I worked for Jon for over a decade. It’s been mentioned by others that he wasn’t a man who suffered fools gladly. It’s also true that he was passionate about achieving Company objectives. He would be first to become involved in a task and always lead his team by example. However it was the totally relaxed and humorous manner in which he could bring a doubting customer completely around to his way of thinking that never ceased to impress me. Utter genius! We spent many, many hours travelling together visiting customers. It was during this time, we had the opportunity to talk about every topic imaginable and I started to gain a real understanding of what made him “tick”. Our conversations often got around to family related matters. It was then that you could see real passion in Jon's eyes. I don’t think I’ve met many men so completely devoted to and utterly proud of their family. I remember having to perform several emergency stops in the car with Jon on-board. We were in Norfolk; I was in my usual “auto-pilot” mode, when Jon suddenly shouted at me to stop. I pulled over and he jumped out of the car and ran to the other side of the road. The elderly lady that Jon had seen trip and fall was shaken but thankfully not badly hurt. She really appreciated the time he spent to help her and make sure she was OK. In contrast, I remember having to stop on the M11 motorway because I couldn’t see for tears of laughter. I had to beg Jon to stop his brilliantly funny monologue and impersonation of a mutual acquaintance before we could continue our journey! I guess that’s what I’m going to miss most about him, the laughter. His sense of humour had a devastating effect on me. He played on that regularly, often at the most inappropriate times. He knew he only had to mutter the right words under his breath, or make a subtle gesture in a meeting to render me completely ineffective. Then there was the music. I learnt that Phil Collins or Genesis CDs playing in the car were most likely to get Jon singing his heart out! Jon, there are so many memories I have of you. I'll never forget you. Darren Forrest.