Profile coming soon
I was initially involved with Strathmore Community Trust in 2019 when they were looking to expand opportunities via Unified Rugby.
On a daily basis I have the pleasure of teaching sports, health and wellbeing to young adults with a range of abilities and see first hand the wide reaching benefits of this for everyone involved.
The Trust was a perfect fit to help support positive, meaningful and sustainable transition into community opportunities. For many beneficiaries this option just wasn’t available or accessible – the Trust broke down these barriers and opened up possibilities. I was delighted to volunteer and work with the Trust who welcomed and engaged all of my sports enthusiasts.
I have been involved in the world of Disability Sport for over 30 years. I have had responsibility for Inclusion and Disability Sport in Social Work and Educational settings. I have been a GB Development Officer for Learning Disability Sport and have coached and led disability sports teams and programmes at Local, National and International level. I have been a key member of Games Organising Committees for National and International disability multi-sports events. I have advocated for inclusive sports provision at local and national governmental level and enabled people with disabilities to have their voices heard in the world of policy makers and influence.
I have volunteered extensively in disability sport and in coaching youth basketball and local mini- rugby and I know first hand the value of volunteers and partners in making positive things happen.
What I am particularly passionate about is sport as a force for good in our communities and as a catalyst for change.
The unique culture, values and ideals in rugby lend themselves particularly well to this and the Trust is a living embodiment of that ethos.
I was delighted to be invited to join as a Trustee in 2022 and I hope my experiences and enthusiasm can be of some use to the Trust. I am particularly looking forward to supporting the Trust in their continued community capacity building and I’m really excited for the future.
I firmly believe in the benefits sport offers people of all ages and abilities and I was consequently delighted to become a Trustee in May 2021. ”Developing People Through Rugby” what more do you need to say.
I have enjoyed being involved from the Trust’s inception through sponsoring the Rugby Academy. I have admired from a safe distance what has been achieved in the last few years, it is genuinely impressive and quite humbling to see. I have, for many more years than I care to recall, been involved in rugby as player, coach or administrator and enjoyed every minute. It would therefore be remiss of me not to take the opportunity to put something back into the rugby community.
I hope in my time as Trustee I can, from my business and rugby background, offer some tangible support and assist in the continuing development of Rugby, Health and Community in Angus.
As the founding Trustee I have been involved since day one – 1 June 2017.
I set up the Trust to increase the number of people playing rugby union and rugby league in the local area. I had a vision to use rugby to help develop people and the communities we live in. I enjoy seeing other people becoming involved not only in the Trust but in rugby, in all its forms. It is great seeing the passion and fresh ideas that they bring.
Personally, the Trust allows me to get involved in a lot of different things that I would not normally have the opportunity to do in my day job. Volunteering for the Trust therefore gives me broader experiences. Professionally I bring experience as a Chartered Management Accountant and a Chartered Manager – I am a Fellow with both organisations, and extensive local authority experience. I am a former Chairperson of Dundee City Disability Sport and was a long time Committee Member of Strathmore RFC. I am also a former Board Member of Scotland Wheelchair Rugby League and Director of Scotland Rugby League.
My involvement in rugby spans my adult life. From player to coach to club official to supporter; the natural progression. The values that underpin rugby union have helped guide me through life. It has been a privilege to have been a part of the Trust for the last three years and continues to be so. Bearing witness to how beneficial the ethos and those values, guided by enthusiastic staff and volunteers, can be to a diverse group of young people is quite remarkable.
I am a manager and work with young people in a care setting. I firmly believe that community rugby holds many riches and has the potential to be life-affirming for all involved – staff, volunteers, young people and adults alike.
