PAM HODGETTS is corporate partnerships manager at the Midlands Air Ambulance charity. She has been at the Cosford-based organisation for five years.
WHAT DOES YOUR JOB INVOLVE? My role is to lead a team of four, giving them the tools to go out and build impactful and mutually beneficial business partnerships across the six counties we care for.
HOW IS YOUR JOB IMPACTED BY FLUCTUATIONS IN THE ECONOMY? We are no different to any other industry when it comes to environmental and economic factors. Corporate fundraising was impacted greatly during the pandemic, while individual giving saw an uplift due to people being unable to go out socialising. This has switched now; corporate is slowly growing, while we are now conscious of how much we ask of individuals due to the cost-of-living crisis.
WHAT’S YOUR VIEW ON THE CHANGE OF GOVERNMENT FOR YOUR JOB? It will not have a huge impact on my role directly, and is unlikely to make any difference to the way any of the Air Ambulance services in the UK are funded. From a personal perspective, I would hope the change will help increase the amount of money in the population’s pocket, reducing the amount of child poverty the county is seeing and – equally importantly – see investment into the NHS service. 
HOW DO YOU SEE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE – AN OPPORTUNITY, THREAT, OR BIT OF BOTH? As a woman of a certain age, I am still getting my head around AI; it fascinates and terrifies me in equal measure. I can see so many positives for how it can make the working world more productive, but as someone that builds relationships for a living, I really value the impact of human interactions.
HOW DO YOU HOPE YOUR COLLEAGUES WOULD DESCRIBE YOU? In my younger days, I probably spent too much time obsessing about what others thought about me. I now realise it is just wasted energy and a form of procrastination. I try to be authentic, thoughtful, honest, professional, and occasionally funny… all I can do is hope that is what people see.
YOUR GREATEST STRENGTH IN THE WORKPLACE? Resilience and creativity. Ironically, resilience was something I felt I was always lacking in my youth, but it is one skill that really does come with age. Life will knock you down, and you will always have to dig deep to find a way back up. Fundraising takes a lot of resilience,.
BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN YOUR JOB? For anyone working for a charity it is getting an audience. There are so many good causes out there and companies are inundated with requests for support. Our greatest challenge is to find the USP that gets us a seat at the table.
YOUR PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENTS? Making the decision to switch from working in sport to working in the third sector. I had to start at the bottom of the ladder with a part time admin job, but I gave myself five years to become a fundraising manager. Thanks to MAAC taking a chance on me, I achieved my goal with a couple of months to spare. In my personal life my proudest achievement was watching my two sons graduate with first class degrees.
PET HATES? I guess I hate that all the things I enjoy eating and drinking are bad for me!
IF YOU COULD GO BACK AND GIVE YOUR YOUNGER SELF SOME WISE ADVICE, WHAT WOULD IT BE? This is controversial – I know if I had applied myself more and followed a set career path I would have a more comfortable life, but I also would have missed out on one hell of a ride! The one thing I would do differently is take the time to understand me, my values, and realise that it is OK that some people will not like you because of them.
HOW DO YOU RELAX AWAY FROM WORK? I love being in nature, gardening and walking with my dog. I have recently started to try to paint again – I have an A-level in art but hadn’t picked up a brush in years.
FAVOURITE THING ABOUT SHROPSHIRE? I love the countryside across the region and community ethos, especially within the business community.
SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM OF CHOICE? LinkedIn is my biggest tool in my role, however on a personal level I am old so it would be Facebook – but I do love a bit of Instagram too, though my wall is mostly images of my dog or sunrises.
FAVOURITE MOVIE? Far too many to choose from! Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Love Actually through to Con Air and Pulp Fiction. My go-to film if I need a giggle is Hot Fuzz, but if I’m honest, I would have to say a short film my son worked on at university called “The Cabin Below The Diamond Sky” just because it makes me proud.
EARLY BIRD, OR NIGHT OWL? Definitely early bird! I love sunrise, thedawn chorus and the peace of early mornings.
DREAM DINNER PARTY GUESTS, DEAD OR ALIVE? My dad – I’d love him to see how well the boys and I are doing – and maybe Ryan Reynolds, because let’s be honest who wouldn’t want to sit across a table from Deadpool?
TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT YOU THAT MOST PEOPLE PROBABLY WOULDN’T KNOW. I once travelled 250kms across the Arctic by dog sledge to raise money for the Birmingham Children’s Hospice.
AND FINALLY . . . WHAT DOES THE NEXT 12 MONTHS HAVE IN STORE FOR YOU? A wedding, and a lot of hard work and fun to keep MAAC saving lives.
Pictured: Pam Hodgetts
