L-R: Lynsey Power, Snickers Workwear (sponsor) and Jimmy Whan (Lifetime Achievement Award).
WINNER: Lifetime Achievement Award JIMMY WHAN KINDLY SPONSORED BY: HULTAFORS/SNICKERS WORKWEAR
A glass-half-full man with a wide circle of friends, Jimmy Whan has brought passion, commitment and encouragement to everything he does. Born in Belfast in 1936, Jimmy was evacuated to Armagh during the Blitz and grew up on a small farm. Leaving school aged 18, he started his first job the next day at a local motor parts business and two years later he joined George Angus & Co - a wise decision setting up his future career path. Initially based in Belfast, he moved to Dublin in 1960 with his wife Maura to manage the Dublin depot for George Angus, calling on customers ranging from local fire brigades to the likes of Guinness and Cement Roadstone to sell fire protection equipment.
A natural salesman, he spotted a gap in the market and set up his own business in 1967 with two partners. The company, selling fire extinguishers and hose reels, was known as Fire Fighting Products, and was later renamed Champion Fire Defence. Driving around Ireland, Jimmy’s talent as a sales director made Champion a great success. Franchise agreements with AFA-Minerva and Autronica followed with the company eventually becoming the market leader, employing 50 people. GAA has played an important role in Jimmy’s life. He made his county debut as a minor in 1953. He won four Railway Cup medals with Ulster and in 1963 he received a Cú Chulainn Award, the forerunner to the GAA GPA All Stars
Awards. He played with Civil Service Football Club in Dublin, travelling to the US on multiple occasions. GAA also remained at the fore when he retired from Champion in 1995 but continued to work as a consultant for Siemens, a position which included ensuring their corporate box at Croke Park was filled with clients. Well respected across the sector, he co-founded the Electrical Manufacturers and Distributors Association and the Irish Electrical Benevolent Association. In June 2014, he organised a gathering of past employees of Champion to remember the good old days and hopefully this award in June 2024 will also bring back great memories of his years spent working in the industry.
ELECTEX DUBLIN: REGISTER TO ATTEND AT WWW.BEPEX.IE
46 | IRELAND’S ELECTRICAL MAGAZINE
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