Oury Clark holds an annual event in memory of one of our partners who sadly passed away in 2015, Toby Smith.
Toby Smith died on the 21st July 2015 at the age of 33 of cancer. It’s hard to explain what a deep and profound impact the loss of Toby has had on this firm.
He was such an exceptional person, with incredible positivity and love of people. He changed and effected so many people for the better in this firm. Toby was an exceptional person, radiating positivity and inspiring those around him to do the same. His influence uplifted countless individuals here, forming close bonds across the firm. As the son of a Senior Partner and the husband of another Partner he trained with, Toby’s presence touched many deeply.
As you can imagine, in a family business like ours, his loss deeply affected our collective spirit, and it has taken time for us to regroup and find a way to honour him.
What became clear was a deep wish to keep his spirit in the firm alive. Hence The Toby Smith Awards were established.
The inaugural event was held on the 24th August 2017 at the Queen’s Eyot in Bray.
This event was a celebration of Toby’s life and as part of this, the company decided to create an award for a member of staff who best represented Toby’s Values – his integrity, positivity, incredible spirit of comradery and hard work.
Nominations were made by all staff members and everyone within the firm was eligible to be nominated.
The awards event took place on a beautiful evening along the River Thames. A key highlight was the best-of-three dragon boat race between rival teams, ‘Team Oury’ and ‘Team Smith,’ with Team Oury emerging victorious this year—a title sure to be fiercely contested in the future! While many felt Team Smith might take the win, one wonders if Toby’s playful spirit tipped the balance just to tease his dad. The festivities also included an Oury Clark Bake Off and lively egg-and-spoon races.
The culmination of the evening were the Awards themselves – not only the Toby Smith Award, but a number of different awards were also bestowed upon staff members for various accolades (from ‘best dressed’ to ‘most on time’– the list goes on).
The Toby Smith Award was narrowed down to 11 Oury Clark members and was deservedly won by Paul Pleace. With the firm since 1974, Paul has been instrumental in training our trainee-chartered accountants and is always available to support all staff. His kindness, patience, and warmth have made him beloved by everyone here.
The evening concluded with drinks and dancing, capping off a wonderful celebration.
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