Over the years Anthony Harris has helped the ESU in more ways than one could ever imagine – from filming the finals of our competitions to laying cables in Dartmouth House. Here, he tells consultant editor Natasha Goodfellow why we’re a cause so close to his heart
When the ESU bit the bullet and brought its internet connectivity into the modern era around 2013, Anthony spent the weekend camping out at Dartmouth House, running the necessary cables and telephone wires under the floors. As well as acting as our webmaster for several years, he also helped design parts of our early website. He sat for many years on the public speaking committee, where, among other things he co-wrote and then contributed funds to publish a training manual with long-standing ESU member and trustee Roger Tilbury.
He has filmed and livestreamed pretty much every one of our competition grand finals since 2022 and, most astoundingly of all, has judged every single heat of the Brighton branch public speaking competition since 1991 (that’s nearly 35 years!), often driving a small group of fellow members to support the teams at the regional finals, wherever they happened to be.
‘I just enjoy helping out,’ says Anthony, ‘I’m a very hands-on person but ultimately, what I really love is seeing the young people grow in confidence, whether that’s with Performing Shakespeare, the PSC or the Mace. Of course, you want them do it really well, but the fact that they can do it at all is pretty amazing, and very rewarding to watch.’
He has a particular soft-spot for the IPSC. ‘Seeing the students from all over the world bonding is so moving,’ he says. ‘It epitomises everything we do: speaking skills, confidence and international understanding – I think it’s brilliant.’ Anthony has experienced the confidence boost first-hand, having participated in the ESU’s Public Speaking Competition himself as a student. ‘Obviously I was nervous beforehand, but I discovered I had a bit of a talent for it and I liked the idea of being good at something that most people are terrified of. I was a write-off when it came to cricket and rugby, so finding something that I could represent my school at was a real source of satisfaction too.’
Anthony’s job has also sparked him to engage with the ESU in another way – through the firm’s Give-As-You-Earn scheme. Such schemes enable employees to save in a tax-efficient way (ie contributions are taken from your salary before tax), and Anthony’s ‘pot’ was then further boosted by the company’s donation[1]matching initiative. ‘Together, these schemes about trebled what I put in,’ he says, ‘which obviously made it far more worthwhile.’
Most generously, considering all he has already done for us, Anthony is also planning to leave the ESU a gift in his will, ‘but hopefully you won’t get it anytime soon,’ he quips. ‘I’m very privileged to have been able to contribute in so many different ways over the years. I want the ESU to succeed and so I’ll help in whatever way I can – and if I have some money to leave, then, for me, there’s nowhere better.’
