Team Forever Active

Forever Active is run by a small and dedicated team, most of whom are volunteers.

Operations Manager: Jane Jones

Jane is the Operations Manager. She has been a passionate sports enthusiast since the age of 9 when she was selected to play for the school netball team. After 35 years she still plays netball but also enjoys coaching netball to children and adults which she has done for the past 25 years.

After leaving college Jane took on a Sports Development position at Epping Forest District Council to co-ordinate their 50+ scheme called ‘New Horizons’. The Council-run scheme was not dissimilar to Forever Active.

In 2010, after 10 years working for South Cambridgeshire District Council, Jane decided to leave local government to work part-time and look after her 3 children. Jane joined Forever Active in August 2016 and would like to hear from you with any ideas and suggestions to get more people interested in joining Forever Active. Please email jane.jones@forever-active.org.uk

 

Manager FA

Database Co-Ordinator: Jenny Hays

Jenny, Forever Active Database Co-Ordinator, has been working with Forever Active for many years now, even as far back to when it first started at Cambridge City Council, where she still works part-time as an Active Lifestyle Officer.

Jenny supported the transfer of all the Forever Active class administration over to the new web-based database a few years ago which has made class reporting and membership processing so much more efficient for the Board Members and instructors.

Jenny ensures that the database is kept up to date with information on all Forever Active members and the classes they attend. She also supports the instructors to ensure that they can add their class participants each week and any membership queries they have. If you have received an email about your class, it was probably Jenny that organised for it to be sent.  Jenny keeps the website up to date and was influential in getting the new ‘class search’ up and running.

In her spare time when she is not busy with her 2 young children, Jenny plays netball for a local team and enjoys running and crossfit.

 

Administration officer: Hannah Black

Hannah joined Forever Active in 2017 as an instructor and teaches strength and balance classes across Cambridge. In 2019, she also started to help behind the scenes, working alongside Jane Jones in an admin role. 

Hannah lives in Histon with her husband and their two boys.

 

Instructors

All exercise instructors working on behalf of Forever Active Forum Ltd are qualified and insured relevant to their class.

If you have a specific age related medical condition the Instructor will be able to advise you on which exercises are best for you to do to ensure you have a safe, effective and fun session!

All Forever Active classes are endorsed by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Foundation Trust (CPFT – NHS)

Forever Active supports Instructors working with ongoing training opportunities and undertakes quality control visits of all the sessions each year to ensure all the classes are delivered at the highest possible standard.

Volunteers

 

Forever Active is looking for volunteers to become involved in the project. Volunteers will be given training and support where required and expenses will be covered.

Opportunities are varied and can be adapted to suit your skills and experience. Roles include:

  • Leaflet distribution and promotion
  • Giving talks to community groups about Forever Active
  • Assisting with classes
  • Assisting with the administration of Forever Active
  • Assisting with the marketing of Forever Active
  • Assisting with fundraising projects
  • Helping out at events

If you can give a few hours or a few minutes each week your support will be much appreciated and will make a real difference.

If you would like more information before deciding whether to get involved, or have any questions or suggestions relating to the project please contact:

Forever Active
Email: enquiries@forever-active.org.uk

Telephone: 07432 480105

 

Forever Active Board

The Trustees are the people responsible for controlling the work, management and administration of this charity on behalf of its beneficiaries

Chair: David Watkinson

David has had a lifetime of work in healthcare, information technology and management consultancy and since his ‘retirement’ has volunteered that experience to help Forever Active develop. In addition to his work based experience, David is a keen tennis player and amateur musician. David is married and now lives in Kent in order to be closer to his five grandchildren. He still finds time to play his violin but with an orchestra in Tunbridge Wells as opposed to Cambridge.

David Watkinson

Trustee: Simon Hanna

Vulnerable older adults’ adviser on the Forever Active board. Simon has been involved in exercise for older people in Cambridgeshire since 1990 when he worked for the Cambridge YMCA and set up the first classes in Cambridge specifically for older people. Simon worked with the City Council on developing the original outline for what was to become Forever Active and has been involved with the project from its very beginnings.

Simon now works for the NHS as a Clinical Exercise Specialist for the Falls Prevention Service where his role is to advise on evidence-based exercise by providing training and support for anyone delivering exercise programmes to older people. Simon’s voluntary role on the FA board helps to ensure greater communication between health services and organisations like Forever Active who provide specific classes and activities for older people.

Simon has always been passionate about ensuring older people remain as independent as possible and the importance of Strength and Balance training to maintain function for everyday activities as well as bone health. The evidence for the right type of exercise for this is overwhelming and he is always on a bit of a crusade to spread the message.

 When Simon is not out crusading, he loves getting away and walking his dogs (Dave & Shirley) or heading off somewhere in his campervan. Simon also loves to play the Curtal (an early Bassoon) with the Ely Waits who are a medieval band of musicians.

 

Secretary: Anne Johnson

When Anne retired from the University of Cambridge after twenty-three years she found herself getting involved with Forever Active. The opportunity arose to train as a chair-based instructor and Anne also teaches at Barnwell Baptist Church along with Diane.

Anne is responsible for dealing with the memberships, from processing the forms to distributing the membership cards.  Anne also oversees the brochure distribution with Diane and other members of the team and helps to answer emails and deal with telephone enquiries when required.

Outside of Forever Active, Anne enjoys looking after her granddaughter, walking and gardening as well as spending time away with her husband, friends and family.

Both Anne and Diane find the work they do for Forever Active very rewarding and would urge anyone with some spare time to get involved.

 

Trustee: Chris Wojtecki

Chris is a class member, having attended Forever Active’s Strength and Balance group for several years as a follow-up to Pulmonary Rehabilitation.

Whilst originally from London, Chris now lives in Comberton and is married with one son.

A career in the chemical industry developed his business skills, particularly in sales and marketing, as well as account management.

Having now retired, Chris now enjoys photography, tinkering in the tool shed and generating chips otherwise known as woodworking.

Chris Wojtecki

 

Trustee: David Hartley

David Hartley was Director of the Cambridge University Computing Service from 1970 to 1994, and among other achievements responsible for the University’s broadband facility linking all Colleges and Departments throughout Cambridge. He has been a Fellow of Clare College since 1986

From 1994 to 1997 he was Chief Executive of the company developing the JANET inter-university network, and from 1997 to 2002 was Executive Director of the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre. He was President of the British Computer Society in millennium year 1999-2000, then Steward of Clare College for three years from 2002-2005

Among external roles, he has advised many bodies including government departments. In the 1980’s he was a member of the Computer Board for Universities and Research Councils, and the Prime Minister’s Information Technology Advisory Panel, also spending a sabbatical year at the Department of Industry as an advisor to Kenneth Baker.

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