Paul: Taking on GDPR and Specialist Quality Mark.
I’m the new boy – I’m into my second month now, and I work 2 mornings, or 9 hours a week. So, I’m still coming to terms with what’s required. The decision to start volunteering was a little bit about me – I took early retirement about a year ago, and I’ve been doing a few things I wanted to get done, such as travelling, and thinking that I wanted to do something more worthwhile, and I’d been looking around for positions within the voluntary sector, and found this which I’m really pleased to have found. I was working as a Practice Manager in a local legal firm, an accountant by training, and I worked in the legal sector for just over 15 years, so have a general law background and am committed to access to the law. Knowing what the situation is currently, I just wanted to try and help if possible, and put something back. I’m more than happy to turn my hand to whatever is needed, and for as long as it’s needed. And it’s all going well so far. I joined just before the deadline on the GDPR regulations, which as we know, every firm in the country has been tearing its hair out trying to comply with; we seem to be ahead of many with regards where we’ve got to, and I’ve been getting on with various tasks on this, so that’s good news. Next up, and equally exciting, is the Specialist Quality Mark manual which we need to get try and achieve in a fairly tight timeframe, and I’m hoping to help there and ensure it gets done. I’m really happy to help with these important tasks.
When I’m not volunteering here, I do more volunteering for another organisation. I think I’m finding the right balance in what I want to achieve, and I do the usual things that people do – I’ve got a young grand-daughter, and she’s lovely, so I spend time with her. Until recently, I was an Ipswich Town FC season ticket holder, so I enjoy a bit of sport, and I’m involved in Ipswich Rugby Club, which is a friendly little club. I like to do a bit of travelling too – I’m off to see my sister this weekend on the south coast, and I’ve been further afield too. My son lives in the states, so I’ve been over to see him earlier this year which was fun, and I’ve done some trips round Europe as well. Things are balancing out well.
