Farewell, oil on canvass by August Macke, 1914
We condole with the entire Videotel family at the passing away of their chairman, Len Holder, on 21st April after a short illness. Mr Holder died on the same day as our youngest brother, Joji. So this week has been a somber time for us – and a strong reminder of the beauty and brevity of life. Although we never met Mr Holder, we felt honoured that he was reading Marine Café Blog and even took time to comment on some of our posts.
In reaction to our article of 5th August 2013, ‘5 compelling reasons to use training films‘, Mr Holder wrote:
As chairman of Videotel Marine International and an experienced mentor and teacher, I fully endorse the comments above. The secret is not how much you spend on training aids, but how you use them. My book ‘Training and Assessment on Board’ was written to tell managers, senior officers, trainers and trainees how best to do that. The best trainers do not spend the most money.
The man knows whereof he speaks, we thought to ourselves. Indeed, Mr Holder can be considered a maritime icon who dedicated his life in the industry to developing better training practices. He served at sea for 10 years; undertook study and research at Liverpool Polytechnic; was director of the School of Engineering and Technology Management; worked as independent consultant from 1989; became a founding member of The Nautical Institute and its president from 1993 to 1996; and was Master of the Honourable Company of Master Mariners (2000-2001).
Not only Videotel but the maritime industry owes him a big salute. ~Barista Uno
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