When midnight rang in 2023, I was with my family at home with a glass of fizz, and I did what I always do – wonder what this next 365 days would bring. Always one to hope and dream, I had several projects that were bubbling away, and I hoped they would come to fruition.
Faversham Monopoly – it’s here!
It’s safe to say – Faversham Monopoly was a major highlight for me. I finally saw it go from a dream, to something tangible that the community are now enjoying with their own families, and I couldn’t be prouder, not only of myself, but of the team around me who helped make it happen, and more importantly, supported me along the way.
The games were delivered early in September, meaning I worked all but two weekends all the way up to Christmas. 90% of the games are now sold, plus the lovely mugs we produced alongside!
Faversham Monopoly – The Book
That’s right! The game will gracefully be soon accompanied with the Making of Faversham Monopoly book – and the profits will be passed on to local charities.
So what about the rest of my year? It’s safe to say, not a month went by where something exciting wasn’t happening.
2023 in Full!
January The start of the year saw me appearing on Estate Agency X’s podcast and video Channel with Chris from Harrisons. This really allowed us to collaborate on subjects that are important to us, such as marketing strategies and using technology to increase efficiencies within the housing sector.
February – February took an even more fun turn, as the Marketing Mutt wanted a project of her own, so she got to help with the research an with the creation of Sittingbourne’s own Dog Directory – which you can find here.
March was a big month for meaningful celebrations, seeing Harrisons Estate Agents raising £20,000 for Holding on Letting Go since June 2020. This was an amazing milestone and achievement, because that money is going towards helping support families who are grieving, and it means the world to Harrisons to know they are making that difference. It was also hugely important to me, as I have been working with this charity since 2017 and see first hand what a difference they make to grieving children and their families. Of course, who better to accompany us on any celebration other than Rupert the miniature Shetland Pony, who is a fundraiser for Holding on Letting go in his own right.
April – Ah yes – the month I knew Faversham Monopoly had completed one year after launching the project. It’s funny how it went full circle almost to the day, having raised over £60,000 and selling all of the sponsorship opportunities, for this once in a lifetime opportunity to be part of this fantastic project. During all of this excitement, I also ran two Easter promotions, which was a lot of fun. Did I pause for a little chocolate? You bet!
May – Glorious May meant spring was well and truly blooming, as were Faversham Monopoly’s design work and new website. I started ramping up the launch, as I began a market stall to attract pre orders. This felt like a major turning point as I got to meet people in the street regularly and hear their excitement about the finishing project. I also ran raffles in aid of Faversham Food bank and Faversham Umbrella, raising money to support them both, as well as making coronation badges to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III
June – Midsummer saw me sponsoring The Arden Theatre Race Night as well as running a Faversham Monopoly Raffle in aid of Faversham Umbrella and Faversham Food Bank. I launched this website which felt like a new beginning for me, and the preorders for Faversham Monopoly were beginning to come thick and fast, much faster than predicted, Faversham Monopoly was proving to be very popular indeed.
I cannot forget the personal moment of pride, as I was shortlisted for Business Woman of the year by Business Awards Canterbury for the second year running. It’s always a bit of an ‘outer body experience’ for me to be recognised this way, but it was an incredible highlight to the year.
July – I was completely honoured to attend a charity ‘Thank You’ event with Holding on Letting Go in the beautiful College Gardens in Westminster hosted by an awesome company called Team Lewis. I got a little starstruck to see the various famous faces around me, but it was an event that was dear to my heart as it was celebrating so many worthy causes.
August – Faversham Faces is a pop up street art exhibition that I arranged and promoted which celebrated some of the well known people of this beautiful town. I cannot tell you how talented our local artists are, and how well received the exhibition was, and I was thrilled to be a part of it.
I published a walk to take in the sights that appear on the Faversham Monopoly Board, which many people loved to do – and what a glorious time of the year to get out and about walking the real streets, before the Monopoly versions became available! August also saw me celebrate a fantastic 10 years of running the Memories of Faversham Facebook group – which has led to many people coming together, reminiscing about the history of our market town and renewing old friendships.
September – I have named September ‘Multiple Markets Month!’ Honestly – it was a joy to be there so regularly, and the entire month flashed by before my very eyes, it went that quickly. I received 2500 Faversham Monopoly games on 16 pallets which were fun to store with just two days notice, but thanks to Candy Carriers and a bit of rejogging at Creek Creative we mad it work.
October – The nights firmly drawing in saw a seasonal injection of frightening fun blended with genuine curiosity as I joined the Annual Ghost Walk in support of Radio Faversham. Monopoly was now in full swing as we’d processed almost 1,800 orders with the help of the Little Legs Team (who had their busiest month ever delivering leaflets from end of September through to end of October). They are such a hardworking group of kids, and I am forever immensely proud of their stamina! The media started to show an interest too as I was invited to talk about Faversham Monopoly Radio Kent and twice on KMTV, so the message really felt as though it was getting out there.
November – As the year began to draw to a close, I was interviewed as a finalist for Business Woman of the year. This interview was an audible breakdown of my accomplishments, and I felt both happy and surprised that so many of my goals had been achieved. There were, of course, more markets and processing orders for Faversham Monopoly, and we went one step further by also creating Monopoly mugs. These went down a treat with the community.
December – Christmas promotions galore came to me in December, including the lovely Write to Santa with Harrisons promotion, which was very well received! So many children got involved, and it was heartwarming to see their excited faces when they got their replies. They also had a Beautiful Christmas Window designed, which spread cheer on the high street. I donated hampers to various charities, created branded wrapping paper to give a warm and festive Christmas feel. The year felt complete with my annual trip out with Rupert the Christmas Pony in aid of Holding on Letting Go.
Happy Doesn’t Come Close
I am so delighted to see so many families come together and play Faversham Monopoly over the festive season, and hearing all your stories of jail, advancing to Go, and most importantly who won!
What a year it has been! I can only hope 2024 continues in the same direction, and brings our town closer together than ever.
Happy New Year! and thank you for all of your support
