PINNACLE MAN MAKES IT TO THE TOP FOR CHARITY CLIMB

 Heath Freeman, managing director of leading crewing firm Pinnacle Crew, more than lived up to his company’s name in August, by taking part in a charity fundraising triathlon that included climbing the 1,085-metres to the peak of Mount Snowdon.

As part of a two-man team, Freeman raised £1,400 money for Pinnacle’s adopted charity - Naomi House Children’s Hospice - by first swimming the 12-miles length of Lake Windermere in five-and-a-half hours on Friday, August 13.  Then, after a short stop for lunch, it was on the road to cycle 50 miles to North Preston, where the team spent the night.

By 7.30 a.m. the following day, they had begun cycling again, this time completing 100 miles to Wales.

Sunday, August 14 saw a further cycle ride of 30 miles to Mt Snowdon, where the final element was the climb to the pinnacle of the mountain and down again, finishing at 3.30 p.m.

Freeman, who was part of a relay team that swam the Channel in the fastest time in 2009, said of his latest successful challenge:

“It was a very gruelling but satisfying undertaking, and to have raised so much money for a very worthwhile cause made it even more gratifying.”

Sponsorship of Heath is still welcome, or donations may be made to Naomi House Children’s Hospice by going to www.justgiving.com/pinnacle-3-peak-cyclechallenge

NEW SENIOR APPOINTMENTS AT PINNACLE

Leading crewing company, Pinnacle Crew, has announced two new senior management appointments.

Adam Sheppard

Adam Sheppard, who has been with the company for four years, is promoted to the role of operations manager.  He was previously crew co-ordinator responsible for all front office activities including crew booking, tendering, quotations and client liaison.

Stuart Thomson

Taking Sheppard’s role as crew co-ordinator is Stuart Thomson who joins the company from Affinity Crew where he was crew chief.  With seven years’ experience in the industry, Thomson has worked on major events and contracts such as 02.

Commenting on these new appointments, Pinnacle’s managing director Heath Freeman says:

“Both Adam and Stuart have a wealth of experience in the crewing and live events industries, and I know that they will make a major contribution both to the growth of our company and to the quality service we offer clients.”

PINNACLE MAN AT PEAK OF FITNESS FOR CHARITY CLIMB

Heath Freeman, managing director of leading crewing firm Pinnacle Crew, is more than living up to his company’s name this summer.  He is taking part in a charity fundraising triathlon that includes climbing to the 1,085-metre high peak of Mount Snowdon.

As part of a two-man team, Freeman aims to raise money in August for Pinnacle’s adopted charity - Naomi House Children’s Hospice - by first swimming the 12-miles length of Lake Windermere, then cycling 180 miles from the Lake District to Mt Snowdon.  The final element will be the climb to the pinnacle of the mountain.

Freeman, who was part of a relay team that swam the Channel in the fastest time in 2009, is now training for his new challenge.  As he says:

“The training is constant, tireless and ongoing.  It includes a rigorous schedule of swimming in the Thames every morning, and cycling every evening.  I will soon be putting on the walking boots to start hiking as part of getting fit for the Mount Snowdon climb.”

Sponsorship of Heath or donations to Naomi House Children’s Hospice may be made by going to www.justgiving.com/pinnacle-3-peak-cyclechallenge

Pinnacle Crew’s managing director, Heath Freeman took a big plunge on September 27 with a Channel Swimming Association accredited swim.

As part of a four-man relay team called The Marlow River Buoys, he swam the English Channel from Dover to Cap Gris Nez near Calais.  The team raised £3000 for two charities - CLIC Sargent (Helping Children with Cancer) and the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution).

The exact date of the swim was not known until the actual day as it depended on currents and weather conditions.

Freeman, who did the last leg of the swim and took the team to its goal of landing on the French coast at Cap Gris Nez, explains:

“We were incredibly lucky as the weather on September 27 was fantastic.

“The distance of the swim is 22-miles as the crow flies, but due to the currents and winds on the day we actually swam 29 miles, completing the crossing in 9 hours and 29 minutes.”

This unofficial time makes the swim the fastest in the last three years.  Once confirmed, and if no other team completes a faster swim in 2009, the team will be presented with an award by the Channel Swimming Association for the Fastest Channel Swim of 2009.

Picture (below) shows Heath Freeman (second right) with his team mates from The Marlow River Buoys.

Press enquiries; please contact:                                                          October 2009

Jonquil Simons, The Simons Partnership

Tel: 07860 466959   email: jonquilsimons@aol.com

With up to 60 personnel working at any one time, Pinnacle Crew recently provided an essential service for the fourth consecutive year towards the smooth running of the five-day Country Living Magazine Christmas Fair, held at the Business Design Centre in Islington.

Central to Pinnacle’s role in the Fair, was its handling of the challenging de-rig. The company had three-and-a-half hours to pull out all 400 exhibitors. This was achieved by having 60 crew on site, divided into teams with four team leaders – an overall co-ordinator in the loading bay and three leaders on each floor. With the team leaders in radio contact, they were able to work together with the show’s production manager and meet new requirements as they arose, moving crew around the venue on demand.

Explains Pinnacle’s managing director Heath Freeman:

“We had to have well-organised crew that remained calm and met the requirements of both the organisers and exhibitors. Key to this was our ability constantly to evaluate the de-rig operation, and be aware that if areas were falling behind schedule, manpower had to be reassigned to those areas. As always, however, we got all of the exhibitors out of the venue in time.”

Paying tribute to Pinnacle, Fiona Abbotts of the Fair’s organising team says:

“Pinnacle Crew always provides us with excellent service on these Fairs. They remain calm and collected throughout the job, and work well both with us as the organisers and with our exhibitors. To see what is involved in the de-rig one would not think it was possible to achieve what Pinnacle does in such a short space of time.”

In addition to the de-rig, Pinnacle worked on the Fair for five days before the opening with crew on hand to assist the organisers and exhibitors to set up the show. This included installing a 25-foot high Christmas tree on the mezzanine level. As Heath Freeman says:

“This is always particularly difficult as we need to take care not to damage either the tree or the venue. Numerous other Christmas trees also have to be brought in and set up. Overall, our work on this show is very varied and our crew need to be on hand, willing and able to get involved in anything that needs to be done.”

This includes laying carpet, setting up the exhibitors’ storage area and helping exhibitors get all their products into the venue and on to their stands.

Pinnacle has been involved with the Country Living Magazine Fairs for the past four years, and has provided crew for four Christmas and four Spring Fairs.

Adds Heath Freeman:

“We really enjoy working with Upper Street Events. The company understands the on-site operation carried out by our crew and the pressures they are under at these Fairs.”

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Press enquiries; please contact:
Jonquil Simons, The Simons Partnership
Tel: 01643 708843 email: jonquilsimons@aol.com

Notes to editors

About Pinnacle
Pinnacle Crew (formerly Pinnicle Solutions) was founded in 2001 by Heath Freeman and Mark Mower following several years experience in the live events industry. They saw a gap in the market for crew who could multi-task and bridge the gap between those crews who purely carry equipment, and technicians. This means that Pinnacle crew are more technically aware than many other crews in the industry. The company also puts a great emphasis on health and safety, ensuring that all their crew are fully trained and familiar with typical scenarios and equipment.

About the Country Living Magazine Christmas Fair
Taking place annually at Business Design Centre in Islington over four days in November, the Country Living Magazine Christmas Fair attracts more than 400 exhibitors from all over the UK showcasing their unique products and providing visitors with the opportunity to do all their Christmas shopping under one roof.

Following the launch of its new corporate identity and re-branding, Pinnacle Crew (formerly Pinnicle Solutions) will be at the Event Show (stand no: 527) to reinforce its position as a dynamic, major and well-established company in the crewing industry.

Visitors to Pinnacle Crew’s stand will be able to see how the re-branding reflects the company’s ability to change with the times, and to discuss how their specific requirements can be met.

As managing director, Heath Freeman explains:

“At Pinnacle we pride ourselves on being flexible.  We are always looking for ways in which we can best fulfil our clients’ needs, and make changes that are beneficial to both parties.”

In this regard, Pinnacle claims it is the only crewing company that has carried out a customer perception survey.  This showed that responding to changing needs and providing experienced crews were important factors to people when making the decision on which crewing company to appoint.

Adds Freeman:

“As well as our on-going training programme that ensures our crews provide a high calibre performance on site, we are also constantly looking at the company as a whole and at ways in which we can improve every facet of our operation.  In this way we believe we can make a real difference to the industry.”

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Press enquiries; please contact:
Jonquil Simons, The Simons Partnership
Tel: 01643 708843   email: jonquilsimons@aol.com

Note to editors
Pinnacle Crew (formerly Pinnicle Solutions) was founded in 2001 by Heath Freeman and Mark Mower following several years experience in the live events industry. They saw a gap in the market for crew who could multi-task and bridge the gap between those crews who purely carry equipment, and technicians. This means that Pinnacle crew are more technically aware than many other crews in the industry. The company also puts a great emphasis on health and safety, ensuring that all their crew are fully trained and familiar with typical scenarios and equipment.   

Leading crewing company Pinnicle Solutions has undergone a major re-brand and name change with the aim of better communicating its core business.

Now known as Pinnacle Crew, the company has a new modernised logo that clarifies the brand and maintains its reputation as an up-to-date supplier of highly trained and qualified crew for the live events industry.

As managing director Heath Freeman explains:

“Crewing is our entire emphasis. We took a decision a long time ago to be solely a crewing company and to concentrate all our efforts in this particular field. This means we are not distracted from what is our true area of expertise, as has seemed to have happened with some of our competitors. We feel being a dedicated crewing company best serves the needs of our clients.”

The change of spelling from Pinnicle to Pinnacle is also part of the company’s intention to offer the best possible service to the industry. It enables easier Internet search for both existing and potential clients, and clearly communicates the company’s position as one of the top crewing operations in the industry.

The new Pinnacle web site may be found at www.pinnaclecrew.co.uk.

The company was founded in 2001 by Heath Freeman and Mark Mower following several years experience in the live events industry. They saw a gap in the market for crew who could multi-task and bridge the gap between those crews who purely carry equipment, and technicians. This means that Pinnacle crew are more technically aware than many other crews in the industry. The company also puts a great emphasis on health and safety, ensuring that all their crew are fully trained and familiar with typical scenarios and equipment.

Picture (above) shows Pinnacle managing director Heath Freeman (centre), financial director Mark Mower (right) and operations manager Mark Sly displaying the company’s new corporate image and logo during a recent sponsored cycle ride to Paris, which raised around £2,000 for the Foundations for the Study of Infant Deaths.

Press enquiries; please contact:
Jonquil Simons, The Simons Partnership
Tel: 01643 708843 email: jonquilsimons@aol.com