TTVS is well governed by an experienced and active board of trustees with a range of valuable experience.
We are always on the lookout for new trustees, particularly from our under represented communities and from people who, in the past, have used our services. This represents a real opportunity to help develop and lead an incredible charity alongside providing personal reward and development. Interested? Or want to find out more then please contact our CEO darran@ttvs.org.uk
The Board
Shirley Law Chair - Shirley has worked within the Voluntary sector since 1976 In 1976 she joined the Greenwich Volunteer Bureau, the sole employee with only 10 months of the grant left. By the time she left, there were 6 full time members of staff on stable funding. Later she was employed by Carers National to start a borough based carer’s organisation in Bromley. Delaying retirement Shirley became national director to the Children’s Heart Federation.
Shirley has also served on a number of committees, local, London wide and National, becoming Chair of a London wide organisation – Advance (Advise and development in Volunteering and Neighbourhood Care). Since finally retiring to Devon, she now has links with a number of local organisations, including Chivenor Air Training Squadron, Torridgeside Talking Newspaper and, of course, TTVS.
Nick Underwood Vice Chair - Nick Underwood spent 33 years in the Royal Marines, serving all round the world and ending his career at Chivenor. There, with a small staff, he was responsible for the infrastructure of the base and providing support to over 150 families. With close links to the local community, he acted as a local representative for the base. He then spent 6 years working for a national security provider responsible for national defence contracts, before retiring. He has been a Trustee since 2016 and also regularly volunteers for Carewise. He is married with 2 grown-up sons and has lived in Bideford for 20 years.
Steve Aldridge Treasurer - I have spent my entire working life in the accountancy profession, starting as a junior in practice in the days when the job description included making the tea, filing & other similar exciting tasks.
Fast forward 25 years & my wife Jacqueline & I set up our own accountancy practice in Barnstaple, just the two of us, working from home & focusing on personable client contact. I also attained a degree in adult education & was engaged by various colleges as a lecturer, no prizes for guessing in which subject. Also during my time in practice I was approached by several charities & other voluntary groups to be their honorary treasurer & a trustee, which I was happy to accept.
One of these charities was a TTVS member organisation & therefore I was invited to attend the TTVS AGM. This was when I became more fully aware of the extent of the valuable support that TTVS gives to the voluntary sector, its member organisations & the wider community. As a result it was my turn to approach an organisation asking if I could become a trustee & I was delighted to be accepted. That was in 2014 & I have been Honorary Treasurer of TTVS ever since.
My wife & I now live in Burrington where we are both heavily involved in running a Community Shop. In the rare moments of spare time we like exploring our family history, listening to music (particularly classical) & spending time with our two cross collie labs Max & Ben.
Pam Orchard Trustee - Like many people when I retired I did the usual things like holidays, sorting house and garden, and in my case played a lot of tennis. After a while I began to feel something was lacking and I had no sense of purpose. I just happened to see an advertisement in the newspaper asking for volunteers to become Trustees for the Charity “Home Start”. I had spent my working life with children and their families and felt I might make a useful contribution to their cause.
Working as a Trustee of Home Start did take up a considerable time, but it was an area in which I felt was worthwhile. Somehow I found that one thing led to another and I quickly (so it seemed) became the Chair of the Governors’ at a local Primary School and very soon after the Chair of the local Children’s Centre.
At an early stage of my blossoming Trustee career I was asked to attend a meeting of the organisations that were encouraged and supported by our local Voluntary Service Organisation (TTVS) This meeting was held in the local Council Chamber and with so many organisations present it was rather difficult to focus on the issues of the parent organisation. TTVS had grown from very small beginnings and had become much larger and it was clear it now needed more structure. Once again I found I was on another management Committee.
The most important thing about “getting involved” is to believe in the worth of the organisation you are supporting. You do not need to be an expert, but a willingness to learn and contribute the talents you have. To be prepared to listen to others and to share ideas and to work as part of a team. Most of all to enjoy what you do and hopefully to be able to make an impact and support your local community.
Ramin Shamsolahi Trustee - Ramin lives in Bideford with his wife and dogs. He is a practicing solicitor and equity partner at Rosie Bracher Solicitors LLP in Barnstaple, a specialist family law practice where he runs the matrimonial/financial team. In his spare time Ramin enjoys squash, surfing, theatre and cinema.
Mike Teare Trustee - I have been living in Bideford for five years and am now retired. I trained as a marine biologist but for most of my career I worked in the international medical device industry, with sales and marketing roles in UK, Australia and France. I am chair the charity Way of the Wharves, researching and promoting the maritime history of the Torridge Estuary - currently focused on the wharves at East the Water.
