THE president of the National Farmer's Union who lives Downton and the joint CEO of Wiltshire Creative in Salisbury have been appointed deputy lieutenants.

Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Wiltshire, Sarah Rose Troughton, has appointed four new deputy lieutenants to serve Wiltshire including Minnette Batters and Sebastian Warrack.

Mrs Troughton said: “I am delighted to appoint four new Deputy Lieutenants. Their individual expertise and affection for the county will greatly enhance the work of the Lieutenancy in Wiltshire over the coming years.”

Minette Batters

Minette is a tenant farmer near Downton in Wiltshire, running a mixed farm business including beef, sheep, and arable.

In February 2018 she was elected as the National Farmer Union’s (NFU) first female president in its 113 year history. Prior to that she served as NFU deputy president for four years.

Minette also co-founded the campaigning initiatives ‘Ladies in Beef’ and the ‘Great British Beef Week’ and is a Trustee of Farm Africa.

Sebastian Warrack

Sebastian, who lives in Lower Bemerton, is the executive director and joint CEO of Wiltshire Creative, which is made up of Salisbury Playhouse, Salisbury International Arts Festival and Salisbury Arts Centre. Before the three organisations merged in 2018, he was the executive director of Salisbury Playhouse.

He has worked in arts management and administration for more than 20 years, previously as the executive producer of national touring company, Told by an Idiot.

Sebastian started his working life as an actor in the West End, on the London Fringe and on international tours. He has since worked for a range of organisations including the Arts Council England, the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith, the National Student Drama Festival, West End producers Redington, Matthews, and Torein, and at the International Workshop Festival.

He is a trustee of UK Theatre – a national membership organisation.

Stephanie Millward, MBE

Stephanie Millward was the British 100m Backstroke swimming champion. Within months of being selected for Team GB to compete at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), an incurable disease.

Shattered by her inability to swim, the MS affected Stephanie’s life, both physically and mentally, and at different stages, Stephanie was forced to re-learn to move, walk, and even talk.

But finally, in 2007, she was encouraged to re-enter a swimming pool.

This was the beginning of a transformation and, once back swimming, she found peace, focus and some happiness again and within a year she competed at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.

For the next eight years, Stephanie competed in swimming championships all over the world, including the Paralympic Games at London 2012 where she won five medals and then at Rio 2016, she fulfilled her ambition of winning two Paralympic Gold Medals, as part of another five medal haul.

Additionally, Stephanie helps MS sufferers, supporting those with depression and other life-changing conditions.

She regularly visits schools and clubs to inspire the next generation and is a patron or ambassador for nine charities.

In 2017, Stephanie was awarded an MBE and the Freedom of Corsham. She lives in Box.

Claire Garrett

Claire spent 29 years working for BT before deciding to embark on a different career working in the voluntary sector closer to her home in Swindon.

At the time of leaving BT, she was heading a large international team.

Since then, Claire has had a wide range of experiences from being a school governor through to working in a front-line role with victims of trafficking.

In 2018 Claire was appointed the chief executive officer at the Harbour Project, a Swindon-based charity supporting asylum seekers and refugees. In 2020 the charity received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.

 

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