Well we've had one Mackfall on the blog so far, it's time for another...

Which chamber are you a member of?
JCI Barnsley

How long have you been a JCI member?
One year (since August 2014)

What made you join?
Peer pressure...!!  My younger sister had joined before me (despite JCI being on my radar years ago), and my parents (both Senators) had been triumphing the benefits of joining for some time...  Following a few free taster training sessions and possibly a social evening meal out at the Restaurant of the Quarter, I downloaded the application form and sent off my registration, with the intention of throwing myself into the fray with my first official event as a member being the JCI Barnsley Annual Train Pub Crawl 2014.  And so it began...

What is the most interesting JCI event you've been to and why?
Everyday Improvisation, hosted by JCI Sheffield during 2015.  It was one of the first few events I went to outside of Barnsley, so it was daunting meeting new faces, especially when you're shy, and in a world where you're trying to make good first impressions, but this event was all about breaking down the walls and being careful with what you say, by saying silly things, jumping around, shouting and throwing the boulder of JUSTICE.  This was a great event to be uninhibited in!

Had JCI presented any unusual/interesting opportunities?
I like the opportunity's I'm getting to build friendships and networks across the region and potentially the country as I attend more and more events that are organised.  This time last year I wouldn't have imagined I would be travelling across the county to attend training sessions, or meeting people from one of the most northern cities in Britain (here's looking at the Aberdeen twins...!), nor taking part in training sessions like Extempore where confidence and speaking in public is required...

What is your job/career/profession/business?
Credit control/accounts assistant in a local Window Fabricating company.

Has JCI had any impact on your job/career/profession/business?
Possibly indirectly JCI has impacted my performance in the skills and qualities I've developed such as confidence in speaking, time management, and hopefully tips from an "assertiveness at work" training session I've recently attended.

Who is a leader you admire?
I'm not sure I could name anyone specifically without going away for another month and thinking about it, but I admire confidence and conviction in a leader, someone with a purpose, who can encourage their "followers" to be an effective team in their campaign (whatever their campaign may be...)

What's your proudest achievement?
It may be quite personal and hopefully not too self-indulgent, but my proudest recent achievement has been losing a significant amount of weight through Slimming World's healthy eating - reaching target and maintaining it.  It feels quite insignificant in comparison to others who I imagine would be proud of jumping out of a plane, climbing Everest or crossing the Sahara, but for now I'm taking small steps.  I've been watching the Run With Us team this year, spear headed by Joe and Debbie Worthington, and felt inspired - perhaps this time next year I'm going to be Feeling Proud of JCI achievements, which in turn benefit the community rather than me! 

Where's your favourite place to eat?
This is so difficult, as I've been to a number of beautiful restaurants recently across Yorkshire where the food has been heavenly...!!  But my favourite local haunt is the 8 Oz Burger Company in Barnsley, found on the Victorian Arcade.  I'm slowly working my way through their 30 various burgers on the menu, but keep getting distracted by the specials. 

What is your perfect weekend?
A three day weekend...!!  With a balanced mix of sunshine, friends, good food and maybe cocktails (proper, good, quality cocktails where the barman doesn't need to check the menu for ingredients...!!)

Tell us something crazy/dangerous/inspiring/unusual you have done
I'm a bit of a music and film fan, and don't see anything strange about going to the cinema, a gig or festival on my own - I feel like everyone else in attendance is there for exactly the same reason, so I'm in a room full of likeminded people.  I may not go as far afield as Manchester at 10pm (to come home at 3am!) on my own, followed the next morning by a day of official JCI training courses looking like a zombie though...  I had to insist in February to Emma and Mark in Sheffield that I wasn't bored of Achieve and Impact!  Promise!!

Thanks Bev!!