Over the coming months, we are interviewing each of our Council Team members...warts and all!

Name:

Gareth Carson

Council team position:

2014 Membership and Engagement Director, for JCI Sheffield

How long have you been a member of JCI?

1 year 3 months

How long have you been on council team?

4 months

What are your hobbies?

Amateur Dramatics and looking after my 3 cats. (yes I am the mad CAT lady!!!)

Why JCI for you?

To make a difference to my local community. The values of JCI mean a lot to me as I try to stick to this in my life by supporting local business where possible. To build on my JCI journey while increasing my confidence

Tell us about your role:

My role is to share the opportunity of JCI to people in our local community who might be interested in joining. I work closely with other council team members to support the buddy scheme we have, which I set up this year giving an exciting new way to engage our members and keep them up to date on what is happening within the chamber and how they can get involved. This scheme also means that you all have a point of contact you can build a relationship with to help you with any queries and questions you make have and who can support you on your own personal journey with JCI.

What is your ambition within JCI?

To continue to be an active member and to become UK National President one day and who knows I might even aspire for World President.

Proudest moment at JCI (so far!)

Winning greatest LEAP (LEADERSHIP EXCELLENCE IN ACTION PROGRAMME). This is a national leadership training programme, held over two days in August, and I would definitely recommend anyone to attend

Most embarrassing moment:

Falling over in a pair of high heels while taking my bow at pantomime when I was playing the Pantomime Dame.

What is your occupation?

I run my own business as a nail technician in and around Sheffield. I have great passion for good-looking nails as I always said they are the finishing touch, like the full stop at the end of a sentence. 

Claim to Fame?

When I was 15 I queued up outside Sheffield City hall to meet STEPS (sad I know). I have also appeared in the audience of the Graham Norton show when it was on channel 4.

What advice would you give to someone thinking of joining their local JCI council team?

I would say what have you got to loose. It's a great opportunity to build your skill set and a safe place for you to increase your confidence level. Everyone throughout the JCI organization on an international and local level are so supportive and anyone would be happy to help you with everything. It is excellent experience to get on to your CV and with more and more people finding out about JCI it is a great way to build your contact network.

If you would like to find out more about joining the Council Team next year, please get in touch with Mark Smith, Deputy President