Michael Broom Smith, Owner and Founder - Age 48
I first skied in Méribel in April 1987 and remember learning on the Altiport. From that week on I was in love with skiing, the mountains and the way of life in the valley. In 1991 I was lucky enough to join David Williams in partnership at Chalet Le Crêtet in Mottaret, having holidayed in the chalet in the intervening years. In 1993, after 13 seasons in various ski resorts, David decided that he had had enough and I continued to run Le Crêtet (and "Ski Crêtet") with the aid of various chefs and chalet people. This will be my 18th season.
In 1997 (and coincidentally, at the same time as meeting Karen) I took on my second chalet, Crêt de la Neige in La Gittaz. Since then we have grown further, gradually acquiring more lovely chalets that suit the excellent service we provide (and occasionally dropping those that don't..). We have always wanted Purple Ski to stay "small and special" - as some of our guests have described us - and so remain at just 4 chalets, 44 beds and a small and focussed team - and we are, as ever, very confident that we can deliver a very personal and high quality service, and also have some time to enjoy the mountains too! Yes, even after 18 seasons I still love the life here and find the skiing exciting...
Karen Broom Smith, Owner and Founder - Age 44
Karen joined Michael full time in 2001 from the Dell Computer Corporation, where she was the Director of Audit for Dell Europe. Before that, she worked at Heinz and Mars in various general management, manufacturing/people management and engineering roles. She has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Bristol University and is a Certified Management Accountant.
Her first association with Purple Ski was in March 1997, when she was a guest in Chalet Le Crêtet. She has now completed 8 seasons. She focuses mainly on operations, primarily recruiting, training and working with the superb team of staff.
Ben Mason, Office Manager - Age 32
We're delighted that Ben is returning to Purple Ski for his 3rd season. From West Yorkshire, Ben is a fully qualified accountant and worked as an accountant for 9 years. He got hooked on skiing and mountain life during his first winter season, 2004-2005, when he worked in the Canadian Rockies, but loves the Three Valleys too and so is delighted to be back.
He is a lovely man - highly conscientious with phenomenal organisational skills, but also very outgoing, always cheerful and gets on well with everyone. He has impeccable service standards, so he thoroughly enjoys being part of the service / hospitality industry.
Ben is already back in Meribel, helping Michael and Karen ensure the smooth running of the "back office" operations - the accounting, booking taxis, ski lessons and so on. During the season, he and Ruth will also arrange your lift passes and ski equipment, and support the drivers and chalet people when needed.
Ruth Anstice, Administration Assistant - Age 35
Ruth, who is from Crawley, West Sussex, has a degree in French with Italian, and has spent most of her career working in London in the investment industry, in research and analytical positions. However in 2006, she decided to move away from London and spent the summer in Cornwall, where she had initially planned to set up her own business (and also learning to surf) - but happily for us, this didn't come to fruition and so she joined us for the her first winter season (2006-2007). Since then, she has tried to settle back to London, but her heart wasn't there; she then spent many recent months in Indonesia and fell in love with it - to the extent that she has bought a small plot of land which she plans to develop. However she can't resist the urge of another winter in the mountains before she does that, so we are really pleased that she is coming back to us!
A very competent snowboarder, Ruth us gregarious, good fun to be around and loves meeting new people, also enjoys reading (though nothing mainstream from what we can tell!) and likes to have a bit of a debate sometimes....
She very organised and efficient and will be helping Ben with the smooth running of the "back office" operations, also arranging lift passes and ski equipment, and supporting the drivers and chalet people when needed.
Mark Dancey, Supplies Manager - Age 33
We're delighted that Mark is working for us for a fifth year, his seventh alpine winter. He just can't resist the lure of another Purple Ski season in the Three Valleys! Qualified in food safety & hygiene, he is responsible for making sure that the chalets have whatever food, drink and other provisions needed, as well as keeping all the buildings and equipment in good order. Though mainly working "behind the scenes" you may meet him during the season - either delivering to your chalet, or on changeover day when he helps with luggage and transfers.
Originally from Brighton, he graduated from The University of Oxford in 1999 with an MA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics. He has been based in the Lake District this summer, but travelling in Egypt and Tunisia for diving, Borneo for trekking, France for climbing and Scotland for walking. A BASI 1 ski instructor, SPA climbing instructor, Mountain Leader and aspiring BCU canoe/kayak coach, he's self-employed in property renovation/construction, and leads expeditions for World Challenge to remote destinations including Namibia.
He would love to work for a charity in International Development, but in the meantime is hoping to commence teacher training in Maths & Outdoor Education at Bangor University, start his Mountain Instructor Award and move onto his BASI Level 2 in 2010.
Joe Adkins, General Assistant - Age 23
Watch this space!
The general assistant's role is to provide cover for the chalet assistant/drivers and the Iamato chalet manager on their days off and provide whatever practical support is needed to keep Purple Ski running smoothly.
Geri Trueman, Relief Chalet Manager - Age 24
Geri, also back from last winter, came to us with a wealth of hospitality experience, having worked as a waitress for many months at a boutique, countryside hotel (Milsoms Kesgrave Hall), a gastro-pub, and also on an agency basis at restaurants, racecourses and sports grounds. She is also an excellent cook, gets on very well with children and has significant babysitting experience.
Very warm, kind and patient, she loves meeting new people, new challenges and learning new skills. With a degree in Fine Art from the University of Newcastle, she is also very artistic - in particular loving screen-printing, etching, photo-polymer etching, photography, painting, sculpture, drawing and carpentry! She spent the summer getting her TEFL qualification and then doing some teaching, also waitressing in a wine bar in London.
Geri leads the relief team, who will look after you on the day off of the dedicated chalet staff (cooking, housekeeping and babysitting as required)
Jemima O'Lone, Relief Chalet Assistant - Age 22
Jemima has just graduated with a degree in the History of Art from Oxford Brookes University. She hopes ultimately to get into publishing, but has always wanted to do a ski season (though she has only skied a couple of times so far) and was persuaded by a friend (one of our staff last year), to apply to us in the meantime! While Jemima's work experience has been mainly in an office environment, she has had plenty of semi-formal waitressing experience helping out at paid functions and helping when her parents hosted business dinners. Her customer facing skills have also been honed by working at Wimbledon as a food service assistant, at a PR company as receptionist, as the manager of a pottery studio and cafe... and also by assisting with political campaigning earlier this year.
She is charming - gentle, kind, conscientious and hardworking, also positive, chatty - and enjoys a challenge. She is also artistic - enjoying drawing and painting in her free time. She says she's not the sportiest of people, but enjoys tennis and has done some surfing, and is confident that she will grow to love skiing!
Jemima will be working in chalets Foinsbois and Lapin Blanc on the day off of the chalet assistants, also helping with driving and general duties as required.
Claire Latimer, Personal Assistant - Age 22
From Nottingham, Claire has a first class degree in Psychology from Huddersfield University and has extensive customer service experience including waitress and bar, receptionist work, also shop sales and supervising / leading sports activities for large numbers of children at a leisure centre. She has also worked as a baby-sitter/childminder to the same family for 8 years.
She's a total pleasure to have around - very smiley, helpful, hard-working, friendly and loves socialising and having fun. She would ideally like to continue with her psychology and become a therapist/counsellor, but wants a break from studying and, having had a wonderful time with us last season, she can't resist the temptation of repeating the experience! With her back - as personal / admin / chalet assistant, our season should run very smoothly indeed...
Max, Purple Son and Heir! - Age 3 (born 1st July 2006)
The youngest and definitely the least productive member of the Purple Ski team - Max is a sweetie (a bit of editorial bias creeping in?!). Very good-natured and also very chatty (he takes after his father), he started school ("ecole maternelle" - French pre-prep school) in Les Allues in October and will start skiing in earnest this season. No doubt he'll be overtaking Karen at least before long! We hope some of you will meet him during the course of the season.
Robert, a Scot, from Berwickshire (not far from Edinburgh), is back for his 3rd season as Iamato chef: he joined us in December 2007 after completing a year's travels in Asia-Pacific, where among others, he spent most of the ski season in Thredbo, Australia, at a fine dining restaurant, where he helped the new owners establish a great reputation.
His love of cooking came from his grandparents, who were cooks at an old country house; he has been cooking since he was 15 and still loves it. His first job was at a 2AA rosette, Michelin recommended country house hotel on the Scottish borders where he spent 4 years, initially as pastry chef but ultimately as senior chef de partie. Since then, he has worked at The Atrium in Edinburgh (also 2AA rosettes) as sous chef, and at several brasseries (including one of Bill Granger's in Sydney) and other fine dining restaurants, in senior - including many head chef - positions. He also rescued, and then won awards for, a previously-failing bar/restaurant in Edinburgh in just a few months. Rob spent this summer helping a friend open and run a restaurant in Edinburgh city centre, which he says has been hard work, but has gone well.
Robert loves "upscale" cooking, and the freedom to be creative. He is one of the most organised (and tidy) chefs that we have come across - and his food is simply excellent.
He's a lovely guy: relaxed, enthusiastic, hardworking, active (as well as snowboarding, he also enjoys climbing, surfing and generally keeping fit) and reliable. Occasionally a little shy/gruff, nevertheless he gets on well with everyone and we know that he and Jenny, great friends already, will make an excellent team (note: they are not a couple!!).
Jenny Donald, Chalet Manager - Age 23
Jenny is from Banff, Aberdeenshire. Last year, having just graduated from the University of Aberdeen with a degree in Biology, she wanted to take a break before she started a 1 year post-graduate course in teaching, and came to work for us as Chalet Assistant in Chalet Rousillon. She loved the season, not only the snow-boarding but also being part of the team, and signed up to return even before last season had drawn to a close!.
Jenny has extensive hospitality experience having worked for 5 years (part time and in school holidays) at a good quality, family run hotel hotel in her local town where she worked as waitress and housekeeper (her favourite job so far), and in other restaurants and bars. She has also worked for 4 years (part time) as a customer service assistant in various banks - a roving role, which she enjoys a lot. She spent the summer working at the same family-run hotel, but has also just completed a 5 week stint as a volunteer on a remote beach in Mexico, where she learned to SCUBA dive and then collected data on coral/fish species living on the Meso American Barrier Reef...
Very efficient, sensible, calm under pressure and a very positive person in her outlook on life, Jenny has excellent people skills, loves helping people and is a pleasure to have around.
Richard Smith, Chalet Assistant Driver - Age 36
Richard, who is from Bridlington, Yorkshire, is also back with Purple Ski for his 3rd season. As usual, he joins us almost directly from Pennsylvania US where for the last 13 years he has worked as an assistant cook and manager in a major children's summer camp. He loves his job there, but it is demanding and stressful, so in the winters, after spending a month back at home running his parents' butchers business - and allowing them some time off - he likes to travel, usually working holidays. He loves to ski and so finds that his winter seasons with us are just perfect for him.
His very interesting CV includes 5 years as assistant butcher at his family firm, 2 years in sales at an off-licence retail company, 2 months in Indonesia as part of a volunteer group, building a release site for orphaned orangutans, and teaching and performing massage to disadvantaged youths in a juvenile institution and elderly groups in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand - 2004 (he has over 300 hours of massage practice and accreditations from the Thai governments)!
A very active individual, Rich is efficient, hardworking and professional, loves new challenges and enjoys working to the highest level. He is kind and considerate and would always go the extra mile; he is sociable and likeable, has a huge smile and a dry sense of humour - oh, and is a big Liverpool football fan! His interests also include skiing, scuba diving, running, reading, films, food and drink and relaxing.
With over 12 years of professional cooking experience, Dan, from Ludlow, Shropshire (home to a surprising number of Michelin starred restaurants) has worked in many different establishments varying from Hungarian bistros to five star hotels (Bovey Castle in Devon).
He first joined us for the winter of 2007-2008 from Michael Caines' 2AA rosette-awarded restaurant in Exeter (ABode Exeter, formerly The Royal Clarence - the country's first 'hotel') is, where he held the position of senior sous chef for c. 2 years. There, under chef Ross Melling (previously a chef at the world famous 3* French Laundry in the US) he was working towards a first Michelin star and 3 AA rosettes. Looking for a new direction and a break from the hectic restaurant scene a year ago, he thoroughly enjoyed his first two seasons with us (though last winter, he was injured and unable to ski for several weeks); he is a natural skier and snowboarder (becoming very good in a sickeningly short time!), we are absolutely delighted that he is back again. He has spent the summers mainly doing private catering, last summer he also worked at the Michelin starred Mr Underhill's restaurant in Ludlow.
An excellent chef, his style of food is modern European - and his presentation of food is fantastic. Highly organised, calm under pressure, reliable and incredibly committed and serious about his work, he's also easygoing, has a quirky sense of humour and knows how to have fun outside work.
Emily Smith, Chalet Manager - Age 29
Emily is also back for her third season; last year she was Chalet Manager in Iamato, the year before she was chalet assistant in Chalet Lapin Blanc (then known as Kouneli) and we are delighted to have her back.
She graduated from the London College of Printing in 2003 with a degree in graphic media design, but quickly decided this wasn't really for her… Since then, she has been working almost exclusively in the events/hospitality industry, both in the UK and Australia.
In the UK, she has worked extensively with the London-based "Offtowork" company, working in a variety of waitressing roles delivering the highest level of service - from intimate private dinner parties to weddings, large corporate functions, events such as Cartier International Polo, and at venues such as VIP boxes at Wembley stadium, the Royal Albert Hall and the O2 Arena.
Emily also travelled to and within Australia for 2 years; during that time she worked in the hospitality industry at a very high level at huge functions and intimate venues such as corporate boxes at prestigious sports stadia, as a general assistant (housekeeper/cook/hostess/salesperson) at a "roadhouse" on the outskirts of one of Australia's World Heritage sites, and also in the harvest industry! This summer, as well as hospitality work, she has been doing volunteer work in Cornwall at a monkey sanctuary and in Greece working with loggerhead turtles...
A consummate professional, with phenomenal work standards, she applies immense enthusiasm and attention to detail to whatever she does. She is highly organised, hard working and conscientious and a great team player. Unassuming and occasionally a little shy, she nevertheless has a great sense of humour, is very friendly and great fun to have around. Her guests are in excellent hands.
Aisling Cheesman, Chalet Assistant - Age 19
Aisling (pronounced "Ashling"), who lives in the same town as Karen and Michael, is just lovely. She has just completed her A levels and is taking a gap year before going travelling (around South East Asia) and then to the York University where she will study Writing, Directing and Performance. She has had 3 years part time experience waitressing at a local hotel and private functions, also several months of bar work in a local wine bar. The oldest of 5 children and daughter of the headmaster of a small, independent boarding school, she is used to being around children and has lots of baby-sitting / childcare experience too. Her family has strong musical connections (Aisling doesn't play an instrument, but sings well) and her favourite job has been helping at "Rockmasters", which provides residential and day courses for young musicians to improve their skills with the help of famous musicians from the rock world. For 3 years now, she has worked there as "helper", looking after up to 24 children who are on the course.
She is totally charming, independent, sensible and practical, also outgoing, sociable and good fun. And is a competent skier too! We are delighted that she is joining us to help run Chalet Lapin Blanc this year.
Lucie Noble, Chalet Assistant Masseuse - Age 29
Lucie, who worked with us in 2007-2008 (she was chalet assistant/driver/masseuse in Chalet Chopine), is a Chartered Physiotherapist, with 5 years post-qualification experience working in the NHS but also supporting a rugby club as a physiotherapist, providing pre and post-match massage treatments. After leaving us she worked for a private clinic in Harley Street and for a private client on the James Bond "Quantum of Solace" world tour before going travelling to Australia and South America. She has a great deal of musculo-skeletal massage experience in the course of her professional work, but is she is also trained in sports remedial massage.
Her hospitality experience has included a number of waitressing and other part time jobs in golf clubs, bars, private catering and country hotels.
Lucie is a very kind and generous person, also very smiley, sociable, upbeat and easy to get on with... A great team player, hard working and positive, she is also very active and sporty; back in the UK she plays a lot of tennis, but also loves to snowboard/ski and enjoys windsurfing and sailing - among others.
Fiona Carmody, Chalet Assistant Driver - Age 25
This is Fiona's second season with Purple Ski, but third ski season overall (she worked in Courchevel as a chalet assistant in 2007-2008). She says "I had such a good time last year and figure one more year won�t hurt...and besides I have to improve my off piste skiing and do some more ski touring!"
Her other work experience includes lots of work on yachts - both in yacht delivery and also working as deckhand/stewardess on privately owned yachts; she has also worked as a sailing instructor, multi-activity instructor in children's camps and has been a care assistant in the NHS, nursing the elderly, also patients in psychiatric, stroke and pre-transplant wards.
A great team-player and a tremendously hard worker, she loves a challenge and is enthusiastic, organised, calm in stressful situations and adaptable. She has plenty of minibus driving experience (from university - she has a degree in Applied Sports Science from the University of Edinburgh) and is very smiley and approachable; she is an excellent and very popular part of the Lapin Blanc team. She's incredibly sporty; running is her main sport at the moment but she is an excellent skier and snowboarder. Longer term, she is contemplating studying to become a physiotherapist in Australia..
We're delighted to have Dano back with us for his 4th season; Dano first worked with us in our chalet "Crt de la Neige" in La Gittaz in 2003-2004, then in Rousillon in 2005-2006 and again in 2007-2008.
He has English parents, but was born and educated, and trained as a chef in Canada. He completed his apprenticeship at a bistro/fine dining restaurant, and since then has had a great deal of high level experience including a winter season at the Chateau Lake Louise in Alberta (a renowned luxury hotel and ski resort), 2.5 years at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club as chef de partie, also running the banqueting section, a year at the Savoy Hotel in London as junior chef de partie, and the Aston Resort and Spa in Toronto, where he held the position of Executive Sous Chef.
In the time between his seasons with us, he has set up and opened the kitchen and restaurant at an up market, new golf club near Toronto, to rave reviews - also worked at the Belfry, England and an up market golf club restaurant in Canada. He can't resist the temptation of another winter with us though, which is wonderful - and those of you who have met him will, I'm sure, remember not only his great cooking but also his great character and big personality!
Esther Madge, Chalet Manager- Age 25
Esther has recently started work as the Manager of The Sunnycliff
hotel apartments in Salcombe (having some years previously project-managed the conversion of the hotel into apartments), and loves it. The position is seasonal and, as she has always loved skiing (she started when she was 6 or 7), she thought this would be a perfect way to spend the winters. She was referred to us by a good friend who worked for us last year.
Esther, who has a degree in Medical Biochemistry, has a very varied CV: she spent the first 2 years after graduating in the beauty industry, initially on a management trainee programme and then as a product development manager. She has also worked as a sports massage therapist for Somerset County Cricket Club, a play scheme leader for Gwent County Council and as a waitress in a local pub.
She is very confident, professional, and motivated - very practical, always upbeat, hardworking, sociable and good fun. She is very customer oriented, very friendly and attentive and does her utmost to make sure that everyone is happy. Esther has decided that she loves the hospitality business and hopes to make it her career - we are very pleased to have her on the team this year!
Gareth Martin, Chalet Assistant/Driver - Age 31
From NSW, Australia, but with Welsh origins, Gareth is a qualified electrician. Since completing his trade qualifications at 21, he has managed to combine both work and travel, and joins us with several years experience in the electrical and communications industry, where he has held various positions, including that of foreman with a crew of up to 10 people working under him, and also hospitality work, both bar work and also teaching water skiing in children's summer camps in the US.
He worked for us in the winter of 2007-2008, as chalet assistant/driver in Chalet Rousillon.
Gareth has a passion for out-door sports including surfing and skiing (on water and snow!). He also loves music - he plays the acoustic guitar and sings pretty well too. A very laid-back, likeable, funny and chatty guy, he is a strong and entertaining member of the team!
Stephen, who worked for us in the winter of 2006-2007 as Chef in Chalet Iamato, trained in Harrogate. After qualifying in 2001, he travelled extensively; his CV includes several months at the highly-acclaimed Cambio de Tercio restaurant in London (voted the best Spanish restaurant outside Spain) where he was chef de partie, several months working on a luxury catered barge (the Magna Carta) on the Thames and 5 ski seasons - at a 4 star hotel in Zermatt, with Scott Dunn and then with us, but he says that perhaps his best food was done when working for himself, in private catering in various countries.
He is really dedicated to his work, very inventive - passionate about his cooking and works hard to improve his skills and keep up to date with new ideas. His food reflects this - he's extremely creative and artistic, and back in 2006-2007, had rave reviews from all his clients! He's also a fairly laid back person - for instance he might not be able to tell you what he's preparing for you until a few hours beforehand!
Since his last season with us, Stephen has been studying photography at Newcastle University and has just graduated with - unsurprisingly - a 1st Class degree, but has also continued cooking and developed his skills further, mainly in private catering. We are very much looking forward to having him back!
Alex Irvine, Chalet Manager - Age 22
Alex, who is also back for his 3rd season, worked for us last year as Relief Chalet Manager and before that, as Chalet Manager in Lapin Blanc. He has excellent hospitality experience; other than his 2 seasons with us, he spent a long (7 month) summer season in 2008 at the Summer Isles Hotel, a small, family run luxury hotel with a Michelin starred restaurant. There, he started as general assistant but was quickly promoted to become restaurant supervisor and was also trained to serve fine wines. His duties also included regular and meticulous housekeeping - and so Alex is used to extensive and scrupulous cleaning! He came to us with excellent references - he has very high work standards and is very competent, also very popular with clients and his fellow team members. His previous work experience also includes hospitality work at lower ends of the scale - in bars and pubs, and he has also worked in luxury car and holiday property sales. He comes to us this season fresh from a film set (ask him about his loin cloth!).
He's very friendly, upbeat and chatty, also very confident, professional and committed but able to operate in a relaxed style. He is not sure quite where his life/career will lead him but loves the hospitality business (he has a diploma in hospitality and tourism) and likes to work and play hard and wants to continue working at a very high level. A keen sportsman, he adores his skiing/snowboarding and so could not resist the call of the mountains a third time. We're delighted that he is back again this season.
Susannah Colvin, Chalet Assistant - Age 24
Susannah, who is from Tiverton, Devon, has a degree in Real Estate Management and since graduating, has been working as a surveyor in the commercial sector. She also comes to us with a wealth of hospitality experience: while at university she worked part time for a prestigious private caterers working as a fine dining waitress at weddings and parties of VIP's, at locations such as Bleinheim Palace and Highclere Castle. She also spent a summer as part of a team of cleaners for high quality holiday homes, and has worked at a hotel and restaurant in roles from bar tending to assistant restaurant manager. She has also worked as a face to face charity fundraiser - a job she loved for the interaction, also the team-work and energy/motivation that was required.
Susannah has skied 5-6 times previously and has always wanted to do a ski season; she is looking to change direction in her career and so before she does that, decided to come out to the Alps. Highly articulate, intelligent, she is relaxed and easy to talk to, confident, organised adn energetic. We know she will be a really strong and popular member of our team
Alex Needham, Chalet Assistant Masseuse - Age 31
Born in Holland, with German and Scottish parents, Alex first started to develop her knowledge and skills in physical therapy and related disciplines 9 years ago. She obtained an advanced diploma in sports therapy in 2001 and subsequently also qualified as a physiotherapist in 2007 so has a wealth of skills and experience (principally in the musculo-skeletal field) obtained both within the NHS and also working with sports teams so is able to use her Swedish, sports/remedial massage training and management of acute injuries with comprehensive assessment & treatment skills and exercise prescription.
She also spent 2 years in South Africa (before becoming a physical therapist) working as a rafting guide running trips for groups of up to 30 clients, and has waitressing experience in 3 and 4* hotels.
Very sociable and active (in her free time she is always out doing something, such as kayaking, climbing - she is also a qualified paraglider and diver), Alex is hardworking, adaptable, a great team player and motivator. She has a longstanding love of the Alps that has seen many happy snowboarding, skiing, mountain biking & hiking trips over the years and, having been given a sabbatical for this winter season by her NHS trust, is delighted to be able to combine her professional skills with her desire to live in the mountains.
Chris Woodward, Chalet Assistant/Drive - Age 30
Chris is a qualified solicitor but unfortunately was made redundant in late 2008. He had wanted to do a ski season and so applied to us then but we were fully recruited, so he spent last winter season working for Powder Byrne in Flims (Switzerland) instead, and thoroughly enjoyed it. (He enjoys both skiing and snowboarding) With job prospects in the legal profession still not looking great, we are delighted that he re-applied to us and will be working as part of the Chalet Foinsbois team as chalet assistant/driver.
He has also worked in a number of restaurants as a waiter, including a year at a hotel, doing silver service - which he thoroughly enjoyed, and also worked for a major retailer for over a year. He has been driving for over 11 years and has lots of experience of driving minibuses in snow and mountain conditions.
Very personable, good fun and chatty, he is also committed, hardworking and down to earth - and we know he is going to be a pleasure to have around.