Without our Trustees we would not exist as a charity. We recognise that they give an enormous amount of their time and support to our cause!

Cornwall Disabled Association Trustees:

Chairman
Mr Dominick Penrose
I came to the CDA over 25 years ago, following on from involvement in the Boys Club movement in Cornwall and representing Kea as a district councillor on Carrick District Council. I was inspired by the ethos of helping those who are not so able to help themselves as a schoolboy, weeding gardens for the elderly in a small village in Devon, perhaps the cream tea afterwards and the opportunity to chat about the past encouraged me to return, time and time again. In reality the rewards come from the sense of community spirit engendered from such a worthy organization as the CDA and the knowledge that every penny spent is well spent and appreciated by local folk, whose lives would otherwise be the poorer. The challenge facing us as a charity is formidable at times, but there is no doubt about the value the CDA provides in every sense of the word.

Treasurer
Mr Chris Dennis
I first became involved with the CDA by volunteering to help with fundraising and am still involved 15 years later! After organising a few events including a piano recital to help raise funds for the 'new' coach, which is now 10 years old, I applied for the post of Executive Secretary when Pat Hornick retired after many years with CDA. The post was later to become Director which I did for four years before joining Cornwall Wildlife Trust as a fundraiser. On leaving the employment of the CDA, I became a trustee to continue my involvement and help develop the charity. In my time we have managed to raise £130,000 to replace our large coach, get a new caravan and move out of Lemon Street before the building fell down around us so there have been significant changes in the last 15 years. There is still much to do of course and we are making good progress raising our profile in the county. This will lead to raising the funds we need to continue providing the services we do to our beneficiaries.

Vice Chair
Mr E. Parkin

Committee
Ms I Rogers

Born in a small hamlet, a mile south of St.Keverne, I lived with my older sister on a small holding run by my parents. I lived there for 46 years and after brief stays in Helston and Porthleven, I moved to Gweek in 1985. When I left school I worked at St.Keverne post office, then when the postmaster of Coverack fell ill, I transferred there. In 1965 I moved to Helston where I stayed for 20 years. Retiring early, I worked for the next 10 years in various sub-post offices as a holiday relief. I became a volunteer for the fellowship trust now known as Vitalise in 1982. Probably, because of that, I was asked to become an escort for the Cornwall Disabled Association holidays in 1996. Here I first met my fellow escort Alison Williams and we have been together on all the holidays since 1998. Subsequently I became a member of the executive committee in 2006.

Mr C. Snell
Resident of Wyndhurst Orchard, Wadebridge

On being allocated a single flat in this Supported Housing Complex, with 34 individual units, I was delighted to join a community of elderly residents, some of whom used wheelchairs and most had arthritic or mobility problems, but, otherwise were very active. I soon joined the Social Committee and became Treasurer, and on talking to my niece who has MS, she suggested that I should contact the CDA, especially for their coach trips, as she had heard of the association through her MS Association, and so Wyndhurst Orchard Residents Association became affiliated to the CDA. We have enjoyed the coach trips and I was invited to become a trustee, since when I have attended their meetings for the last few years. With an increasingly arthritic knee, I am not so mobile now, but I still act as room guide at Lanhydrock House and have continued giving performances based on the life and works of John Betjeman after becoming interested in the poet when he died and was buried close by at St. Enodoc Church in 1985. I hope to be able to celebrate my 90th birthday in May 2010!

I was born in the Midlands and spent the first part of my childhood in
Leicestershire and Derbyshire. When I was 14 we relocated to Dartmouth in Devon, which became my family's hometown for many years. After attending Exeter Univesity and King's College, London, I became a schoolmaster in South London and then an Education Officer with Hertfordshire County Council, living in Buckinghamshire for over three years. In 1978 I was appointed to a similar post in Cornwall County Council and have been delighted to have lived in Cornwall ever since. I became a principal Education Officer with the Council for nearly 20 years and was responsible for a wide range of work relating to the education service (now Children's Services)  throughout Cornwall. In 1997 I was very pleased to be appointed as the Diocesan Director of Education for the Diocese of Truro, a post I held until my retirement in September 2007. I was responsible to the Bishop and the Diocesan Board for Education for all matters relating to the Anglican Church's role in the provision of education, especially with respect to the 45 Church of England Schools in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. I also maintained very close links with the Council throughout that time, being variously Chair of the School Organisation Committee, the Standing Advisory Council of Religious Education and the School's Forum, as well as being the Diocese's representative on all relevant committees of the County Council members.

I have been married to Judith since 1972 and we have two sons, Alexander aged 33 and Nicholas aged 27. I am delighted to have become a trustee of the Association and hope to play a useful and constructive part in its policy making.

Alison Williams
(Volunteer Helper)

 Bob Alderton
(Chief Executive)  

 Clare Greenwood
 (PR Fundraiser)

Dave Cooper
(CDA Coach Driver)