THE man who has been press officer for the Country Land and Business Association for 15 years has retired.

Gerry Passman who has covered the northern region including Yorkshire, Durham, Cleveland and Northumberland is pictured (above, right) receiving a life membership certificate from Mark Hudson, deputy president of the CLA.

He thanked Mr Passman for his hard work in raising the profile of the organisation and he was also formally thanked by journalists for his help over the years.

Mr Passman, who lives in Harrogate, said he had many happy years with the CLA. Before that he was a newspaper journalist and also worked for Associated Dairies.