I have lived in Cranleigh since 1974 except for when my wife Stephanie and I got married, and we lived in Broadbridge Heath for two years. I have also spent most of my working life working for businesses in Cranleigh.
We have two grown up children who were baptised in St Nicolas Church, attended school in Cranleigh and married at St Nicolas. We now have four grandchildren as well.
I have played cricket for Cranleigh Cricket club, where I used to coach young people from the age of 10 to 18 and umpire games. During my time at the club, I served on the committee and ran the bar.
I also played football for Cranleigh Football Club and again was involved with coaching and refereeing young people.
More recently I have been Secretary and Chairman of the Cranleigh and District Branch of the Royal British Legion. During my time as chairman the branch was awarded the Surrey County Chairman’s Cup for being the most outstanding branch in Surrey.
I currently serve on the committee of Cranleigh Village Sports and Social Club.
I volunteer for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission as a speaker and carry out cemetery inspections to assess the condition of headstones and the condition of the cemeteries, and I must say that Cranleigh Cemetery is the best kept that I have inspected.
Over the last few years, I have been involved with the Parish Council for the planning of Remembrance Sunday where I have done risk assessments and event management plans. I was also part of the planning committee for the Kings Coronation event in the village.
During my many years in Cranleigh I have got to know many people and how they feel about the village, past, present and future. Many of these people have commented on the way that the Parish Council are giving much more to the village than in years gone by. For instance, the children’s play area at Snoxhall, the help given to Cranleigh Football Club, and the organisation of various events in the village.
Therefore, I feel I can serve the Parish Council well with my understanding of the local community.
I quite often use the phrase ‘giving something back’. This refers to all the good things that I have been involved with over the years as part of the community, and have taken great satisfaction from, and I wish to continue to do so as part of Cranleigh Parish Council.