NEW CLUB MEMBERS

Three of our Club's most recent recruits - Patrick, Sheila and Roger - with immediate past president Richard, plus our latest new member, Linda.


New Member - Linda Smith

“I have lived in Summersdale in Chichester in the same house since 1975. We moved here on account of my husband’s teaching career. At the time my son was just 3 years old, and my daughter was subsequently born here, so I can really call Chichester my home!

I trained as a Personal Assistant (PA) and worked in London for a publishing company, followed by 2 years at a boys’ boarding school assisting the headmaster and bursar.

After inheriting various items of furniture, I joined an Adult Education class in order to learn how to refurbish them, and a love of restoration along with creating items for the home was born.

An opportunity to teach an evening class in ‘Upholstery’ for West Sussex Adult Education suited family life and I qualified as a Teacher in Further Education. More and more contracts to tutor classes followed at Chichester College including one on ‘Soft Furnishing’.

Eventually, after over 30 years working in Adult and Further Education, I decided to run private workshops, some for a whole week with lunch included!

Retirement came quite suddenly when my second husband, who was terminally ill, needed me at home.

The need to ‘get out more’ prompted an invitation to several Rotary social functions. The people I met were so friendly and welcoming that I decided this was for me.

Thank you so much for having me and I hope I can contribute to the amazing work that Rotary achieves, along with having fun!”

New Member - Patrick O'Bryan

“I was born and schooled in Middlesex before moving to Hertfordshire in my mid-twenties. I attended university in Manchester and joined the investment management industry soon after. After 9 years as a portfolio manager I completed a Masters in Business (again in Manchester) and subsequently moved into investment banking as a research analyst. My specialist expertise is in the analysis of small companies, emerging markets and companies in financial distress. More recently I held a management role in investment research for the Swiss Bank UBS, the number one investment research house in the world. I decided to leave in 2018 to pursue a wider portfolio of activities.

Over the past 15 years I’ve lectured in capital markets and corporate governance at a couple of universities and have been an Honorary Visiting Research Fellow at Alliance Manchester Business School since 2013.

I relocated to Cocking, Midhurst 3 years ago with my wife, Ann. Our children have flown the nest to pursue careers in the Civil Service 


New Member - Sheila White

"After leaving school, I studied to become a Speech and Language Therapist in London and then worked for the National Health Service (NHS), first in Plymouth and later in Brighton and Hove. In 1983 I married a South African and spent the next 36 years living in South Africa. While my family was growing, I continued to work part time in private practice, developing my special interest in early intervention and learning difficulties, particularly dyslexia.

We moved to a small coastal town in the Eastern Cape in 2006 and my husband was a founder member of the Rotary Club of Kenton on Sea there. I joined the club in 2017 after he passed away. I was a member of a very active Youth Committee working in co-operation with all the schools in the area. My role included co-ordinating acquisition of language stimulation resources for impoverished rural playgroups, utilising funds from a District Grant.

I was also involved with the Earlyact group at the local primary school. This group of 12–13-year-olds met weekly and, assisted by their adult Rotarian team, raised funds for their chosen charities, worked on community projects (clean-ups, visiting elderly residents, gardening, and so on). A highlight of my experience with Earlyact was staging a musical show as a fundraiser.

I have three children who live in Africa, Australia and UK, so early this year I decided to return to my own roots in the UK for my retirement. Chichester was a random choice but is so far, I think, a very good one!

I am looking forward to my involvement with the Community Service group in the Rotary Club of Chichester Harbour."

New Member - Geoff Chapman

"I spent my formative years in Crawley New Town, left school after my ‘A’-levels, joined Nat West Crawley in September 1971, and spent 11 years going through the clerical grades in Reading, Letchworth and Hitchin, before getting my first junior management role in Chichester in 1982.

I met my wife, Melanie, there and we married in 1986. We are Leicester Tigers supporters and the car can drive itself there.

Worked the patch down here, including manager at Arundel, and finally at Petworth, where I decided, after 32 years, I had experienced a great time in banking, however it was time to move on.

Got a small job at Cega, then based at Goodwood aerodrome, working in the accounts office, and in due course became a Travel Insurance Claims Handler with them, now based at Funtington.

I have been a Rotarian since 1996 when I was invited to join Arundel Club. Over the years Rotary has taught me a lot about myself as well as offering me opportunities to be involved in lots of activities and make some good friends along the way.

Melanie stopped work earlier this year, and I dropped my working days to Mondays and Tuesdays only.

As I have been involved with RCCH over the years, including participating in three Chichester-Chartres rides, attending several social events and getting to know many of you, now is a good time to switch to Harbour Club, especially as my weekends start on Wednesdays now. NB. I can definitely recommend that!

I look forward to continuing my Rotary involvement with you all. Thanks for having me!"

New Member - Mike Sullivan

"After secondary school, I went to UMIST in Manchester for a Mechanical Engineering degree, then worked in various industries as a design engineer over the next 17 years including banknote papermaking, pneumatic conveying, applying the hovercraft idea to moving oil tanks, ice breaking, and beds for burns patients.

Then after a short period attempting to make a living from building boats, I altered course to become an IT Systems Analyst. I remained in IT in various roles until retirement 20 years later.

For most of my working life I lived in or near Southampton. I was involved with my family in my local church, including a decade as a churchwarden, and have been a Rotarian since my early 50s.

Polly and I married in 2016 and we have five children and eight grandchildren between us – so far!"

New Member - Ruth Bradley

"My name is Ruth Bradley, I am married to Matt and have a 17-year-old son called David.

I worked within child care for my early career, as a special support assistant in a local school for children with severe disabilities. I left work when my son was 2 years old and had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes to become his full-time carer. In the last couple of years I have gone back to college and gained my Level 2 in accountancy.

I have always had family members involved in Rotary so I have always been aware of it. Recently I have been helping out with the community side of the Chichester Harbour Club and have got a lot out of the experience.

After talking to club members I was very impressed with the openness of the club and the complete inclusion of anyone visiting or wanting to join the club. The amount of fundraising and community work that the Chichester Harbour Club undertakes is one of the things that made me decide that this is the club for me."

New Member – Mike Hutchins

"In my working life, I’m a Chartered Patent Attorney and Trade Mark Attorney, a sort of hybrid of scientist and lawyer, and spend my time helping companies and individuals protect the fruits of their research and development.

In 2017, I moved from Tunbridge Wells down to Felpham to be closer to my place of work. Having been a member of the Pantiles Rotary club in Tunbridge Wells for about 8 years (where I held the posts of Secretary and President), I wondered whether I should now join a club local to my new home. A chance meeting with John Christopher of the Chichester Harbour Club at a Chichester Chamber of Commerce event was followed by an invitation to come along to a club meeting, which I gladly accepted.

My immediate impression was that the Chichester Harbour Club was a very friendly club and I found that I preferred the less formal breakfast club format to the longer more formal evening dinner meetings that I was used to. The size of the club (between 40 and 50 members) seemed to me to be ideal; large enough to ensure that activities and meetings are well supported but small enough to make it possible for everyone to get to know each other. The location of the club at the Chichester Park Hotel, on the outskirts of the city and close to the A27, was also very convenient for me, and I was able to get to my place of work and be at my desk in under half an hour after leaving a meeting.

As I attended more meetings, it became clear that the club was well organised and had a very full and varied programme of activities, both at the breakfast meetings and at other times and, by about my second or third meeting, I had decided that I wanted to join."

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WHO WE ARE

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