Proposed Committee Members
Beverley Wharton
My name is Beverley Wharton and I will be 62 years old this March. Yikes!! I have been a member of the tennis club for about 16 years and both my children, Grace and James, played here as juniors. My husband, Paul, is a member of the gym so a ‘family affair’ you might say.
I studied Modern Languages & Business Studies at Leeds Poly (as was) and worked for 15 years at Wellmann UK, a German kitchen manufacturer, initially as the MD’s bi-lingual PA and subsequently managing their Customer Services Department. Translation work, payroll & personnel, even managing the warehouse at times, were some of the additional roles involved in the post.
My husband, Paul, who was a teacher, and I moved to the Holme Valley when we married 36 years ago. We were persuaded when finally, whilst house-hunting for the umpteenth time, the rain stopped and the Sun actually shone.
Ten years later we started an Educational Publications business with friends of ours, whilst at the same time starting a family. Not the best planning, but we felt we had pushed the boundaries of the ‘older parent’ to their absolute limit.
I became a full-time mum and Paul gave up teaching to run the business. It was an exciting if, periodically, very stressful time, but one we wouldn’t have missed for the world! We moved to Thurstonland, sold the business, and now dabble in the property rentals market.
You may be wondering what I can bring to the party, apart from the odd German swear word! I couldn’t say which, if any, of my skills are transferable, indeed assuming I can even remember them. However, throughout, I have had to work with teams of people to achieve our end goals. I am diligent, persistent and pay attention to detail. We have a good team of people in place managing our club, who need some additional support on the committee, which I am happy to provide to the best of my abilities.
Michael A Culshaw
My name is Michael Culshaw and before retirement I was the Director of Pharmacy for Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust from June 1998 to October 2017. I live in Upperthong and I am married with two grown up children. I have been a member of the gym at Thongsbridge ‘off and on’ for over a decade. I do not play tennis but I do attempt to play golf with a high handicap.
We are extremely lucky to have the facilities of Thongsbridge Tennis and Fitness Club in the Holme Valley. I feel that I should do ‘my bit ‘to assist in developing the club so that we have a sustainable facility for many years to come.
My skill set as an experienced Director of Pharmacy are transferable to me becoming an effective committee member for the club.
I have experience with strategic leadership and business planning and have strong people management skills. I am a cooperative team player with excellent interpersonal skills and a common sense approach to problem solving. My main interest is good governance.
I would bring a ‘fresh pair of eyes’ approach to the opportunities and issues faced by the club with a view to seeking on-going improvements in quality and efficiency. I usually achieve results through persuasion and taking people along with me with an occasional dose of humour.
If elected, I would welcome the opportunity to work with the Directors, Managers and Committee members of the club assisting in achieving excellence for a sustainable future. Thank you.
Proposed Board Members
Annabelle Hill
I have been a member of Thongsbridge for approximately 17 years (some off/on!). I started playing tennis at HLTSC at age 14, and was privileged to know Thongsbridge when it was just the Pavilion Building, and shale courts, having played in a couple of tournaments as a teenager.
In my working life, I started my career at Morgan Stanley within Operational Strategy, and positions since have resulted in my being a shareholder and board executive for a manufacturing company for the last 14 years as well as being Chair of the same board (this company sold last February to which I resigned from the board as part of the sale). I currently am a Board Trustee of Carers Trust Mid Yorkshire (CTMY), whose offices are based in Huddersfield.
In my varied working roles, I have been responsible for many different sectors within the corporate world: Brand & Strategy, Product Development, Culture & Change Management, Customer Services and Operational Strategy (as mentioned above). As well as my BA Hons degree, I have a qualification from the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
I have 3 children, two boys , James (22) and Nathan (20) and a daughter, Tamsin (also a member of the club), aged 17. Nathan is severely autistic and now lives in supported living. My eldest and youngest both have done the tennis camps and coaching sessions when they were younger. Those members that know me well, will be aware my husband had a motorcycle accident in 2009, and has been care homed since. As a consequence of having two disabled family members, I am very knowledgeable in regard to safeguarding issues.
My interest in becoming a board member, whilst curious to know how things are run, has also been down to (current board member), Elizabeth’s tenacity(!). I have always found Thongsbridge to be a wonderfully friendly club and would like to say, thank you for reading this and to be considered for joining the board.
Stuart Hughes
My name is Stuart and I live with my wife and son who is 3 years old. I am a keen tennis player who comes down to the club as often as I can. My background is within the leisure industry helping leisure centres succeed, implementing change and managing new start up centres and various other projects. I am community minded and hopefully I can help promote a healthy and happy tennis club.