Lifetime Achievement Award

The final presentation of the evening was the Lifetime Achievement Award. This year it was given to Ronnie Mitchell who first entered the cab trade in 1948. He drove a cab until 1962 when he decided to further his involvement in the trade, going into business as M & M Taxis renting and repairing cabs. In 1969 he sold his interest in the Company but because of the excellent reputation he had gained for fairness and good old fashioned customer care, there was a constant call from the cab trade for him to return to business. This he duly did and Stables Taxis was born. This was very much a family business with his beloved wife Edna and subsequently his two sons becoming an integral part. His interests were not just confined to business and he was involved in the Committee of the Albany Charity at its inception, as well as the War Veterans Charity. Ronnie had joined the Fellowship of Hackney Carriage Drivers in 1991 where he became an active participant in all of its activities, eventually reaching Court and Committee level as well as taking an active role in the annual Magical Taxi Tour as a driver. He has always been a keen campaigner for the relief of hardship for both those in and out of the trade, making it truly apt that he was given this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award. There was a great round of applause as Ronnie accepted his Award.