Tom Clements, president of the National Outdoor Event Association and Director of Specialized Security was awarded the E Awards ‘Outstanding Contribution to the Industry Award’ when they were held at the o2 Academy Edinburgh on 27th April.

The award follows on from another successful E Awards last week, which Tom was unable to attend in person. Instead, the award was given to him at his office in Livingston by Judith Wilson, founder of EVENTIT. Judith commented: “Tom has always been one of the most recognised and influential faces in the industry, but we really wanted to reflect the incredible job he did over the pandemic. His tireless work with NOEA, fighting for the event community, and the incredible achievements they made on behalf of us all, underline how lucky we are to have people like him. Tom is passionate, informed, and understands this industry and its value. We’re delighted to give him this award.”

Despite having decades of experience in the industry, working with events from Glastonbury and Reading and many other festivals and sporting events, the award judges wanted to focus on Tom’s monumental impact over the last few years, and his vision for the industry’s survival and progression through the pandemic. Both in his day-to-day job and through his commitments on many focus groups including the Scottish Event Industry Advisory Group, Tom remains a fierce advocate for events, a protector of event businesses, and an innovator in the way they acted then, and need to react now.

“Despite all that the industry was facing during the last few horrible years, Tom looked to the future, focusing on staff and talent retention, and building back a stronger, more robust industry,” added Judith.

Equally, within his role at Specialized Security, Tom has been influential as one of the key figures behind the Event Safety Guide and Sports Ground Guide, working with the Health & Safety Executive. He has shown commitment and support for the Disability Events Guide and the Purple Guide and is a speaker on the industry at a number of universities and colleges.

Today, Tom is the President of NOEA and his vision behind the association’s meteoric rise and influence through the pandemic, his calmness under pressure, as well as his commitment to Build Back a Better, stronger industry, are all reasons why is now recognised as one of the outstanding contributors to the industry.

“I am absolutely delighted to be recognised for this ‘Outstanding Contribution’ award, I’m very humbled that the industry has held me in such high esteem, and I am totally grateful,” commented Tom. “I’m surrounded by great people, both here at Specialized Security and through NOEA. This industry means a lot to me and to see it threatened has been one of the toughest periods in my career, I believe as an industry we stood up to that challenge and are building back something very special as a result.”