Meet the Committee

Seven people make up the Newark Carnival committee from a range of local arts, business, media and education organisations with a wealth of experience of different areas of event management. To contact any of the people below, please click here. All of the members of the committee are volunteers, and each post is elected.

Company Secretary - June Rowlands

Born in Nottingham, June lived and worked in Liverpool, London, Bedfordshire, Dubai, Surrey and Lincoln before moving back to Nottinghamshire and finally to Newark. As well as working full-time in events, marketing and PR, June has been a member of Newark Business Club and Women in Newark since they both began, and a presenter with Newark’s Boundary Sound since it first went on air in 2004. When she isn’t working, broadcasting or helping to organise Newark Carnival, she spends her time shopping, reading, shopping, renovating her Victorian terraced house in what the estate agents call “the fashionable London Road area of Newark,” and more shopping! “Newark’s a great place to live and work” says June. “Being involved in the local community is really rewarding and I’ve made lots of good friends. I love the fact that, wherever I go, I meet people I know – even if it does mean I can never set foot out of my house without making sure I’ve got the full slap on!”

Treasurer - Elaine Ellison

Elaine is a partner in Newark-based Chartered Accountancy firm Malcolm Ellison FCA and runs it with her husband, Malcolm. She is also the founder chairperson of Newark Business Club and former chairperson of Women in Newark - an organisation set up to help businesswomen in the Newark area. As an artist working with stained glass and other artistic forms, Elaine became involved in the 2007 Newark Carnival on its fringes. Elaine said: "I was so taken aback by the people of Newark and the way they supported the 2007 Carnival that I wanted to join the management team and use my exceptional organisational expertise to make the 2008 event bigger and better than ever."

Director - Derek Graham

Derek is managing director of Newark-based project management firm Graham Associates, delivering project management and consultancy solutions to the public and private sectors. Before moving to Newark in 2004, he spent nearly 30 years in a variety of roles with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London - his most recent role being a Project Manager. He also served as Vice-Chairman on the Executive Board of the Association of Local Authority Business Consultants. His background is in internal consultancy, in both management services and business analysis environments. He brings a wealth of project management experience with him to his role as co-director on the Newark Carnival committee.

Director - Jeannette Tokeley

Jeannette is the Managing Director of Dash Corporation training and consultancy. Dash specialises in strategic work with a broad spectrum of businesses including Buying Consortiums, Financial Services Companies, and Manufacturing clients. All Jeanette's work is focused on helping increase company profitability and growth through the most valuable resource of any company - its people. As well as being a Director of Newark Carnival, she is also a Director of a property development company.

Head of Marketing - Stuart Graham

Stuart is managing director of Capital Media Group - a successful design, print, publishing and advertising agency based in Newark, with a regional office in London. Stuart works with an array of companies and organisations in all sectors across the world including the United States and south-west China, delivering advertising solutions to boost brand awareness and sales. Capital Media also publish a bi-monthly series of glossy magazines entitled Life&Style, for which he is also Editor. Previous to founding the company, Stuart worked in New Zealand for the Yellow Pages group, and has worked for newspapers, radio stations and magazines in his varied career. He brings a wealth of promotional experience to the Newark Carnival committee - helping the event to cement is position as Newark's premier community event.

Head of Logistics - Andrew Jackson

Born in Newark hospital in the early 1960s, Andy lived at Clifton House before moving, with his parents, to Greenway on Hawtonville where they spent their remaining years. His education began at Christ Church on Victoria Street and then Hawtonville Junior, Cardinal Hinsley and All Saints in Mansfield. Andy was in the 6th Newark scouts starting at Cubs and progressing to Sea Scouts then Ventures before realising his ambition to join the Royal Navy where he served for almost 8 years. Andy played football for the now defunct Newark Squires - for which his dad was the manager - and he also had many happy years with The Old Kings Arms as part of the legendary Fat Back Four! Today, Andy still lives in Newark and still DJs, but specialises in Northern and Modern Soul, '80s and corporate nights. He has been married for 22 years and has one daughter. Having worked on a number of local radio stations in other areas, he felt that Newark deserved its own station and so formed Boundary Sound. Andy said: "By being on the Carnival committee, I feel I am giving something back to the area I grew up in and still regard as the friendliest town in the world."

Community Liaison Officer - Howard Newport

Having lived in Newark for over 20 years, Howard joins the carnival committee this year as Community Liaison. After leaving Magnus at the age of 18, Howard joined Boundary Sound as Station Assistant in 2005 after being a presenter on the station for more than four years, since the station first went to air. Howard has presented a number of shows, and he has landed a spot as The Morning Show host. “It is an honour to put something back in to the town I love. Having helped the Carnival last year, I have taken up the reins as Community Liaison Officer this year, which is a huge honour” Howard said. Outside of radio, Howard enjoys music - though he is not much of a musician - and travelling. He has been to various locations around the world including New Zealand and Mexico.