, you'll help build a richer picture of what lies ahead for procurement and supply chain, and contribute to a global conversation about shaping the future of our profession.
Ready to take part? Talk to Nishal today and join The Great Conversation.
In other news
- Membership Discount
In June we launched a 35% membership discount in recognition of your volunteer contributions. To date 45 volunteers have accessed the discount. Your promo-code will be included in renewal communications. Please ensure your contact details and preferences are up to date in your MyCIPS - Mentoring Circle spin-off,
Thank you to our Fellows who supported a pilot with the UK Department for Education to mentor a group of School Business Leaders, Jennifer Lovell, Ashley Cooke, Iain Steel, Peter Garnett and Erik Van Kampen - CIPS Denmark Branch launched, and delivered a successful first event
- Education Group
Building awareness of procurement & supply to our youngest audience yet. A group of Year 3 & 4 students (7- to 9-year-olds) had the opportunity to participate in a session with volunteers from our Central London Branch
What’s coming up
- Excellence in Procurement Awards 2026, we are delighted to host 10 volunteers at the event in London on September 10th in recognition of their contributions.
There is still time to join us for an unforgettable evening celebrating the very best in the profession alongside industry peers. Tickets can be purchased via the website
- Engagement opportunities
- Global Volunteer Drop-In’s 17 Sept 13.00 BST, 15 Oct 16.00 BST, 19 Nov 13.00 GMT
- Volunteer Induction 8 Sept 12.00 BST, for all those new volunteers recently onboarded
- UK & Europe Branch Chair Drop-In 24 Sept 12.30 BST, 26 Nov 17.00 GMT
- Upcoming branch events can be found here
And don’t forget………
CIPS Connect community platform is the perfect place for you to share these, and other stories, first hand.
Finally, thank you for everything you have contributed, you are amazing and we really appreciate you!
CIPS Membership Team
Contact us please get in touch if you have any questions or suggestions for our next newsletter, we are always happy to hear from you. Please email branchevents@cips.org