Carmen Dillon (Chief Executive Officer)
I started my role at the WHCVS in May 1994 and my initial goal was to stay with the organisation for a year but seventeen years later I am still here because I liked the many challenges that the organisation is presented with. I have seen the organisation through its ups and downs over the years and one the biggest highlights was two large lottery grants in 2002 and 2003. Other achievements have been setting up the Welwyn Hatfield Ethnic Minority Group, the rebranding of the Furniture Recycling Scheme (both are now independent charities) and the Community Transport Scheme. I have acquired a number of qualifications including NVQ Level 5 in Leadership and Management Business Management and Level 3 in IT. We recently gained Quality Accreditation for our Volunteer Centre.
Alison Charles
I returned from the USA in 2002 and was very lucky to start working at the WHCV in September 2002 as Admin support job sharing with another member of staff. I have stayed with the CVS because I like helping people. In my time at WHCVS I have been promoted to Project Support Officer and when the WHCVS grant was cut, I began co-ordinating the Community Car Scheme Project. I have had the opportunity to develop my qualifications with NVQ level 1 in Customer Service, NVQ Level 2 apprenticeship in Business Admin and I am currently studying NVQ Level 3 apprenticeship in Business Management.
Isobel Hatfield – Small Groups Development Worker
I was employed to support small groups with incomes under £30,000. Isobel’s post is funded by our BASIS 2 (Big Lottery) Partnership with Herts Community Foundation and five other CVS’.
Welwyn Hatfield Volunteers
Dave Beard joined the organisation in June; Dave’s background is in Marketing for IBM and he is now helping to co-ordinate the Volunteer Centre
Heather Coakley joined us in July as Office Support assistant and continues to provide our team with exceptional support and added value drawn from her experience in the corporate sector.
Gill Tymms joined us in January helping Alison with the Community Transport project.
Ray Wilson has been with us since 2005 and is our Website Administrator.
Caroline Aves joined us in June and also supports the Community Transport.
Craig Hoad is our newest volunteer. Craig is a freelance webdesigner and is the mastermind behind the creation of our new site. Craig’s time on creating the site is purely voluntary and is his way of giving something back to the community.
Board of Trustees
We are governed by a Board of Trustees who ensure that our organisation provides an exceptional level of service to our community both now and in the future. They are a dedicated bunch and as a team they are committed to our sustainability of service and operation.
Ron Wheeler – Chair
Ron took over the Chairmanship in June 2008 after a term as Borough Councillor.
He remains the Hatfield Town Councillor for the Hatfield East Ward. Shortly after schooling in India, he joined the Royal Air Force and retired twenty years later as a Flight Lieutenant. Subsequently, he entered the aerospace industry and retired as Operations Director of an aero engineering company. He took a BA degree in the Open University after retirement and is now happiest serving the local community.
Rosemary Basden – Director Trustee
Rosemary is a retired PA/Secretary who, after A levels and secretarial college, worked in Manchester; at AEE Winfrith, Dorset; and in Hatfield for insurance brokers, Lone Star, and architects. She is glad of the opportunity to do something useful – and to keep her shorthand going by producing the minutes for the Management Committee meetings.
