The Scottish & Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers’ Federation (SNIPEF) has announced that the incoming President for 2015/16 is John Leonard of Belfast.

At the Annual General Meeting held last month, the principal trade association representing the interests of plumbing and heating businesses based in Scotland and Northern Ireland also elected the following office bearers:

President: John Leonard, Belfast

Vice President: Brian Warrender, Inverbervie

Junior Vice President: Gerry Woods, Glasgow

Immediate Past President: Alwyn Webster, Aberdeen

Mr Leonard is the fourth National President from Northern Ireland. His father, Joe, was SNIPEF President in 1996/97 and was present at the AGM to see his son being installed. This is only the second time in the history of SNIPEF that a son has followed his father in taking the national presidency.

John Leonard said: “The past year has seen considerable change within SNIPEF at what has been a challenging time. There have been a number of positive results of these changes including an increase in membership and greater participation in some of the schemes and services that have been arranged for our members. However, there is no room for complacency and…we need to ensure national policy reflects the needs of our membership. I look forward to playing my part in this.”