At Proximity Coach Travel, we believe that being a small business is about more than simply providing a great service. Whenever we can, we want to play our part in supporting the communities and causes that matter to the people around us.
Earlier this summer, a cause particularly close to the heart of our very own ‘Coach Wizard’, Matt Hanson, came to the fore when his former employers, CMAC Group, announced a fundraising campaign in memory of their former colleague and friend, Stephen Ramsay.
For those who knew Stephen, he was much more than an employee.
Stephen, affectionately known throughout the industry as ‘Rambo’, lived and breathed his role at CMAC Group, where he was Head of Large Vehicles.
He was passionate about the coach industry and built countless strong relationships throughout his career. Knowledgeable, likeable and highly respected, Stephen was the sort of person who became an ambassador not just for his business, but for the industry he cared so deeply about.
When Stephen sadly passed away in 2025, the response from the coach industry said everything about the man he was.
Coach operators from across the country attended his funeral to pay their respects, demonstrating just how many people he had touched throughout his career.
CMAC subsequently decided to raise funds for Derian House Children’s Hospice, a charity that was very close to Stephen’s heart.
For us, it was a cause we simply had to support.
With CMAC organising a charity walk, we wanted to find our own way of contributing.
We spoke to some of our supply chain partners and asked whether they would be willing to support the fundraising effort. Several of them agreed, donating £2 from every invoice throughout June.
As a business, we decided to match those contributions and double what our suppliers donated.
The response was fantastic.
One of our partners, Five Star, based in Birmingham, went one step further, with Zaf Iqbal personally sending £100 in recognition of Stephen and the respect he had earned within the industry.
Collectively, the contributions brought our fundraising total to just short of £700.
We rounded that figure up to £750 and donated it to CMAC through their JustGiving fundraising page.
To our surprise and delight, CMAC CEO Peter Slater then very generously doubled our donation.
We were hugely grateful for his support and pleased that our contribution could make an even greater difference to a cause that meant so much to Stephen.
For Matt, the fundraising was about much more than making a donation.
“Steve was not only a great colleague, but he was also a great friend.
“We spent a lot of quality time together on events, networking and industry shows. He was a truly outstanding individual, a family man, and he had CMAC very much in his blood.
“He loved working for the business, and he was loved too.
“He was passionate about what he did, which would often lead to heated debates, even arguments, but they would always be settled in minutes and with laughter.
“When we set Proximity up, he would regularly call in for a coffee, asking how we were doing and offering us support, which meant a great deal.
“His passing was a huge loss to me personally, and supporting a charity that meant a lot to Stephen was a fitting way for us to get involved in our own way.”
