Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1169316
19.09.19 4 THE directors of Nectar Lim- ited, a group of companies that represents various in- ternationally-renowned food brands, decided to honour the memory of the founder Charles Abela (1952–2010) by transforming his own office into a well-designed memorial room celebrating the various aspects of his life since child- hood. While the original features of his office were all retained, elegant showcases now dis- play other significant items related to the setting up and development of the business, like Abela's first business ledger, as well as photos high- lighting the salient moments from his life. Exhibited items vary from a school exercise book from the 1966 which shows Abela's abil- ity in translating excerpts from Julius Caesar's De Bello Galli- co from Latin into English at the age of 14 years through to his school satchel which was only recently discovered. Meanwhile, a short video pays tribute to his integrity, experience, humility and dis- cipline, all qualities that stood out in his work. Other memorabilia portray his love for football. e Mosta community greatly benefited from Abela's generosity during his nine-year stint as President of Mosta FC, in which time Mosta also won the promotion to the MFA Premier Division. As a result, the Mosta foot- ball ground was officially named Charles Abela Memo- rial Stadium. In 2010, he was posthumous- ly awarded Ġieħ il-Mosta in appreciation for his contribu- tion to the community. e memorial room, which was blessed by Mons Joseph Agius, also comprises the boardroom table on which major decisions about the company's development have been taken. "What we admire most about our father are his values to- gether with his clear vision and sense of purpose in life. He never shied away from tak- ing difficult decisions when certain situations demanded such actions," Nectar's Chief Executive Officer, Roderick Abela, said. "After building the business literally from scratch and put- ting it on firm foundations, he has bequeathed us with a cherished legacy that we treasure both as a family and a business. erefore, we de- cided to develop his office in a memorial room to celebrate his life and his legacy for many years to come." Nectar's Chief Commercial Officer, Carlos Abela, said the main goals were to meet cli- ents' demands as well as to al- ways look to better oneself. "Nevertheless, we must nev- er lose sight of how our busi- ness was established," he said. "erefore, the conversion of our founder's office into a memorial room ensures that all those who are linked to the company, as well as cli- ents that visit us, will always remember our founder and the hard-work that went into building this organisation." Abela noted that this memo- rial room does not only por- tray Charles the businessman, but also Charles as a family man and a respected member of the Mosta community. NEWS Honouring the memory of Nectar's founder The Memorial Room