39-year-old Michael joined the Rotary Club soon after he moved to Dartmouth in 2004. He was
Mike Freeman
the youngest member then and still is now. In fact it’s thought he’s the youngest president the town’s club has ever had. But he says that has never affected the way other members treat him: “We are all part of a wonderful organisation that’s main role is to improve lives, both at home and abroad.”
The Rotary, whose motto is ‘Service above Self’, is a global network of people who come together to make ‘positive, lasting change in communities.’ They give their time and/or money to various projects - whether it’s play equipment for a pre-school or clean water for children in Tanzania. The Dartmouth club has 46 members who meet every Thursday at the Royal Castle Hotel. They have lunch and discuss various projects which need their support. “We need to know what the project is, how it helps people, what funds are needed and whether we believe we can help.”
To raise money they hold events such as golf days and summer fetes. The rest of the cash comes from collections and donations from generous local people and businesses. Part of Dartmouth Rotary’s work is securing match funding for bigger projects: “If we’re trying to re-build schools in Nepal following an earthquake, we team up with other clubs,” he says. Currently the club is helping a charity called PhysioNet, which supports people with mobility problems in developing countries. The Dartmouth group helps by transporting trucks full of wheelchairs and equipment to Yorkshire. They are then refurbished by prisoners, put in containers and shipped to the Ukraine, South Africa and Bhutan.
This is Michael’s second appointment as president; he was first elected back in 2012. Each term lasts 12 months and during this year he aims to help dementia sufferers and young people. He hopes to bring back Rotary’s mock interviews in schools to help students build confidence before they enter the jobs market. In addition to running various competitions and events, they hand out dictionaries in schools and Dartmouth Rotarians offer their services as ‘reading buddies’ to students at Dartmouth Academy.
Michael lived in Dartmouth for 16 years but he, his wife Maryna (pictured) and their two-year-old son Edward, have recently moved to Paignton: “I’m part of the Exeter Flying Club and with the new Kingskerswell bypass, I can be at the airport in less than half an hour.” Michael flies four-seater planes to France and the Isles of Scilly but also enjoys flying around above Devon. “I’ve always wanted to fly. My son hasn’t quite understood what it’s all about yet - but he does point to the sky when a plane flies overhead and says ‘daddy!’”
Although he’s moved across the river, Michael’s link with Dartmouth is still strong. He co-coordinates public meetings for Dartmouth’s Chamber of Trade: “It’s important to get people in town talking to each other and finding ways to improve the local economy” he says. “It’s more difficult than it was, following the fall-out of the Business Improvement District and the apathy of some businesses in the town. I hope they understand their community needs them. We’re staying positive and will persist with our work.”
When he isn’t flying or busy with his charity work Michael is at the top of town in Apollo IT – a business he created in 2004. They install new networks, resolve faults, help people stay safe online and work with businesses that can’t justify their own in-house IT team. Most of the eight staff work in the Dartmouth office but they also have an office in Newton Abbot. Michael says he loves his job and enjoys lots of lively banter with the team. He relishes the chance to meet new customers, although he says some can be rather impatient: “People expect technology to work and get cross when it doesn’t! They want someone to mend it - and mend it fast. With faster broadband speeds we all want things instantly these days. I’m terrible too – I can’t stand waiting around. It’s always appreciated when someone thanks the team for our work.”
Michael says he’s very lucky to have an understanding wife because he’s often looking at work emails in any spare time: “I do take my work home with me; it’s like caring for a child that never grows up – as every business owner knows.” He says he’s a lot better than he was in 2008 when he was so eager to please he took on too many projects and hardly slept for two weeks. He says he’ll never forget how bad it felt and certainly won’t do it again. It was then that he took on a partner and staff. The business has slowly grown and now Apollo deals with 50 contracts and around 600 ad hoc ‘walk ins’ a year.
Before starting the business Michael worked on flight simulators for the MOD but budget cuts meant his role got axed in 1997. He moved on to IT projects for banks and other companies and got his next big break on New Year’s Eve 1999: “It was Millennium Bug fever! I was on call for businesses like Anchor Butter, Mercedes Benz and Superdrug. It was the most lucrative night of my life and all in exchange for not having a drink!”
Michael says he’s happy with the way things are at the moment – he loves helping the town and its people who, he says, were very generous and welcoming when he first moved here. “Being part of Dartmouth Rotary Club continues to be a real honour as you see lives being changed due to your work. It also gives you a real sense of perspective – reminding you how lucky most of us are.”
Fist published By The Dart magazine August 2017
