Spotlight on our Trustees - Part One

Sean, our Treasurer and Senior Skipper.

Sean joined our Board of Trustees in early 2009 and has been very active in the development of the charity and refurbishment of our boat.

Sean was actually a child of the 60’s. In fact the year the Beatles first went to the USA. (A free photo of Sean if you can guess the year)

At the age of 5 he was dragged screaming from his home town of Romford to live in Barking, where he stayed until he met and married his wife Hazel. They now live in Dagenham where Hazel has been happily baking cakes for Sean for the past 25 years. Hazel has even baked cakes for the crew of Challenge.

Sean has got his own challenges as he has been disabled for the past 22 years. In late 2011 he underwent extensive surgery on his back and wallet. That has not stopped him though, he has a daughter and apprentice son-in-law to keep him busy and on his toes.

Sean first got the bug for real boats whilst holidaying on the canals and has undertaken significant training. He holds the Certificate in Community Boat Management.

Sean assists with all the refurbishment on Challenge, but has taken specific responsibility for the painting programme. He is currently working on the roof of the boat and replacing all the vents and fitting new pole racks. He loves it when the work involves using a club hammer.

Sean has extensive experience working with other charities and with adults and children with disabilities.

George, our Partnership Liaison Officer.

George is also a Senior Skipper and holds the RYA Helmsman’s Certificate and Certificate in Community Boat Management. He is also a Trained Chippy, Gas Safe Registered and a million other things too.

 

George joined the charity in early 2009 and has worked diligently to upgrade and keep challenge running. He has led on Operation Longboat to keel haul Challenge into the next decade. He is the only man that we know who has crawled through the inaccessible parts of the bilges to have a look. He also has the reputation of being the only person brave enough to stick his head inside our effluent holding tank! His work on the boat also includes:

• Creating a larger saloon area
• Build a new disabled access wet room/shower/toilet
• Installing a new galley

He is currently working on our new energy management project which is funded by The Big Lottery Fund.

George, has extensive experience working with other charities and with adults and children with disabilities.

Brian, ‘BriDev’ - Chairman, Blog/Twitter Editor, Tea Boy, Bread Pudding Maker, and Fund Raiser.

Brian joined the team in late 2008 when the charity was struggling. Six months later he had pulled together some like minded people, got some funding from Newham Voluntary Sector and the charity was on a roll again. He has developed all new policies, operational and marketing plans and our vision for the future, which includes Operation Longboat, our four year refurbishment programme. He has also been successful in attracting funding to enable our developments to go forward.

Brian has been around boats most of his life and holds the RYA Helmsman Certificate and Certificate in Community Boat Management. He is also a trained charity professional and has spent over 40 years working with organisations such as International Voluntary Service, Age Concern, MS Society and Lea Valley Cycle-Ability.

 

We are currently developing role descriptions and an information pack for the recruitment of new trustees. Follow us on Twitter @mvchallenge for more information.