Like many of you, I have been indirectly touched by the impact of suicide and the hardships experienced by those struggling with their mental health.

As a grassroots organisation, providing support and guidance across the north of Scotland, Mikeysline is at the heart of our communities – from our board members to our colleagues; volunteers to charity ambassadors, we are all working to reduce the stigma surrounding suicide and mental health.

My role as Chairman, in line with my fellow board members, concentrates on ensuring appropriate governance is in place and the overarching purpose of Mikeysline is maintained.

This will enable us to provide invaluable crisis support services and long-term mental health education across our region – all to encourage people, young and old, to reach out for help when they need it most.

As we look to the future, we know demand for our services will continue to grow as more people find their voice and reach out to us for help – it will be my goal to ensure Mikeysline can continue to meet this demand head on.

I am a Chartered Accountant and have worked in practice since 2013. I work with business owners and management teams in a wide variety of businesses and industries including landed estates, farming, hospitality and renewables.

I deal mostly with compliance and provide advisory support. I also assist clients in improving financial processes and implementing new financial systems, as well as leading a team that acts as an outsourced finance function by looking after bookkeeping, VAT returns and management accounts for clients. 

Having done some fundraising for Mikeysline in the past and knowing how important the charity is to the local community, I was delighted to have the opportunity to join the Board. I hope I can use the skills I have developed over the years to support Mikeysline to achieve its objectives

I have been privileged to be a trustee of Mikeysline since 2016. During that time I have had the opportunity to meet and work with members of staff, volunteers, fundraisers and trustees and continue to be impressed by the commitment, dedication and enthusiasm for the part that each play in supporting Mikeysline.

Although I live in Southampton I have close family ties to Inverness and keep up to date with life in the Highlands through the local press, social media and regular visits. Mental health affects us all either directly or indirectly and I understand the impact that this and suicide can have on each of us. With a career in HR and Recruitment, I use these skills to help with staff HR and payroll. I am also Secretary to the Board of Trustees.

As much as I hate the word, I am by definition an entrepreneur in the hospitality, travel and leisure sectors. I have built my business up over almost 2 decades, and during this time I have worked with hundreds, if not thousands of incredible people from all walks of life.

My motivation to get involved with Mikeysline was down to just how many of our own team struggle with anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. We are not big enough to address everything ourselves, so the opportunity to be involved with a local organisation that not only provided support for people in similar situations but also championed mental health awareness among the wider public was too good to turn down.

While Mikeysline remains a small, hands-on organisation with the needs of its users at the very heart of what they do, I hope that my commercial experience can be drawn upon when required to add value to an already incredible organisation.

I have a background in social and economic development of the local area through a range of social and capital projects. Latterly, my employment has moved to the private sector where I work with and represent a range of clients within grid and associated infrastructure related projects. 

In addition to my employment, I have also co-founded a charity: Sutherland Adventure Company. The charity aims to provide opportunities for the local community to utilise their natural assets through affordable sessions out on the water to support mental health, mental clarity and time out in nature for people across Sutherland.

I recognise working and living in remote rural areas comes with its own challenges and barriers – in particular the landscape for delivering and accessing mental health support in isolated areas. I acknowledge there is still a huge amount of work to continue to create awareness of the impact of living and working rurally to individual mental wellbeing. 

I am enthused and deepened by the vital work of the team behind Mikeysline. It is an honour to be able to listen and contribute to the team to continue developing services and awareness across Highland, Moray and the Islands.

Recently I have become more and more aware of the demand on Mikeysline and the excellent work the charity does in the north of Scotland. The fact that the Highlands has one of the highest suicide rates in the country is heartbreaking, and the work that Mikeysline does is so important in reducing those figures.

Having now retired after 18 years managing the Eastgate Centre in Inverness, I am keen to support Mikeysline using the skills and experience I have built up throughout my career – both in the workplace and as a charity board member and fundraiser.

Following my experience of breast cancer in 2007, I joined the board of Maggie’s and organised fundraising events – including bringing together multiple cancer charities for the first time in Inverness. I also spent time on the board of The Archie Foundation, where I ran a number of successful fundraising events.

Now, having worked alongside Mikeysline at the Eastgate Centre, I am delighted to join the board to help develop the charity’s fundraising events programme, which will support the essential work they carry out for people in our communities.

I recently retired as Managing Director of Gordon & MacPhail, after spending over 30 years working in the Scotch Whisky industry.  Over this time, I have seen the changes to how businesses look after the well-being of their colleagues, especially mental health.  However, there is still so much more to be done to increase the awareness of the issue and support people, both in the business environment and wider society.