WELCOME TO THE HEALTHIER FLEETWOOD TEAM

Fleetwood resident Mark Bowen has joined us in a voluntary role, bringing with him a wealth of experience and specialist knowledge in a number of sectors.

Following a career in the RAF Regiment spanning 24 years, mark retired in 2001. During his service he lived in Germany for a total of almost eleven years and completed many overseas detachments including Australia, Belize and the Falkland Islands.

On leaving the RAF he resumed his education whilst working in various Local Government appointments and also for Lincolnshire Co-operative Development Agency where he supported community groups and charities to develop strategies to generate income, principally through delivering service as either a social or co-operative enterprise.

Through his studies he secured post-graduate qualifications in Human Resource Management, the Management of EU funded projects and, latterly, a MSc in Social

Entrepreneurship.

In 2008 he commenced a new role in Higher education which led to him attracting £4M of external funding to develop two business facilities. One, a business incubator, saw Mark supporting more than thirty new-start businesses prior to moving to his present role as Business Gateway Manager at Lancaster University.

Mark was also successful in achieving Chartered Manager status and became a qualified Careers Guidance Counsellor and Psychometric Evaluator.

He has been married to Anne for forty-four years and has two grown-up daughters and two grandchildren. Moving to Fleetwood in 2018, Mark lists his major interests as walking their two dogs, Poppy and Rosie, gardening and keeping abreast of current affairs.

Mark's expertise in securing funding for major projects and supporting charities and community groups is a great addition to the practical support Healthier Fleetwood can offer. We have always encouraged new ideas and helped the residents behind them - knowing how best to develop and plan for the future comes up regularly in discussions with partner organisations of all sizes and it's here Mark is kindly volunteering some time to help.