Wardale Williams opticians is delighted to welcome experienced optical assistant Michael Parker to its highly skillled team.

Michael, 25, joins Wardale William, which has practices in Sudbury, Halstead and Haverhill, from Chelsea’s Auerbach and Steele.

Previously, Michael completed his optical apprenticeship with Boots Opticians before becoming assitant manager at Stratford Westfield Boots.

He said: “I am delighted to be joining such an established company and I am happy to be working at a welcoming, friendly and local independent practice. I have aleady been impressed by the knowledge, experitse and professionalism of my new colleagues and I look forwared to learning from them.”

Michael who lives in Sudbury, will be dividing his time between the company’s Sudbury and Halstead practices. He is also due to start an ophthalmic dispensing course which once completed will allow him to dispense paediatic spectacles and deal with the partially sighted and blind.

Practice manager at Sudbury Amanda Skinner said: “Michael has all the credentials to be a fabulous asset to Wardale Williams and we are delighted to welcome him to the team. We already have fantastic teams in place in both Sudbury and Halstead and Michael coming on board gives us another dimension..”

::Jason Bigg has joined the expanding team at Dawsonrentals | vans. Jason, area sales manager for Ipswich, recently joined the company and aims to expand the client portfolio in Ipswich and the surrounding areas – a goal he is already well on his way to achieving.

Managing director Gareth Jones said: “It is great to see new team members quickly finding their feet and establishing new client relationships.

“Jason has certainly made an impact since joining the company and is a reflection of the high calibre talent we are committed to hiring. Equally, it is a pleasure to welcome A2O to our business and I look forward to seeing them work closely with the Ipswich team over the next two years.”

::Commercial property lawyer Oliver Ray will be heading up the eight-strong Woodbridge office of Gotelee solicitors after the retirement of Stephen Leach.

Oliver is a partner who specialises in commercial property and deals mainly with leases, freehold and leasehold sales and purchases, auctions, development and investment.

“I am looking forward to building on the impressive reputation that the Woodbridge office currently enjoys,” he said. “This is an exciting move for me personally and I will relish the opportunity to get to know the businesses and people in and around the Woodbridge and Suffolk Coastal market.”

Chief executive Alistair Lang said: “Oliver will bring a new face to the local Woodbridge property community. He has years of experience working with property developers and property investors to offer in the Woodbridge market place. This role is key to Gotelee’s strategy to build on the existing Woodbridge office and I am delighted we have someone of Olly’s calibre to take on the challenge.”

::Kevin Borein has celebrated 25 years at East Anglian builders’ merchant Ridgeons.

Kevin, a sales representative in the Kelvedon and Colchester area, was described as a well-respected team player, with strong industry knowledge and communication skills at the firm’s annual 25 Club awards in Cambridge.

Kevin was joined by existing members and their guests to celebrate their career milestones.

Over the years, Kevin has built up excellent relationships with customers, suppliers and colleagues, making him an indispensible member of the Ridgeons team, the company said.

Other notable career milestones were reached by Phil Stearn, Phil Bryant and Greg Benson, all of whom celebrated 35 years of service.

25 Club vice president Gordon Ridgeon said: “On behalf of all of the Ridgeon family, I am proud to congratulate Kevin for his continued, dedicated service throughout the past 25 years. He is a valued, loyal employee who goes above and beyond in his role. It’s great to see him, as well as so many other employees reaching big milestones within their careers at Ridgeons. I look forward to seeing many more employees joining the 25 Club in the upcoming years.”

::Amanda Timcke is turning to education in her latest role at Essex law firm Birkett Long.

The associate solicitor is branching out from her role as a specialist in the commercial property division of the firm to handle legal matters in the education sector as the team leader.

Amanda, who qualified as a solicitor 13 years ago, has a strong background in education, and she volunteers as a governor at a Suffolk primary school. She is also education and training officer at the Suffolk and North Essex Law Society.

“Schools face mounting challenges these days including funding and resources, results-driven competition and new technologies,” she said.

“Many are deciding to opt for academy status, which brings new legal issues that governors and staff alike need advice on.

“Most of the work I and my department get involved in surrounds evolving changes in the Department for Education guidance from complex property and corporate ownership structures that all require tight decision-making timeframes and specialist advice.”

::Liz Brownsell has joined Ipswich-based law firm Birketts as a senior associate in the corporate services division and will specialise in charities, education and social enterprise.

She is a member of the Charity Law Association and has had an active interest in the development of the sector for several years. She has broad experience of a range of non-contentious matters affecting charities, including setting up and incorporation, mergers, corporate structuring and restructuring. Her far-reaching sector knowledge also extends to governance, commercial arrangements and contracts, trading and charity retail. In addition, Liz deals with matters involving the Charity Commission (including investigations), fundraising, releasing permanent endowment and other restricted funds, and general charity law.

Liz said: “I’m delighted to be joining this successful team and look forward to helping to take Birketts’ Charities and Social Enterprise offering forward.”

Sara Sayer, head of the charities and social enterprise team, said: “Liz’s appointment is a significant fillip to our charities and not-for-profit service. Liz leads on non-contentious work within the firm-wide charities and social enterprise team. As well as having extensive charity sector experience, Liz has specific expertise advising on academy conversions and providing post-conversion support: an area that she will develop at Birketts.”

Liz is based at the firm’s Ipswich office but also supports colleagues across Birketts’ offices in Cambridge, Chelmsford, and Norwich.