Meet the Team
Below you can find out more detailed information about the core members of our team:
Chair - John Christmas
John joined the Board at the AGM on the 21st June 2018.
John became Chair in January 2019.
Treasurer & Founder Member - Dr. Chris Adcock, BSc PhD
Originally trained as a physicist at Exeter University, Dr. Chris Adcock worked as a system analyst and project team leader in the maritime defence field from 1977 until retirement in 2014.
Chris passed an Open University Course in 2007 “Energy for a Sustainable Future”, with distinction. He is a member of the Energy Institute.
He is extending his range of experience and opportunity into the field of energy sustainability through becoming a founder Director of South Somerset Community Energy.
Chris is an experienced scuba diver and enjoys travel, walking, nature, cycling, DIY, gardening and social life.
Secretary & Founder Member - John Clark BSc (Hons) MBA (Exec)
The Secretary and original founder of SSCES, John is experienced in engineering, business management and marketing through senior engineering and marketing positions in Westland Helicopters, as a main board director of Westinghouse Brake and Signal Holdings, and as Managing Director of Control and Display Systems Ltd. Achievements included being designer-in-charge of an £82m helicopter project which met all its design targets, managing a team of 850 aerospace engineers, and winning an order for railway signalling for £836m.
For 3 years John was the founding Chairman of the 'Chippenham Vision' set up by Wiltshire Council to unify the voice of all the public and private stakeholders in the town and provide a masterplan. John was elected on May 7th 2015 to be a South Somerset District Councillor for Yeovil - West. John has developed a wide network of individuals and agencies concerned with voluntary environmental assistance and programmes.
Rob Cotterill MHort (RHS)
Rob joined the Board at the AGM on the 21st June 2018.
Rob trained as a horticulturist in Devon, Yorkshire and with the RHS and now runs a small business with his wife providing garden services in South Somerset. They also organise plant fairs in Somerset and Dorset as well as short break coach trips visiting gardens in nearby areas of France, Belgium, Netherlands and Ireland.
He was founder member of a Transition Town Initiative and has a keen interest in all things environmental including driving an electric van.
In his spare time he is eco-renovating his house, which is heated by solar-thermal and wood. Occasionally he finds time to walk, run, cycle and travel.
Edward Collins
I first joined the Board by co-option in May 2021. I live in one of the small towns of South Somerset and am interested in seeing a co-operative economy develop to benefit both people and the planet and consequently, am a member of numerous co-operatives including SSCES which I joined in 2015. I like seeing the potential of green technology used to deliver clean energy at the local level to help reduce carbon emissions, reduce fuel poverty and improve human health in the community in which it operates. I have also, for many years, believed that a move to renewable energy will lead to the creation of more jobs in green technology. I currently work in the field of geospatial having trained as a land surveyor, and so hope to bring some technical (eg IT) experience to the Board.
