Who are we and what do we do? | 18 July 2023 | Stratherrick & Foyers Community Trust

Who are we and what do we do?

Tuesday, 18 July 2023

First up we have Steven Watson, our Community Liaison Officer who has worked with SFCT for 8 years now! Let's find out a bit more about him and what he does for our Community.

Hello Steven – tell me a little about you ……..

Oh well Jillian, I am the Trust’s oldest employee at 64. I’m old in the sense that I was the first employee too. I’ve have been employed by the Trust for eight years. I live in Munlochy and do not travel much at all now.

It was a very different Trust when I started, with Zoe Iliffe as Chair and Frank Ellam in charge of the cash. I enjoyed building up the activity of the Trust, attending every board meeting, writing and setting the old style Stratherrick and Foyers NEWS every three months and progressing projects such as the purchase of the Units at Lower Foyers. I hope many of the LED lightbulbs I delivered to almost every household are still doing their energy efficient job as well!

I got to know as many folk in the Strath and Foyers as I could. Reading Alan Lawson’s book ‘A Country Called Stratherrick’ certainly helped. If you are new to the area it will give you a good historical background, like the South Loch Heritage Group website will. I loved my role in the first summer event we held at Dell Farm with the Elvis tribute act and the dances in the Hall too. Laura and I have worked together for a good few years now.

Yes, but what do you get up to nowadays?

Nowadays I work from home, two days a week. I start at 9am on a Monday and finish at 5pm on a Tuesday. I use email but still use the old-fashioned telephone too. I have a wide knowledge of the Trust’s past activities and a good range of contacts to share. I mainly undertake defined tasks given to me by Tony, or action points from the Comms Team meetings and occasionally the Board.

So what have I done recently?

Life with the Trust is never dull as you’ll know. There are so many things that need done and they are so varied. A lot of the stuff is back office functions such as the Trust’s insurances. I also apply for entertainment licences and deal with things such as non-domestic rates. I write articles for the website and newsletters – and even submit recipes with photos. I produce papers on all sorts of topics from fire risk to grant assessments. Just recently I’ve been writing up the Asset Transfer Request and Plan for the Inverfarigaig Forest building.

For the Gathering, I found the marquee to hire when all other tent suppliers were fully booked. I ordered and cancelled the burger rolls! I linked up with Inverness Outlanders and hope they’ll be along in a future summer, and it was my name on the Liquor Licence. Oh and I made up the ‘drive-by’ verge signs in my shed that are waiting for the next event at the Wildside Centre.

Last winter I set up the Community Firewood project at Ault na Goire with Alex Sutherland and my contact Kyle Wallace which worked so well, thanks to Matt. I managed the budget for that too. Great stuff!

Are there any things about the Trust that you’ll always remember?

Lots of great things have happened. I have met so many folk in Foyers and the Strath over the years. The refurbishment of the War Memorial by the Heritage Group was so evocative. Handing the refurbished Units at Lower Foyers over to Boleskine Community Care was a great moment and seeing the Wildside Centre transformed and in use after decades of neglect. There was also a special grant project a few years back that really made a difference.

What’s next on your list?

A successful land and building at Inverfarigaig will be good, supporting some of our local groups make their ideas come to life there, and helping my colleagues, I hope too.

Strengths and Weaknesses?

I’m interested in everything really and always fall down rabbit holes. That is a big weakness and a little strength at the same time. I am not good with ‘Track Changes’. I love powerpoint for everything and a cheeky spreadsheet to help me count up correctly and also to make changes easy.

Finally, what personal interest have you that cross-over with your work for the Trust?

People, social history, nature, and don’t get me started on monkey puzzle trees. If I ever make it on to a quiz show, monkey puzzles would be my specialist subject. Oh and boats, land ownership, community energy projects, agriculture, maps, bus services, Australian Jelly Beans and traditional music history.

Thanks Steven and have you a recent photo you’d like to share?

Steven's working hours are Monday and Tuesday's - 9am-5pm.

You can contact Steven at clo@sfctrust.org.uk or by phone on 07525 120966 (please leave a message if he does not answer).

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Stratherrick & Foyers Community Trust,
The Wildside Centre, Whitebridge,
Inverness IV2 6UN
admin@sfctrust.org.uk
07300 562443

Mission statement: To act to enhance the quality of lives of people by engaging with the issues that matter to the community and by supporting people, at a sustainable level, to help people make things happen.

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