Trustees

Ivan moved to Goldington in 1970 as a telephone engineering manager in what is now BT. Taking early retirement, he spent the later years of his working life as a self-employed Quality Assurance consultant. He became a Trustee at Goldington Reading Rooms in 2009 and assumed the responsibilities of the Chair of Trustees in 2012. His focus at that time, of necessity, was finding the funding required to refurbish what was a very run-down property. This was essential if we were to fulfill our charity’s commitment to providing a meeting place for the local community. Funding was found and many improvements made over the years. Ivan thus continues the works started by the previous Chair, Colin Crane. Major improvements include a paved car park with wheelchair access, re-laying of the floor of the main hall, renewal of the electrical wiring and lighting and replacement toilets. The culmination of the efforts, and the most expensive part of the works, was the re-roofing of the property in 2018, followed by restoration of the chimney stacks. For Ivan, it has been very satisfying over these years to see the dilapidated condition of the building and facilities slowly improve to benefit the local community. Ivan’s focus as Chair of Trustees is to ensure that the service our charity gives to the local community is maintained and that we do that by ensuring we have a Trustee body that is fit for the future.

Pavla became a Trustee at Goldington Reading Rooms in January 2022, and took over the responsibilities of the Treasurer in autumn 2023. She was looking for a local charity where she could volunteer and the Trustee vacancy at Goldington Reading Rooms ticked all the boxes for her. Pavla enjoys the fact that the work combines management and upkeep of the period venue and interaction with local residents who use it for a wide range of activities. Pavla is a communications professional; she has worked for international corporations for more than 20 years, and currently runs own boutique communications and management consultancy. As a Trustee, she focuses on publicity; she set up our Facebook page where she posts regularly about what’s new at the hall and helps regular users to promote their clubs and activity groups. She also wrote most of the content of this website. Her pet project is a ‘Secret Garden’ behind the hall, which at the time of her joining was overgrown with weed. She drafted a proposal for a ‘community garden’ which would serve as an extension to the existing facilities and offer an outdoor relaxation space for our users. Pavla is a keen gardener and she took it upon herself to maintain the garden; she engages actively with other local gardeners and secured many additions through plant donations and swaps. Apart from gardening, Pavla enjoys spending time with her two rescue dogs, travelling, cooking, going to theatre and visiting art exhibitions, and crafts such as quilting, knitting and sewing.

Neil is our longest-serving Trustee, having joined the Board of Trustees in 2007. Between 1956 – 1978, Neil has served as a soldier, having been deployed in the UK, Northern Ireland, Germany and Cyprus, a career which won him multiple military accolades. After retiring from the military, he had worked in IT before retiring completely. Neil’s priority as a Trustee is to keep a historical building in perfect condition; he has been instrumental in all major works done on the building over the years. He is very well connected in the area and always happy to find trusted traders for a new job at hand. He would love to see the Rooms operating more sustainably in the future and is currently working towards the installation of the solar panels on the roof. Neil’s hobby is scroll sowing; he particularly enjoys making Christmas decorations.