Who We Are

As a resident of Kirk Michael, I have a long-standing interest in the future well being of the village and its residents. I started, and hope to continue, the Young Commissioners in association with Michael school. I am a member of Michael Heritage committee and have served previously on the Commissioners Board.

As Chair of the Board I want to support and encourage new members in their endeavours to serve the Community and promote the best of Kirk Michael and Michael Parish as a whole.

I grew up in Kirk Michael and after university moved to
California. I lived away for many years returning every year
with my daughter to visit family.

When I retired two years ago, I was able to move back
permanently.

I worked as a town planner, took a few years out when my
daughter was small and then retrained as a teacher.
When I moved back home, I started a small business
‘Manx Walks’ taking small groups on guided walks in the
countryside.  

I wanted to be a Commissioner because I love the
Isle of Man and especially Kirk Michael and I’m motivated
by wanting to contribute. I love being home again and
living in such a safe community. 

I represent the Commissioners on the Neighbourhood
Policing Team and will do my best to communicate
Michael residents’ concerns about policing matters.
I walk and swim a lot and see first-hand how effectively
(or otherwise) local authority is functioning– things like
refuse collection, public toilets, gully clearing,
street sweeping, litter, dog poo, and abandoned vehicles.

Living in a place with a healthy environment (land and sea)
is a privilege and it’s worth putting in time and effort
to keep it that way.

The Commissioners have limited powers, but we have a
strong team now and I think together we can make a
difference.

 

We moved to the Isle of Man in 1994. The saying goes home is where the heart is, and our home for the last 21 years has been Rhencullen.

I am passionate to give back to the community we live in. 

I have worked for the Department of Education for 23 years as Senior Education Support Officer & SEN lunchtime assistant.

I am committed to ensure that Michael has a fit for purpose bus service, that Michael does not lose its identity of being a community proud of it’s heritage.and that the communities voice is heard on major decisions that impact Michael.

Responsible member on Peel and Western District Housing Committee.

I moved full-time to Kirk Michael in 2020 with my partner Vicki, but have been a regular visitor to the Island every year since 2008 as a TT/MGP marshal, most recently as a Chief Sector Marshal, but now retired.

Much of my working life was spent as an HGV driver, specialising in the carriage of dangerous goods, mostly flammable liquids and explosives. This came to an abrupt halt with my first wife’s cancer diagnosis, and I became her full-time carer until her passing in 2014. This was the catalyst for a complete change of career, and as my previous job required a grounding in first aid, I re-trained, eventually becoming a blue-light trained emergency medical technician, working for a private ambulance company specialising in long-distance, high-dependency patient transfers and repatriations. During this time, I also qualified to deliver a variety of first aid and pre-hospital emergency care courses. When the SARS-CoV-2 virus started doing its thing, I was sub-contracted to East of England Ambulance Service.

In my spare time, I volunteered for SERV (Surrey and London), a charity originally set up to collect and deliver urgent and emergency supplies of blood, blood products, drugs and diagnostic tissue samples, after hours, to hospitals throughout the south-east of England, mostly by motorbike. The charity also collects donated breast milk for use in neo-natal units, and keeps Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance supplied with blood 24/7. As well as being a volunteer rider, I was responsible for writing the service level agreements between the charity and the NHS hospitals we served, mindful of the necessary product handling protocols.

I am still a member of the Unity Support Riders, a volunteer organisation initially founded to support the Metropolitan Police in escorting the large scale (10000+) charity motorcycle rides through central London, that were organised in the wake of the 7/7 bombings. Trained by members of the Met’s Bikesafe team and SEG, the Unity team also planned and escorted the thousands of bikers that took part in the Royal Wooton Bassett Rides of Respect, for which I assisted in writing the traffic management plan. My most recent involvement for Unity was in helping to escort and providing medical cover for the charity ride organised in support of the family of PC Andrew Harper.

I hope that I can use my life experiences to benefit the Michael community, and I look forward to being of service.