Ely City WI
Meet our Committee
You can easily spot our Committee Members at a meeting as they will be wearing their green rosette.
Hi, my name is Sheila and I am the President of Ely City WI. I am very proud and deeply honoured to be President. My role involves running the monthly WI meetings; chairing the Committee meetings; acting as craftbomb co-ordinator; project lead; campaign lead; and more besides. I represent Ely City WI at local and federation events. I encourage our members to suggest ideas, initiatives and projects we as a WI might like to create, develop, contribute, explore. Our WI is so much more than the 11 meetings a year: we are flourishing, developing, expanding, come and join us! WI is a voyage of discovery: you never know what you might achieve! I get the biggest thrill when members want to join in with a project that previously they didn’t think they had the skills for. I am here for our members: We are Ely City WI. We are. We can. We do.
I cannot do any of this without the help and assistance provided by our wonderful committee members, who you will read about below. I am very fortunate to have their support and thank them for it. I have been a member of the Women’s Institute for approximately 18 years; the last 10 of which have been with Ely City WI. I was their treasurer for the last 6 years. During my time with the WI, I have been a dual member of 2 WIs across 2 different Federations and was at one point a dual committee member for a few years also.
Just a little about me: I am a line dancer and happily enjoy dancing 3-4 times a week (love Strictly Come Dancing and have watched since the first series). I enjoy arts and crafts; am passionate about all types of sewing and belong to a quilt group (have watched Sewing Bee every year since series 1, there’s a trend emerging here...). During lockdown, I learnt to knit with knitting looms (as knitting needles don’t work for me) so I am exploring that now. I enjoy baking, but you don’t have to bake in order to join WI! I look forward to meeting you at our meetings. Come and join us!
Hey there, I am Vickie, and I am the Vice President and Press Officer. If at any time the President is unable to attend Committee or Full meetings, I fill in and chair the meeting.
I really enjoy being part of Ely City WI, there is so much going on, so many great people to get to know and lots of wonderful activities and initiatives to be involved in. It’s ultimately about friendship, having fun and learning…. Which ticks every box for me!
Our members really are fantastic, and the WI is everything each individual wants it to be. Belonging to the WI gives me the opportunity to make friends and discover shared interests and participate in events that I perhaps would never have even considered previously! I can be a part of something that is able to make a difference and to add my voice to campaigns not only within our local community but also on a national level.
I am married and Mum to a son and daughter. I work in Human Resources and am kept busy with family life, work and a full diary. I am a Trustee of Ely Museum and also a Parent Governor. I enjoy the theatre, singing and writing and am looking forward to what else Ely City WI will be doing over the coming months.
I look forward to joining in with our existing members and meeting new members so, if you’ve always wondered how you can have some ‘me time’, learn new things, meet other people or even share some of your own skills and hobbies; then come and join us! We would love to see you!”
Anna is our Treasurer. Anna manages the financial aspects of our WI, advises the Committee on all matters monetary and is responsible for ensuring our WI’s monetary matters are dealt with in a timely manner.
Anna has been a member of Ely City WI for a number of years and this is her first Committee role.
Hi, my name is Sylvia. I am the Subscriptions Treasurer of Ely City WI, a role I have just taken on and am very much looking forward to.
l joined Ely WI because my long term friend Pam joined and she kept asking me to join and I went along to some coffee mornings and thought I might like to be involved.
My interests are sewing knitting and have just started to learn how to crochet also like pottering about in my garden l like meeting people and getting involved in various charities.
My name is Helen and I am the Secretary in charge of taking minutes, liaising between the WI Committee, the local federation office, the national federation and the Members.
My sister and I moved together to Ely from Kent in 2021 after our mother died. We joined the WI at the first open meeting after Covid in November of 2021 and haven’t looked back. We have our monthly meetings that are varied from talks about ghosts to making gelatine flowers, campaigns to celebrations.
Our group is growing in numbers and activities and my sister and I have quickly felt welcome and needed. We love supporting the campaigns with different craftbombs and meeting up for coffee or dinner as part of the leisure group.
I am retired but enjoy the mixed age of our membership. I was surprised to be asked to become Secretary and but am rising to the challenge, I hope. I enjoy the comradeship and feel I can make a difference in the wilder world as a WI member.
Hi, my name is Maggie. I am the Assistant Secretary and my role involves taking minutes at committee and general meetings, and liaising with the Federation Office and NFWI.
I first joined WI in Royston in the 1980’s, with 2 young children when we started a second group in the town, inviting the Grannies to look after the children while the mums enjoyed adult conversation, - WI life has changed a bit since then!
Due to work commitments, I had a long break from WI and receiving a warm welcome at the first meeting of Ely City in 2019 after moving here was like coming home!
Delivering the Smile newsletters during the pandemic helped me to find my way around this lovely city, exercising both brain and body!
Gardening and reading are my main hobbies, I volunteer at the cathedral as a host and on Monday mornings you’ll find me sorting out the children's’ bookshelves in Ely Library.
Retirement is to be recommended!
Hi, my name is Ruth. I am Membership Officer of Ely City WI.
My duties are to keep the National Federation of WI's database up to date with members details, adding new member details as required and to send information to anyone who makes an enquiry.
I have been a WI member for 22 years and a Committee member for most of them. My Mother and Grandmother were both Presidents of Pymore WI when I was growing up so it was inevitable that I would become a member sooner or later.
Before retirement I was a Primary School Teacher for 28 years. I have a City and Guilds Certificate for Sugarcraft and I have spent many hours making and decorating celebration cakes, demonstrating some of the techniques to WI groups. It gives me great pleasure to see the results they produce. Recently I have taken up knitting and crocheting again for our craft bombing projects. Jam making and baking are also pastimes I enjoy.
Hi my name is Jane and I am Assistant Secretary (Admin).
My role is supporting Helen with the Admin tasks - minute taking, liaising with members, and preparing for Committee and Monthly meetings.
I am fairly new to WI (I joined ECWI in January 2023) and have really enjoyed being a member. The monthly meetings are varied with speakers and activities and I was surprised at the number of Sub-groups I could join in with too. Everyone is so welcoming and friendly that I wish I had joined years ago!
I live in Soham, am a centre leader with Ely Foodbank and enjoy flower arranging, crochet, theatre trips and socialising with friends. I also love to cruise and still have lots of places I want to visit, with Canada and Antarctica at the top of my list!
My name is Pam, I have been a member of Ely City WI for ten enjoyable years, I am on the committee my role is Membership Support and the federation diary which entails presenting all the events from around the isle.
I make all the Ely city members birthday cards and give them out together with a present on their birthday month. I have even on arranged trips such as the embroiders quilt at Norwich cathedral.
We as a group put together a craft bomb event last year which was very successful, this year we have made green hearts displayed at Ely library for climate change month with contribution from our members, with more displays to come later in the year.
A little info about myself, I have been sewing since I was ten years old am now retired, I am also a member of Elysain quilters which have meetings twice a month. I enjoy baking, but they don't always turn out as they should !!! I love reading and always have a book near me.
We are a very friendly group and look forward to meeting new members.
Hi, my name is Nicky and I am the Programme Officer. I have not been with the WI for too long, but long enough to know that I did the best thing by joining.
I moved to Ely about 12 years ago and as I work full time in Cambridge have not had the chance to go out so didn’t know too many people in Ely, but after plucking up the courage I joined up and now I feel like I have an extended family.
My role along with two other members of the committee is to plan, search out and book speakers throughout the year. Trying to incorporate a mixture of learning and socialising throughout. We also plan out the social events, ie coffee morning/afternoons, and outings/events for the group.
I have worked with the University of Cambridge for 15 years and currently manage a Masters in Entrepreneurship degree (you would have thought I know how to be an entrepreneur by now!). I live with my partner who is self-employed, and between us we have 3 children and 3 grandchildren, and I love being a grandma.
In my very little spare time, I love to try new crafts, but mostly enjoy settling down with a good book or tending my small garden.
The Committee is ably assisted by the following members
Hi, my name is Veronica and I look after our website and social media presence. I have been with the WI for around 7 years. I have served as part of the committee previously as Secretary.
I was born in Ely and have lived in Ely all of my life. I had always wanted to join the WI and eventually plucked up the courage and received a very warm welcome.
My role is to develop and keep our website up-to-date, plan and post on our social media and also ensure that we take pictures at all of our events.
I work as an Office Manager at a local Architectural Practice. My husband and I love spending time together trying out different restaurants, cinema visits and spending time at home pottering. I love baking and do so every week. We have lots of nieces and great nephews and enjoy spending time with them.
Hi, my name is Helen and I am the Welcome Officer.
My role is to welcome visitors and new members, explain the format of the meetings and introduce them to our wonderful, friendly members.
I joined the WI in April 2022 so I am a fairly new member and know how it feels to walk into a meeting for the first time! I hope to give new members and visitors the same warm welcome I received at my first and subsequent meetings.
I have lived in Ely with my husband and (now adult) children since 2001. I work in the accounts department of a local GP surgery. When I am not at work I enjoy reading, baking, bowls, quizzes and Escape rooms.
