Plunkett Foundation welcomes Alison Macklin as our new Community Business Manager

Plunkett’s new Community Business Manager has joined the charity this week after fifteen years as manager of a community shop and cafe. Alison Macklin will be responsible for leading Plunkett’s new training offer, as well as providing advice and support to groups at every stage of their community business journey. Alison has joined the charity from the hugely successful Brockweir and Hewelsfield Community Shop.

Here’s Alison in her own words:

“For the last fifteen years I have been the paid full time Business Manager of The Brockweir and Hewelsfield Village Shop and Café. An award winning eco-friendly, community owned shop and café specialising in local food. It is set between the Wye Valley and the Forest of Dean in a rural area with very few facilities and a small populace despite which we managed to improve our turnover every year and paid back our loans and bonds to achieve a surplus. I managed a team of almost 100 volunteers ranging from those doing their Duke of Edinburgh to those in their eighties as well as liaising with the Management Committee and juggling the needs and requirement of suppliers and customers. My biggest priority was the recruitment and retention and training as well as the wellbeing of the volunteers.

The support that the Plunkett Foundation gave to me was invaluable and I am looking forward to using my knowledge of the practical issues facing those running community businesses in my new role. The challenge of helping other projects achieve their potential and highlighting the positive benefit of training and support for new and existing projects is something that I look forward to.”

Whilst not at work I love travel and recently came back from Antarctica, I enjoy baking and cake decorating, I also Fence for a local club. Much of my spare time is spent in my wellies walking in the beautiful area I live in with my husband and Sprocker Bo.”

Alison will be based in Woodstock one day a week and working remotely the rest of her time and can be contacted on alison.macklin@plunkett.co.uk.

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