Cheryl Mumford

Hi I'm Cheryl and I'm the female element of the group. I feel exceptionally lucky to have been given this opportunity and I'm really looking forward to the experience.

I'm and English and Drama teacher by trade and I live in Herne Bay which is a small seaside town about 7 miles from the catherdral city of Canterbury. In my other guise I have set up my own small theatre company "Gingercow Theatrical Productions". How I came up with that name is another story!

I spend a lot of my spare time being theatrical, performing in both plays and musicals. I love the adrenalin buzz you get and there is no other job I can think of where you get the opportunity to portray so many different types of people. The feeling is quite hard to describe. I have directed shows for various companies across Kent and had two of the pantomimes I have written published. I sing in a function and pub band called Echopark and have worked on projects with Kent Circus School and Expresive Feats Productions.

"Gingercow Theatrical Productions" was set up in 2002 to produce new and exciting work that doesn't get shown in our area. We also wanted to create the opportunity to get youth and community involved with some of the work. Although our performance times aren't regular we produce work as and when venues and money allows. Unfortunately it's not often enough for my taste! Our work so far includes: Life After Life 2002 (an orginal devised piece), Two by Jim Cartwright 2003, Gospell by Stephen Schwartz 2005 (an outdoor performance-see picture above), Slice of Saturday Night by the Heather Brothers 2006 and Self Catering by Andrew Cullen 2007 (also outdoors). In some of these productions we have used pupils from local schools and colleges both onstage and within the stage crew. This is something I'm hoping we can continue and expand upon.

When not working or partaking in my commitee duties for Herne Bay Operatic Society, I try and indulge in my passion for music and film. I enjoy going to the gym, trapeze, kyacking (though I don't get to do this as often as I would like), reading and socialising.

I'm really looking forward to the trip to Adelaide and all the new experiences it will bring. See you soon!

Team Leader - Ray Dixon

Hi, my name is Ray I am the Team Leader. I was selected at interview last October. Fortunately this was in time to meet up with the incoming Australian team from District 9520. They were a great bunch and their team leader Kent was very helpful and got me started on the right track in setting up our exchange team. The incoming team had a very impressive wardrobe as can be seen from the photo. The theme for their literature was the wattle being their national flower. The picture below shows me and Kent Andrew, the Australian Team Leader, at our District Conference where the team gave a brief presentation, I saw the full presentation at the Welcome Dinner which was very professional and gave a good overview of South Australia.

Our team was chosen from 35 applicants who like me were interviewed and finally selected at the beginning of December, unfortunately too close to Christmas to get a meeting in. We have since held our first team meeting and the team members are now busy sorting out our clothing, the presentation that we will have to make numerous times plus information sheets etc, etc. Each team member has been endorsed by a Rotary Club and they are visiting their home clubs finding out what Rotary is all about before acting as ambassadors for their employers, country and Rotary on this trip of a life time. The team who are all around the age of 30 will, I am sure, introduce themselves. They are Cheryl Mumford an English and drama teacher who also has her own small theatre company she is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Whitstable. A Marine Biologist, Tom Hawkins sponsored by the RC of Herne Bay. A Freelance Designer, Andy Aish sponsored by the RC of Eastbourne AM and a Business Development Manager Richard Martindale sponsored by the RC of Chestfield.

My background is as a Building Services Engineer primarily in air conditioning working throughout the UK and overseas. I took early retirement in 2001. Since then my wife, Jenny, and I have enjoyed a good deal of travel in our motor home as well as holidays in Kenya and South Africa. I am an RYA Senior dinghy Instructor and an Advanced Power Boat Instructor and ran the Sail Training centre at Bexhill sailing club for 10 years. I was Commodore of the sailing club in 1998/99 and although I am still involved I have handed the running of the centre over to a much younger man!

We live in Hastings but I am a member of Bexhill RC and since my retirement I have been able to devote more time to Rotary activities. I was club President in 2006/7. I have chaired most of the club committees and I am actively involved with a number of service projects that we, as a club, undertake. These include working with local secondary schools on the Young Enterprise programme and assisting our local hospital by carrying out home hearing aid servicing for people with mobility problems. I was particularly proud to be part of a small team that visited Serbia in 2007 to deliver a container of wheelchairs that were funded by the “President’s Challenge” which in total raised sufficient money to purchase 1120 wheelchairs. The Picture shows past District Governor Norman Jones to the right with his wife Eunice and Jenny and I either side of the chap in the wheelchair at the Royal Palace presentation.

I am very much looking forward to leading this team whilst we all experience both cultural and vocational exchanges on our month long trip to Australia.