{"id":684,"date":"2025-07-07T14:11:23","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T14:11:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/berkswellcharities.org\/2026\/?p=684"},"modified":"2025-09-19T10:21:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T10:21:13","slug":"a-belated-but-warm-welcome-to-our-new-chair-andrew-yates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/berkswellcharities.org\/2026\/2025\/07\/a-belated-but-warm-welcome-to-our-new-chair-andrew-yates\/","title":{"rendered":"A belated but warm welcome to our new Chair \u2013 Andrew Yates"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andrew a rather belated welcome to your role as Chair of Berkswell Charities. You follow in the steps of some respectful predecessors, not least our most recent Chair, Chris Powell. I know that alongside your fellow Trustee\u2019s you\u2019d like to thank Chris for his tenure and for what he achieved. We are all delighted that Chris has agreed to remain on the Board and help us over the next few years which promise to be a challenging but also exciting times.<\/em><\/p>\n

Andrew tell us a bit about your background\u2026 how long have you lived in the area and what did your career entail?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I've lived in the West Midlands for 32 years, with the last 22, in Balsall Common. My career began as a Deck Officer in the Merchant Navy. I came ashore in 1985 due to the recession although it was also the year I got married. I then worked in shipping-related office jobs in London, Felixstowe, and Birmingham.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

How long have you been a Trustee and are you involved in any other charities?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have been a Trustee for 5 years, joining during Covid in 2020. While not involved with other registered charities, I have volunteered for 15 years. I am a sailing instructor for Sailability in Solihull, a group for people with additional needs, and I have also volunteered at the dementia caf\u00e9 in Kenilworth for the past 10 years.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

What elements from your working life do you bring to your role as Chair of the Berkswell Charities?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I believe I have effective communication skills, which includes both listening and speaking. Fellow trustees have provided feedback that I\u2019m good at summarising complex discussions and maintaining a rational perspective. One trustee noted, that I approach situations without emotional bias.<\/p>\n

What is your main ambition whilst being the Chair.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The charity has existed for over 600 years, so I aim to meet expectations and if possible, avoid any mistakes.<\/p>\n

I am keen that we deliver the vision whilst keeping everyone on side without overextending ourselves both our resources and financially.<\/p>\n

The new almshouse project, is of course very exciting, and I hope that we can deliver the Trustees ambitions. We must not overlook the Charities other Objects, and I am eager to strengthen our current relationships with both the Church and the School.<\/p>\n

What is the funniest, oddest, most surprising request you have received from either the Board or one of the residents\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was asked to \u2018rod a pond\u2019 at Oddicombe. The pond was empty, and there appeared to be a blockage. I had to clamber over barbed wire and then insert the rod in a number of holes and pipes.<\/p>\n

I wore my Wellies but there wasn\u2019t that much water, so thankfully managed to keep my feet dry.<\/p>\n

As all good Q&A\u2019s end \u2013 what have you got in your fridge?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not much currently, as I\u2019m waiting an online shopping delivery!<\/p>\n

I do have a 'message in a bottle' as part of the Lions Club scheme. This initiative, which may not be widely known, is an excellent method for sharing personal and medical information when there is an emergency. The details are documented on a form and placed in a bottle, which is then kept in the fridge. In the event that emergency services need to be contacted, they can easily locate the crucial information. The refrigerator is an ideal storage spot, given its visibility, that everyone has one, and particularly now as I await the arrival of my groceries!<\/p>\n

Andrew, the Berkswell Charities Trustees are a diverse group with various skills. We look forward to your collaboration to advance the charity. You have our full support and best wishes.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Andrew a rather belated welcome to your role as Chair of Berkswell Charities. You follow in the steps of some respectful predecessors, not least our most recent Chair, Chris Powell. I know that alongside your fellow Trustee\u2019s you\u2019d like to thank Chris for his tenure and for what he achieved. We are all delighted that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":687,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trustees"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/berkswellcharities.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/berkswellcharities.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/berkswellcharities.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/berkswellcharities.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/berkswellcharities.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=684"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/berkswellcharities.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":688,"href":"https:\/\/berkswellcharities.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684\/revisions\/688"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/berkswellcharities.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/berkswellcharities.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/berkswellcharities.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/berkswellcharities.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}