‘We had to learn to say hello to the region’ – Doug Wright reflects on year as High Sheriff
“This has been the best year of my life,” says Doug Wright, reflecting on his term as High Sheriff of the West Midlands.
It’s a bold statement from a preeminent business figure and philanthropist who has grown a successful restaurant empire, raised millions for charity and racked up a string of personal and business accolades.
Mr Wright (pictured) has business interests in all corners of the West Midlands – his franchised McDonald’s company, Wright Restaurants, employs nearly 3,000 across 26 sites.
Yet his Shrieval year, which draws to a close this week, has shed new light on the region that he calls home and is proud to serve.
A packed 12-month agenda has taken in 165 engagements across the seven boroughs that make up the West Midlands – from visiting charitable and faith organisations, to receiving Royal guests, opening community facilities and promoting the work of magistrates, cadets and emergency services.
“I always thought that I knew the West Midlands forensically,” said Mr Wright.
“But this year, I've really got to look under the bonnet. We live in an absolutely top place because, while councils and other organisations are falling away or having their funding reduced, our community is creating solutions for themselves.
“It's been incredibly special to meet so many people who are working assiduously for their own communities.”
The position of High Sheriff is the oldest continuous secular office under the Crown and the only surviving secular post from Anglo-Saxon times.
In the West Midlands, the role has existed for 50 years. Several members of the Cadbury dynasty and eight former Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce presidents are among Mr Wright’s predecessors.
While upholding tradition remains of great importance, embracing digital media to modernise the role has been high on his agenda.
With support from Kayleigh Humphries, Mr Wright’s personal assistant and clerk for his Shrieval year, the High Sheriff’s wide-ranging activities have been documented in tremendous detail via social media and a monthly email news bulletin.
“It’s in my DNA that if you give me something to do, I have to do it properly,” Mr Wright explains.
“So, we started with a blank sheet of paper. We began by creating a website to make it easier for people to find out about who the High Sheriff is.
“The social media has gone from zero to hero. One of our objectives was to make sure that when we got to the end of the year, people knew who the High Sheriff was and what the role is.
“This is the highest judicial office in the county of the West Midlands, so I wanted to leverage this unique one-year opportunity.
“We had to learn how to say hello to the West Midlands and to stay in touch with people.
“I really wanted to go out and be really authentic in my community outreach and the way I engage with people.”
Among the highlights of Mr Wright’s term has been an unprecedented programme to encourage more West Midlands professionals to become magistrates.
A mini-roadshow and series of “myth-busting” sessions across Wolverhampton and Walsall led to 127 new applications over the past 12 months – an increase of around 600 per cent.
The scheme has now been adopted across the UK through the High Sheriff’s Association.
“We identified two major issues as to why people hadn’t previously considered becoming magistrates,” Mr Wright explains.
“Firstly, people thought it was an exclusive club and, secondly, they felt their employer wouldn’t allow them.
“We set up a cross-functional group which included employers who were magistrates and then we held some virtual and in-person sessions.
“We busted some myths about becoming a magistrate, while highlighting the transferable skills and benefits for employers to encourage their staff.
“Of the 127 people who applied, they’re a very diverse group. So, I’m really proud of that – and even prouder that the scheme has been picked up nationally by the legal system.
“From a little acorn, it has grown into an oak tree.”
From welcoming the Duke of Cambridge to an emergency and critical care conference, to meeting faith leaders and commemorating the 50th anniversary of one of the region’s darkest days, the Birmingham pub bombings, no two days as High Sheriff have been the same.
But each one, Mr Wright says, has been a privilege.
“I've enjoyed just bringing people together, staying in touch with the community and seeing how our influence has impacted people,” he adds.
“Each day has been a privilege – it has been really, really special.”
