Meet your new committee
We mentioned last month that following the recent branch AGM, there have been a few changes to the Sheffield & District CAMRA committee. Some people have changed roles, we have a few new faces and others have left. We would like to say thank you to Mick Saxton, Louise Singleton and Mark Boardley for their time and effort on the committee. Here is your new branch committee for 2018/19:
Glyn Mansell: chairman
Hello! I joined CAMRA in 2010 and have attended Branch Meetings for 3+ years. I was elected Chair of Sheffield Branch in April 2018. I am really passionate about Sheffield’s pubs and real ale. My motivation is to promote pubs in Sheffield and the surrounding areas. This means listening to CAMRA members and working with the branch committee. In Sheffield and District we are fortunate to have a variety of Pubs often within a short walk and Real Ale Trails have been produced.
Pubs have various attractions, whether you’re looking for a quiet place with small rooms, lively pubs with music or good pub food. Pubs might have changed and evolved over the years but some still often retain historical features and fittings. I have enjoyed RambAles, minibus trips and pub award presentations. My other interests are walking, cycling and conservation projects. I have five grandchildren of various ages who also help to keep me grounded.
Patrick Johnson: vice-chairman
Patrick moved to Sheffield from Newcastle several years ago straight into the Kelham Island area to partake of its many glorious pubs and myriad pale ales. He has been a CAMRA member for more than 10 years and this will be his third year on the committee, having previously served as social secretary. You’ll more than likely see him making presentations at our Pub of the Month evenings.
Paul Crofts: treasurer and festival organiser
I have been a committee member for 3 years now, as well as being on the festival committee. I have enjoyed all the various roles I have played in that time, particularly my functions at last year’s festival, and I was delighted to be press-ganged into being the Festival Organiser for this year (thanks Louise!). As well as being fond of ‘lowering a couple for the tonsils’, I’m also a big music fan, particularly live music. Feel free to stop me for a chat anytime you see me in the pub (particularly if you want to sponsor something at the festival).
Phil Ellett: branch secretary
A relatively recent convert to Real Ale, Phil joined CAMRA two years ago. Since then he has worked as a volunteer at several beer festivals and visited numerous breweries. He is also on the Steel City Beer Festival organising committee as the IT and website manager, and one of the cellar deputies.
Poppy Hayhurst: minutes secretary, press officer and social media coordinator
2017 was a bit of a whirlwind for me in terms of Sheffield & District CAMRA. My first ever meeting was the AGM where I found myself taking responsibility for the branch’s social media activity. The past year has seen us gain over 400 new followers, as well increase engagement with our content month by month. Our campaigns have been key to this, especially the 43rd Steel City Beer & Cider Festival and the 2018 AGM roundup.
I love that through this position I am contacted daily by pubs, breweries, clubs and individuals across the city sharing their events and news with me! This year my responsibilities have grown to include managing press enquiries for the branch and the festival, and I have also become the minutes secretary. I’m really excited to see what challenges, celebrations and changes this year will bring for the branch.
Dom Nelson: magazine editor
I’m still relatively new to Sheffield & District CAMRA, having joined the committee last year. The past 12 months have been really enjoyable for me, editing Beer Matters and getting involved at various events, particularly last year’s Steel City festival. There’s been some major improvements to the magazine recently and I believe we have one of the finest CAMRA publications in the country (and many people seem to agree!). I especially enjoy getting to know the latest news from Sheffield’s pubs and breweries. This year I’m also going to be the Stalls Manager at SCBF44 too so I’m sure you’ll see me around somewhere, most likely with a pint in hand!
Andy Cullen: social secretary
Andy has been actively involved in CAMRA for over 15 years after being recruited to sit on a national younger members task group. Since then he has held roles on the branch committee including secretary, membership secretary, magazine editor, chairman and now social secretary. Andy has also been involved with the Steel City Beer & Cider Festival almost every year since becoming active in the branch and this year he is coordinating the beer tasting events.
Andy Shaw: membership secretary, clubs officer and others
A CAMRA member since 1977, Andy has served on numerous branch committees around the country over the past 40 years. He has also been a member of various national committees over the years and was on CAMRA’s National Executive from 2012-2018. He has been on the Sheffield & District committee since 2017, when he stepped in to fill a few vacant positions including membership secretary and clubs officer.
Alan Gibbons: Pub of the Year and Good Beer Guide coordinator
Alan has been a CAMRA member since the early days of the campaign in the 1970s. He has been on the Sheffield & District committee for many years, holding almost every position at one time or another. He is currently serving as the coordinator of our Pub of the Year and Pub of the Month competitions, as well as the branch’s entries in the Good Beer Guide. He will also be the Products Manager at SCBF44.
Dave Pickersgill: pub heritage officer
Dave has been a CAMRA member since the 1970’s and has worked at almost forty Sheffield CAMRA festivals, plus a fair number of others. He is Brewery Liaison Officer (BLO) for Abbeydale, Blue Bee, Bradfield and Loxley. A member of the National Pub Heritage Group, he leads on Planning and Pub Heritage issues. He also edited the Sheffield Pub Heritage book, for which downloads have vastly exceeded expectations. The first hard copy was available in October 2018 and is a sell-out – the 5th edition is available both as a hard copy and a free download: https://sheffield.camra.org.uk/rhp/
Dave was local organiser for the 2023 National CAMRA Members’ Weekend, AGM and Conference which was held at Sheffield University on 21-23 April.
Sarah Mills: cider champion
Hi, my name is Sarah Mills. I have been a member of CAMRA for about eight years. I was encouraged to join because I wanted to get involved with the beer festival. I joined at the time when cider was a small sideline and since I have been joint cider bar manager I have seen it go from strength to strength. I enjoy talking about the ciders we sell and like to encourage customers to try the new things we have on offer.
Malcolm Dixon: RambAles coordinator
Malcolm is a long time CAMRA member. Following retirement after a lengthy railway career, latterly in York, he and his wife, Jenny, moved back to Sheffield a couple of years ago. Since then they have joined in and enjoyed various branch activities. They currently help devise and lead the RambAles along with Dave Pickersgill, and Malcolm will be the Staffing Manager at this year’s Steel City Beer & Cider Festival.