The affairs of the Trust are governed by a Board of Directors who volunteer their time. Directors are either elected or co-opted from among the Trust’s members or appointed to the Board by other community bodies. Election takes place at Annual General Meetings. Co-option can take place at any time, usually to fill a vacancy or a skills gap.
Information for prospective directors
If you would like to find out more, please contact Ian, our Development Manager on 07483 136538 or at ian@findernedevelopmenttrust.com to arrange an informal chat about the Finderne Development Trust and its current projects. A guidance note for prospective Directors is available below.
Current Directors
Karen Astill
Karen moved to Dunphail in 2014 and spent 7 years as secretary of Edinkillie Community Association. She joined the board of FDT in 2018 and, until recently, worked for the NHS at Dr Gray’s Hospital. In 2022 she qualified as a transformative life coach and currently works from home.
She spends her free time out in the countryside with her husband and dog.
Brian Higgs
Brian retired from his role as Malt Distilling Director for Diageo in 2014 after 30 years with the Scotch Whisky maker. He is married to Sarah and has two daughters.
After 40 years in the area, he can think of nowhere else as “home” and is passionate about the Finderne Development Trust becoming a leading force for the benefit of the local community. Brian has been a Director of the FDT since its inception.
Stewart McCracken
Stewart lives with his wife Anne in Rafford and has done so since 2012. He was posted to RAF Kinloss in 2006 as a wing commander after serving in Sierra Leone as a military adviser. He retired in 2008 after a 35yrs career. Since then, he has worked in the NHS and until recently in the voluntary sector, as a caseworker and chairperson of the local branch of the military charity SSAFA. He is also a member of the Finderne Community Council and believes in the power of local communities.
Tony Pinner
Tony worked in social housing as a chartered surveyor before setting up his own aviation business in the midlands. He sold the business in 2003 and he and his wife Jude moved to Moray in 2004. Tony set up a small building business and finally retired a few years ago after moving to Rafford. He has served on the Finderne Community Council since it was set up to monitor the A96 dualling. He has served on Parish Councils in England and has always taken an interest in community issues.
Sue Boulton
Sue has lived in Dunphail for over thirty years and has seen many changes in the area and its population.
Her work background is economic development, business start-up, and social enterprise and she is currently a Work Coach with the DWP. She has also survived ten years as a problem solver in an MP’s Constituency Office!
Sue is very keen to contribute something positive to an area that has given so much to her and her family and she very much enjoys working as part of a positive and successful team.
Dawn Nicolson
Dawn has lived in Dunphail since 1987 when she married her husband, Davie.
Over the years, Dawn has worked for SSE while bringing up a family of four. In that time she has also been involved with the local primary school, church and hall committees.
Dawn, with her husband and two sons, currently runs the family farm and agriculture contracting business. She also manages a horse livery.
Tim Slack
Tim Slack is a co-founder and co-director of Appreciating People http://www.appreciatingpeople.co.uk
Tim has worked in youth work and community based regeneration for over 35 years, holding several senior posts in local government, community engagement and arts organizations. Responsible for delivering significant EC funded community economic development programmes and regional regeneration projects.
Experienced Appreciative Inquiry trainer and facilitator and author of several practical Appreciative Inquiry resources including in 2014 created “How to be more Awesome” a journal and workbook co-designed with young people supporting resilience and wellbeing. More recently he has been the AI adviser on the Appreciating Church programme co-author of Appreciating Church resource and workbook.
Currently working with NHS partners to co-create Appreciating Health and Care an Appreciative Inquiry guide to the health sectors (to be published in April 2024)
Currently he is Exec Chair of NFD the commercial Arm of the Findhorn Foundation. Also has held directorship on Liverpool Vision (regeneration company for Liverpool) and Chair of Merseyside Federation for Small Business (FSB)
Carol Anne Bennett Buttaci
I moved to Rafford with my husband, Joe, in April 2017. We came to Moray having been introduced to this lovely part of Scotland when my daughter moved to live with her husband, then based at Kinloss Barracks. The family subsequently moved to join us in Rafford. Since then we have been joined by my other daughter and her family. Still living in England I have two sons with family.
Raising my family of four taught me to balance and juggle everything that life throws at growing families. In her 80s my mother moved in with us as she was not able to look after herself. In the seven years she was with us she brought a different aspect to the family as a whole. The children loved having nanny at home and I enjoyed being able to repay the care mum had given me as I was growing up.
After raising my family I returned to work and had a successful career in customer service, administration and management for approximately 26 years. My final position was within a Local Government Authority. I worked in the Education Department ensuring the provision of support for young people with special educational needs until I retired in 2012. Starting as an administrative officer, liaising directly with the parents using my teams services, I progressed to a senior position within the team until I was appointed a team manager in 2008.
Alongside the usual customer service and administrative skills required for the dayvto day work I was lucky enough to be able to build on a latent desire to study law when I was required to represent my Authority at Special Educational Needs Tribunals. Preparing for these cases required knowledge of the legislation around special educational needs, attention to every detail and the ability to present cases to panels comprised of education professionals and Queen’s Counsels.
I look forward to the opportunity of contributing to and supporting my neighbours and the many friends I have made since 2017 should I be elected as a voluntary director for Finderne Development Trust.
Co-Opted Directors
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Alasdair Laing
Alasdair was born and brought up at Logie and, following spells away in the army and training as a chartered surveyor, returned home in the 1970s to run the farm and estate. Now semi-retired, over the years he has been involved in most aspects of rural land management, was a founder shareholder and director of a helicopter company and sat on the boards of The Scottish Agricultural College and Macaulay Development Trust.