MEET YOUR MEMBERS: NATALIE ✎

Over the next couple of weeks, we'll be introducing you to our council members! This time, we're speaking to our Fundraising Director Natalie Hutchins.

Which chamber are you a member of? Southampton

How long have you been a JCI member? 1 year

What made you join? I wanted the opportunity to meet new people and network with other young professionals in Southampton

What is the most interesting JCI event you've been to and why? I really enjoyed the wine tasting we did in March. We sampled some fantastic wines with some delicious food! It was perfect!

Had JCI presentted any unusual/interesting opportunities? Yes, it has opened up doors for me professionally, and it has enabled me to develop more relationships with key people in Southampton which is a huge part of my every day job. It has also enabled me to organise some fantastic and different events to entice members and non-members to come along and find out more about JCI and support our nominated charity.

What is your job/career/profession/business? I am a fundraiser for No Limits; a youth, information, advice and counselling charity based in Southampton and supporting around 5,500 young people a year!

Has JCI had any impact on your job/career/profession/business? It has had a massive impact on my job. I have developed relationships with so many new people across Southampton which has ultimately benefited our charity. In addition to this, JCI themselves have been working hard to fundraise for us all year through various events and even taking on running challenges such as the APB 10k and half marathon!

Who is a leader you admire? My Father. I worked for him for a couple of years when I was just starting out and his ability to juggle the stress of running a business and supporting all of his employees fairly blew me away. He was the kind of leader who was firm but fair, honest and cared about his employees' welfare- and sometimes if we were lucky he brought us muffins!

What is your proudest achievement? I'm pretty sure this will happen later this year when my baby is due!

If we came to your home and looked inside your refrigerator, what would we see? Lots of fruit, greek yogurt, salad, milk, butter, and a ridiculous number of opened jars that have only been used once! If my husband hasn't eaten them all there might be some kit kats in there too!

What is a good weekend to you? Saturday morning I love doing my gym classes- Body Pump followed by Body Attack. Then I love to go to the market in Lymington and look at all the lovely food and stuff they have on offer! Food is a massive part of my weekend: I love cooking and eating out so either having family over and cooking for them or going out for a nice meal would be perfect! Sunday are for lazing so chilling out watching a film if it's raining but if the weather is nice then walking into our local town, having a coffee and sitting in the sunshine.

Tell us something crazy/dangerous/inspiring/unusual you have done! I worked on cruise ships for 4 years and I did some pretty unusual stuff then, including visiting the most northern and the most southern post offices in the world in the space of six months (Svalbard and Ushuaia).