Meet the trustees

I’ve been a trustee since 2014, having come to know the Centre through my work with Zurich Community Trust (ZCT). I ‘retired’ after 35 years at Zurich in November 2016. Starting at Hambro Life, I worked for Allied Dunbar, Eagle Star, Threadneedle and finally Zurich - in customer services, investments, sales, marketing, governance…and charity, donating to, volunteering for and as Chair of Trustees for ZCT. I’m still a ‘retiree trustee’ for ZCT, also a trustee director of the Zurich UK pension scheme, a village cricketer in summer and a keen, but slower than I’d like, cyclist.

I have been a member of STC since about 1990 having heard about the Centre during a chance meeting with Keith Hart, who is still one of our other trustees. He noticed that I was having difficulty walking one day and I told him I had been diagnosed with MS which his wife Ann was also living with. He then told me about the MS group which met, at the time, in Stratton. I joined the group and the rest is as they say is history. In the early 1990's, I became a trustee, about the same time that we were effectively evicted from the site we had used until then. After a lot of searching we found a new home in Cheney Manor, but we quickly found we were 'out growing' the building. Around year 2000, the manager at the time, Barry Bowers, asked me to be treasurer which I agreed and I have performed that role ever since.

I have been involved in the Centre since 1984 when my Mum, Rosie Owen, started to use the Oxygen Chamber and I have been a Trustee since 2002. Being a Trustee for such an inspirational charity is a real privilege. As well as the “normal” Trustee jobs of keeping an eye on our services to Members and finances, I am the Safeguarding Trustee responsible for ensuring we follow best practice to protect Members from harm. I currently work full time at Nationwide Building Society but hope to reduce that as I am also studying for BSc in Nutritional Therapy with the aim of offering my services free to our Members in future.

My first real involvement with the Centre came in 2011 when I was asked to facilitate the creation of an updated business plan. As seems to be the case with everyone, I was struck by the amazing, supportive atmosphere and the range of therapies and activities that make such a difference to so many people. That, and the fact that a family member had been diagnosed with MS some years before, inspired me to want to do more, and I became a trustee shortly afterwards.Having worked briefly in banking and the oil business, and then for nearly 30 years in financial services, I joined Voluntary Action Swindon in 2015 and I am now the CEO there. Given VAS’s role as the ‘umbrella’ organisation for the voluntary and community sector in Swindon, this enables me to keep in touch with the Centre as part of my ‘day job’ too!

I have been involved with Centre since we moved to Swindon in 1993 as my wife Jackie has MS. We are fortunate that she keeps well and was in fact Manager of the Centre for 11 years. In 2003 I became Chair of the Centre, a role that I held for 11 years until stepping down. I subsequently took over as Chair of MSNTC (the national membership body) where I was a Trustee for 9 years retiring in 2018. I am now retired after a career with Nationwide and in the Third Sector and fill a lot of my time with voluntary activities including a whole range for the Centre. I fundraise through collections, bike rides, walks etc and also have grant fundraised including three lottery grants. Occasionally I am an Oxygen operator and odd job man.

I’m passionate about helping others and contributing my little quota in making someone happy hence after my Master’s degree in Human Resource Management in 2010, I got involved in volunteering for the centre. I later became a trustee, in November 2012. Apart from the general trustee responsibilities, I’m also one of the trustees in charge of looking after our people (the members, volunteers and staff). I currently work full time as a Business Manager with NERC (NERC is part of UK Research and Innovation) but I’ve worked in various HR and Administration roles in the past.

I joined the centre in 2010 to become a trustee and also trained to be a chamber operator mainly covering Tuesday evenings. As a trustee we cover many different aspects, but each concentrates on one of the primary roles, mine in the the finances of the centre. I am the chairman of the finance sub committee with the oversight on the governance of the charities finances. I have been in the Royal Air Force for over 40 years and currently still fly and teach as a Auxiliary reservist part time. I find being a trustee very satisfying, enjoyable if sometimes challenging. I also really enjoy meeting and helping members as a chamber operator. I am married to Hazel who is also a volunteer at the centre.

I have been involved with the Centre (in various guises) since 1978 when my wife Ann was first diagnosed with MS. I did a spell as Chairman in the early eighties when we were known as ARMS (Action for Research in Multiple Sclerosis) and have been a trustee since 2002. When my wife passed away in 2011 I still wanted to be part of the Centre. As a retired engineering design engineer and manager I felt that my experience would be of some use. So my involvement and responsibility is for the 'environment', ensuring signage, general upkeep, and overall satisfaction with the physical environment in the Centre is maintained. This, I think is paramount as there always seems to be a 'feel-good' factor with the members whenever I visit.