Celebrating Financial Freedom with EO Day

Back in 2018, The 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan used EO Day 2018 to announce its financial freedom. Here, our EO Day 24 sponsor relives a special day that will forever remain as a milestone moment for the business. 

Image: CWP celebrating financial freedom on EO Day 2018

On Friday 29th June 2018, all employee owners of The 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan (CWP) gathered for EO Day. But this wasn’t just the usual celebration of our employee ownership as we’d soon find out. 

Chris McDermott, our CEO and chair of the eoa, kicked off the day with a quick recap of the last six months, and what an incredible year we had!  

He promised us that we were so close to financial freedom, we just had to be patient.  

But, after lunch and announcements about our Stakeholder Recognition Award, Chris surprised us all. 

He announced that were now in fact financially free. Streams of gold confetti exploded above us to mark this historic day in CWP history.  

To commemorate this special moment, the first sachet to come off the production line that day - Leek and Potato Soup – was placed inside a glass display case to be presented in the reception of the warehouse we’d all gathered that morning.  

It’s still on display and will continue to serve as a constant reminder of that incredible occasion.  

Everyone’s a Winner!

It was then the bit we had all been waiting for – the raffle draw to win £1500. 

We watched a video montage of people throughout the business saying what they would do if they won £1,500.  

But when Chris and Tyrone, our HR Director, took to the stage to announce the winner as E. Body only silence and confusion filled the room. 

E. Body? Who was that? 

A few more seconds of confusion passed before we all realised that the raffle winner was… everyone!  

That’s right, every CWP employee owner received £1,500 to celebrate our financial freedom. 

It was an amazing EO Day which we won’t be forgetting any time soon. 

But we bet you’re wondering what we spent our money on. Keep on reading to find out! 

So, What Did You Do With the Money?

"EO Day in 2018 was incredible. I had only been working at Cambridge Weight Plan, as it was known then, for a few months and I was blown away that we had all just been given £1,500. As soon as I received it, I booked a holiday to Vietnam. It was an unforgettable trip which I wouldn't have booked had we not been given this generous lump sum of money.' 

• Annie  

"I treated myself and my partner to a last minute to holiday Cyprus."  

• Emma  

"I split the money between my children. It was so nice to treat them and give them a nice little surprise.'  

• Carole 

Making the Most of EO Day

In the five years since, we’ve used EO Day as a vibrant opportunity to share important company updates and recognise stakeholders. 

We always have a delicious lunch afterwards from a selection of burgers, fish and chips, pizzas, toasties, and ice cream vans. 

Each EO Day is an opportunity to celebrate and recognise stakeholders by announcing our ‘Stakeholder of the Year’.  

It’s voted by our recognition committee out of a pool of stakeholders who’ve been nominated throughout yeah as they demonstrate our company values (Connected, Real, Brave, Proud).  

We also recognise new starters to the business by presenting them with a certificate from Chris.  

Another way we celebrate and recognise stakeholders is by allowing them to nominate fellow stakeholders who’ve provided outstanding support, surpassed expectations in their roles, or spread cheer over the last year.  

The nominated stakeholders are then entered into a draw to win a prize. When we pull out the winners, we read their nominations, and it creates a real feel-good vibe to the day. 

#ProudlyEO

There are only a few weeks until this year’s EO Day (Friday 21 June). But there’s still time to organise something special and show the world how you’re #ProudlyEO. 

You can check out CWP’s previous blog for some brilliant ways to get involved. 

You can also head on over to the dedicated EO Day page.