Eileen Murray - Chair
Eileen took on the role of Chair in 2019, keen to see LAVCH continue to provide a valuable forum for Trustees to be able to exchange best practices and generally assist each other in running excellent halls.
An engineering project manager, by "trade", Eileen is currently a Trustee of Grimsargh Village Hall and a former Parish Councillor. EIleen and Hubbie, Steve are keen on campervan travels - so looking for ways to optimise the ability to be able to help and manage things "remotely" is high on Eileen's priority list!
Teresa Taylor - Treasurer
Teresa originally worked in the NHS, in Pathology in the Blackburn Group of hospitals, leaving to bring up three sons. She was a partner with her husband in the farm business, based at Samlesbury for many years, but the two have now "retired" and live in Clitheroe.
Teresa is a retired Clerk & Finance Officer for Parish Councils in the Ribble Valley area, with all the wealth of relevant experience that brings.
Her husband persuaded her to help with Samlesbury War Memorial Hall in 2000 and she was Trustee & Treasurer for that hall until 2019. Her main role there was to work with their excellent Project Manager to source capital grants in order to improve the Hall.
This met with considerable success, through Lancashire Environmental Fund, Lottery Fund and DEFRA European Funding amongst others, sourcing over £300,000 in grants over that period. She has just completed leading a two-year Heritage Lottery Funded project to research the individual “Soldiers of Samlesbury from the Great War”, as the land for the War Memorial Hall was given in memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Sian Middlebrough
Sian has long been a Trustee for Grimsargh Village Hall and Chair for 4 years until 2018. She continues to manage all the bookings side of things and fronts up the Farmers' Market Cafe. Sian works in administration and sings beautifully in the Grimsargh Community Choir!
Bilal Bham
Anne Huson
Anne has been actively involved with Grindleton Recreation Ground Charity for many years and after retirement in 2010 took the lead in Grindleton’s “Pavilion Project”. This involved fundraising and then building a brand-new community hall and changing rooms. The building opened in 2012 and has become a focus for many village events and is regularly hired for family celebrations and other events by people in the Ribble Valley.
Anne was also a founding member of Ribble Valley Village Halls Association, of which she is currently the treasurer, having been the chair until 2022.
Simon Kirkman
Simon started as a parish councillor in Catterall in 2017, and as the rep to the village hall committee wasn't able to persuade them to install a baby changing table that Simon identifed as being needed, asked to be that rep in 2019. Successful at his first meeting in changing their minds, he decided to sit out a year as rep quietly after that.... then Covid arrived, and most of the committee stepped back for various reasons, leaving Simon as one of the most experienced people in the village at running the hall having been to 3 committee meetings! So he stepped up to be chair and brought in 6 new committee members.
After navigating through covid regulations, Simon then took on modernising the hall, starting with the website and online bookings, then improving the facilties, such as a bluetooth audio system, Wifi, LED lighting, and with the support of his committee getting grants for new notice boards, new tables and chairs, full toilet refurbishment, and many other changes.
An electronics engineer by trade, with young family, Simon is happy to share his experiences with LAVCH and has given several presentations on the experiences of Catterall VH on various topics including health and safety policy and online booking systems.