Meet the Team

My background: Having lived in Stithians all my life, the Show has always been a part of it and my family has always played a very active role. I have fond memories of entering various classes, particularly in the Horticulture section. From the moment the schedule dropped on our doormat the planning that went into it all was immense. The weekend before Show was always spent dashing around to family and neighbours nicking every conceivable bit of foliage available and nowadays the children have it easy with creating a garden in a seed tray; we had to do ours on a dinner plate! The journey from home to the tent with the plates balanced on our laps was always a very slow, tense one and I shall never forget the carrot peel fishes swimming in the Mr Kipling apple pie case ponds! (Other makes of apple pies are also available, of course).

The majority of my career has been spent at Cornwall College where I spent 20+ years working corporately in their Funding & Compliance team. Around the same time as starting at the college I also became the Association’s Assistant Treasurer, a role which I have held until very recently. In 2022, I became the General Secretary of the Association naively thinking that I knew a fair bit about the Show having been involved for so many years. How wrong was I??

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What I do for The Association: Where do I start? Who knew that there was so much to organising a one-day Show! It is such a varied role which seems to keep me very busy right throughout the year. With the support from the Asst Secretaries, Showyard Directors and Section Secretaries we seem to pull it off though.

My role, in its broadest sense, is to oversee all things to do with the Association and the running of it across a 12-month period. This includes organising and minuting the meetings for all our Trustees, Members, and other committees; making sure all our charity and company obligations and returns are met, obtaining quotes and making sure everything is ordered and sorted in time for Show, not to mention sorting entertainment acts and the Sunflower trail for our younger visitors.

As well as overseeing all things Show-related I also handle all the site hires and it is pleasing to see that our site is becoming a popular venue. We are proud to be able to offer such a local facility, for local events, supporting the local community and economy.

My background: I'm a Truro boy. After Truro School I joined the National Provincial Bank in Truro and whilst there I met a Stithians girl, Yvonne, who has been my wife for over 50 years. My career took us to various places away from Cornwall but in 1987 we returned to Cornwall. In 1997 I left the bank and in 1998 we moved back to Stithians, into the house built by my late father-in-law. I had a further career in management of a financial services company. Soon after we moved back to Stithians Yvonne became the General Secretary of the Association and I thereafter became Assistant Secretary. I am also Secretary of the Stithians Bowling Club and Treasurer of Stithians Public Access Defibrillator Support Group. I have a deep interest in technology.  

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What I do for The Association: I am heavily involved in the operational team, supporting the Secretary and fellow Trustees as required. I write the Annual Trustee Report and undertake the day to day management of the web site and the Association Social Media. I am also very much involved with the implementation and maintenance of the web based Showing Scene system which is now used for Trade & Craft Stand applications, membership and competitive entries (the latter being phased in over a number of years). I also source computer equipment for the Association and deal with implementation and our email requirements.