How did you get involved with the Bermuda National Trust?I was asked to consider coming on board by our immediate past president Bill Holmes who had to take a leave of absence for some medical issues I think the medical issues are all resolved now. I was at the Regiment and that term came to its conclusion last May. I always said I wanted to take a year off. I had been honing my resume to get back out there in the civilian world again. I originally trained as a chartered accountant.Why the Bermuda National Trust as opposed to some other organisation?As far as the Trust is concerned it is something that has always appealed to me. I just think Bermuda is such a special place. I have travelled quite a bit through the rest of the English-speaking Caribbean and I just think our whole environment is so unique, but it is always changing as well. My father, Mervyn, was very involved in the Audubon Society. My mother, Molly White, is involved with the Garden Club and the Rose Society.As a kid were you happy to be dragged along to historic homes and gardens?I wasn't necessarily into the historic homes and gardens as a kid. That interest came later. But I always enjoyed the natural history side of things. One of my lasting memories of my school days was going out to the Audubon Natural history camp on Nonsuch Island. I grew up in Smith's Parish and Spittal Pond was always on our back door. I always enjoyed those family outings in the wilderness, or as much of the wilderness you can get in Bermuda.What are some of the challenges that the Bermuda National Trust is facing now?The current economic climate. The Trust is one of the largest charities on the Island. It has a budget of some $2.2 million a year. A lot of the revenue from the Trust comes from membership and gifts, be they private or corporate. There is an element of grants within that as well. There is also revenue from rental properties. The climate is difficult right now, generally for everyone and that affects their disposable income and how much they can give. There are also a lot of charities out there competing for that same charitable giving. On the other side, the Trust, to some extent, has been a victim of its own success.How so?We have some 70 buildings that we look after. We have 250 acres of open space. Each building and each woodland reserve given to the Trust requires resources to look after. In the good years that is fairly easy to do. It is well-respected by Bermudians. In more constrained or tighter times, it is a question of looking to see where we can trim and what can we defer as we try to manage our current income with a fairly fixed expense programme. A lot of our money goes on the infrastructure, just to look after the old buildings. As quite a few Bermuda families, the annual maintenance is a lot more for an older building than your newly constructed condominium. There is also a question of the open space we have and how to make that more accessible to the public. One of the goals we have is to open up the land that we do hold. It all takes money. You need to start with a management plan and there is the resources just in keeping a trail open. We might need, for example, interpretive signage. One of the cost-cutting measures we had to put in place, the year before last, was we significantly cut back on our museum staff and our museum opening hours, because they are quite expensive to run. The Bermuda National Trust holds one of the largest collections of Bermudian artefacts, be they silver or artwork or even everyday living utensils. The two museums down in St George's are open three days a week. The showpiece, being Verdmont, is only open on Wednesdays. We are hoping to go a long way to improve that. We used to have some full-time paid staff and now they are mostly run with volunteers. As far as the goals of the current year, we are taking part in our corporate governance programme, we are looking for certification with the Centre for Philanthropy we haven't had that before.Do you feel that you have brought anything with you from your years in the Regiment? It seems like such a dramatically different atmosphere.I think the Regiment has helped with exposure to good governance. It has also helped me with things like interpersonal relationships and how to manage those in a sensitive manner. The Regiment certainly gave me exposure to having to make some difficult decisions. The ever overflowing pot of money was not there. Those are all aspects of the Regiment I have brought to the Bermuda National Trust.Is this a full-time job for you?No. The president's position is not salaried. It is only part-time. I sit on six committees and they all have fixed times to meet, but there is nothing fixed about the rest of my job. I am taking the opportunity right now to spend time with my five-year-old daughter Skyla and three-year-old son Cooper.With your kids do you work to get them interested in the environment and Bermuda culture?Certainly, we like our walks whatever the weather. We like to walk at Ferry Reach, Spittal Pond or Tom Moore's Jungle. We like to explore the coastline and look at the crabs and snails and whatever else is out there. They also enjoy going out in the boat.Your wife, Peta, is a sailor right?Yes, Peta went to the Olympics in Athens, Greece with her sister Paula and Katrina Williams. If the children express a desire to get interested in sailing then that is just around the corner for Skyla.Do you have any other hobbies?I have to say travelling. We do enjoy travelling with our children. It is a different type of travel these days but they come.Would you encourage the general public to get more involved with the Bermuda National Trust?Certainly, either through membership or through volunteering. There are loads of opportunities out there for people to get involved. There is everything from museum collections and interpretive displays and public relations to website development. You can cut trees, paint buildings or do whatever interests you within the Trust. You can manage other people. You can coordinate other volunteers. You can even volunteer to coordinate volunteers. I couldn't put a number on how many volunteers we have. The opportunities are so broad. We have a great education programme. We have just received funding from Axis for our education programme. We are very grateful for that.