Cllr Mrs. Fleming

My family hail from Thanet and I am proud to say that my paternal grandad was undisputed Thanet Ploughing match champion for many years both with horse and plough and with tractor,  being very much part of the farming community in the 50s and 60s in the area. The paternal side of my family lived at Manston and my father told me he would race down Tothill St on his bike when he was a boy to go to the new Minster School when it opened !

My father’s decision to join the army meant I was born in Germany in 1972 but the family eventually settled back in Thanet and over the years I have lived in most of the towns in the area at some point or other.

My husband, daughter and I moved to Minster in 2003, looking for that sense of community often missed in larger towns and over the years I have helped out with local groups, Minster Walking bus, deliverer of Minster Matters Magazine and being on the Village Show Committee. I have now been treasurer for the Show since 2004.

I work full time for a charitable trust Social Care Provider called the Avenues Group having spent my entire career doing my best in various roles to support an improvement in quality of life, inclusion and equality for people with learning disabilities. I am currently Head of Referrals and New Projects in the Business Development Directorate and we aim to ensure that people get to benefit from our support and accommodation either by moving into an existing place or by developing new options for people. Seeing a person blossom from a frightened, undervalued individual to a person with status, interests and value in their community is a reward money cannot buy and I cannot see me doing anything else for work!

My spare time finds me tending to pets, enjoying time with cherished friends, wider family, husband, Scott and daughter Annabelle. I also volunteer for the Aspinall Foundation at Howletts Animal Park and Saturday’s in decent weather will find me engaging with visitors at the Gorilla section doing my best to share knowledge on the plight of the Western Lowland Gorilla, conservations efforts around the world and stories about the gorillas who have been doing their bit to save the species at Howletts.

I have to come to love Minster very much and want to see only the best for it and for its residents. That sense of community we came looking for has been found in abundance,  we have made new friends and acquaintances from the village and I enjoy knowing that I am likely to come across someone I know when I step out of the front door.  I knew early on in my time in the village that one day I would become a member of the Parish Council if I was wanted, but time evaded me. Covid 19 has changed the landscape for me in terms of where I work and so I feel that I now have the capacity to get involved. My time is still precious but I will do what I can and when I can to support the village and residents.