Elizabeth Richardson was the very first person to become a Poppies’ Franchisee and she has successfully owned and managed Poppies of Durham since 1984.

A close friend and one-time neighbour of Sue Rorstad, the founder of Poppies, Elizabeth became our “Golden Girl” – a living exponent  and demonstration of the success of the Poppies’ methods.

A former teacher with no previous business experience, Elizabeth espoused the core values of Poppies – a quality service based upon the creation of secure, permanent and flexible jobs for local people.

Times have changed considerably over the last  30 years. Although our staff continue to look after the homes and precious possessions of our clients they are an increasingly vital point of contact as fewer and fewer of our clients have family close by for one reason or another.

Elizabeth has been an exemplar to other Poppies outlets – helping other Franchisees establish a culture where staff are respected and valued.

Whilst encouraging all her staff to provide a conscientious and reliable service Elizabeth made sure that even though they often worked alone,  everyone felt part of the Poppie’s  family.

We are all sad to see her leave, and wish her a happy and healthy life in a well-deserved retirement.

NEXT MONTH

We will introduce you to Nicola Bowron the new person at the helm

Categorised in:

This post was written by