Public Service & Volunteering
Making a difference by getting involved
Alongside my business career, public and voluntary service has become an enormously important part of my life.
I have always believed that if you care about your community, an organisation or a cause, the most constructive thing you can do is get involved. Over the years, that philosophy has led me into local government, NHS governance, health advocacy, charitable fundraising and voluntary leadership – often in directions I could never have anticipated when I first put my hand up to help.
What began with involvement in my own community has developed into more than fifteen years of public and voluntary service.
Serving my local community
My involvement in local government began in 2011 when, aged 24, I was elected to Ixworth & Ixworth Thorpe Parish Council in Suffolk.
Having lived in the village for much of my life, I wanted to play an active part in protecting its character, representing residents and helping to shape its future.
Five years later, in 2016, I was elected Chairman of the Parish Council at the age of 29 – becoming the youngest Chairman in the Council’s history and, at the time, believed to be among the youngest Parish Council Chairmen in Suffolk. I continue to serve as Chairman today.
Taking on the role at a relatively young age was both an honour and a considerable responsibility. Over the years, I have led the Council through a wide range of issues affecting the community – from major planning and development proposals to highways, public amenities and the many everyday matters that influence village life.
The experience has taught me a great deal about leadership in a public setting. Unlike running a business, public service requires decisions to be made within a democratic framework, often balancing strongly held and competing views while maintaining constructive relationships with residents, fellow councillors, local authorities and other organisations.
Parish government is the tier of democracy closest to the people it represents, and that is precisely what I value about it. The decisions we make have a visible impact on the place I call home and on the people who live there.
More than fifteen years after first being elected, and ten years after I first became Chairman, I remain as committed to serving the community as I was when I first stood for election.
NHS governance
My interest in public service subsequently extended into healthcare.
In 2020, I was elected as a Public Governor of West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, representing the interests of local people and helping to hold the Trust’s leadership to account on behalf of its members and the wider community.
I was subsequently appointed Deputy Lead Governor and, in 2026, became Lead Governor.
The role has given me the opportunity to contribute to the governance of one of the most important public institutions serving West Suffolk, working with fellow Governors, Non-Executive Directors and the Trust’s leadership while retaining the independence necessary to provide effective scrutiny and challenge.
I have also chaired the Trust’s Membership & Engagement Committee, served on its Nominations Committee and contributed to the appointment of senior leaders and other areas of governance.
It is a role I take extremely seriously. The NHS touches virtually every family at some point in their lives, and being entrusted with a position that helps represent the public voice within it is both a considerable responsibility and a privilege.
Atrial Fibrillation Association
My involvement in raising awareness of Atrial Fibrillation (AF) has a particularly personal significance.
In 2017, I lost my Grandad following a devastating AF-related stroke. His Atrial Fibrillation had been diagnosed, but his medical management had not been optimised to adequately protect him against the associated risk of stroke.
Experiencing first-hand the consequences that AF can have – not only for the person affected, but for an entire family – gave me a determination to help improve awareness of the condition, its associated risks and the importance of appropriate management.
I subsequently became involved in community stroke prevention work across West Suffolk, helping to raise awareness of AF and supporting opportunities for people, particularly those considered most at risk, to be screened using simple handheld ECG technology.
Today, I am proud to serve as Regional Ambassador for the Atrial Fibrillation Association in East Anglia, supporting the charity’s work to improve awareness and understanding of AF, encourage earlier detection and help reduce the number of avoidable AF-related strokes.
During the COVID-19 vaccination programme, I recognised a unique opportunity. With large numbers of people – particularly those in older and higher-risk age groups – attending vaccination centres, I developed a concept to offer opportunistic AF screening alongside vaccination clinics using portable ECG devices.
Working with healthcare professionals and AF Association-trained volunteers, the initiative went on to identify more than 140 people with previously undetected, asymptomatic Atrial Fibrillation, enabling them to be referred for further clinical assessment and, where appropriate, treatment to help reduce their risk of stroke.
In 2021, I was enormously proud for the initiative to receive a Healthcare Pioneers Award from the Atrial Fibrillation Association, recognising an idea which had grown from a very personal determination to improve awareness and help prevent avoidable AF-related strokes.
For me, however, its greatest achievement wasn’t the award. It was knowing that people who had been completely unaware they were living with AF had been identified and could receive appropriate medical attention before the condition potentially resulted in a devastating stroke.
What began with the loss of my Grandad therefore became something much bigger: a commitment to raising awareness, encouraging early detection and promoting the importance of appropriate management – with the hope that other families might be spared an experience I know only too well.
A short feature on BBC Look East re: the nation’s first ever opportunistic pulse checks in COVID vaccination clinics
I would be delighted to attend any event that supports our objectives in raising awareness and opportunistically detecting atrial fibrillation.
Fundraising and charitable support
I have also been involved in establishing and supporting charitable fundraising initiatives within my community.
One such initiative grew into a charitable fund which has raised more than £40,000, supporting causes and projects that make a direct difference to local people.
Fundraising can sometimes be measured simply by the amount of money collected, but for me its greatest value has always been what that money enables somebody else to do. Seeing an idea develop into something that genuinely benefits people is enormously rewarding.
The Royal British Legion
Remembrance and the work of the Royal British Legion have particular personal significance for me.
My involvement with the Legion has developed over many years and I now have the privilege of serving as Chairman of C Group, Suffolk Royal British Legion, supporting and bringing together the branches within our Group and helping to further the work of the Legion locally.
The role combines many things that matter to me: remembrance, community, voluntary service and ensuring that the contribution and sacrifice of previous generations continue to be understood.
It also means supporting the Royal British Legion’s charitable purpose today – providing lifelong support to serving and former members of the Armed Forces and their families, while helping to ensure that an organisation with such an important history remains relevant and effective for future generations.
I am particularly proud to be involved with C Group Suffolk’s annual Festival of Remembrance, which brings together veterans, serving personnel, volunteers, performers and members of the public for an evening of commemoration, reflection and celebration.
In 2025, I was honoured to present the Festival for the first time as Chairman – a particularly memorable moment for me and one which reinforced why my involvement with the Royal British Legion means so much.
Why I continue to volunteer
Balancing voluntary commitments with running businesses and the rest of life is not always easy, but I have never regarded these roles simply as additions to my CV.
I do them because they matter to me.
They have introduced me to people I would otherwise never have met, given me experiences far removed from my commercial life and, on many occasions, challenged me to see issues from a completely different perspective.
Above all, they have reinforced my belief that communities and organisations are strongest when people are prepared to contribute something to them.
For me, public service has never been about standing on the sidelines and commenting on what somebody else ought to do.
It is about being prepared to get involved.
