Meet The Team

Mark Knapper

Originally from Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire, Mark has now reached the ripe old age of 55 and has lived in Codicote for 20 years.

His specific responsibility with the Management Team is to lead all PR and marketing activity to promote the cause of the new centre, having spent nearly all his career in the recruitment and advertising industries. For the last fifteen years he has worked for Astralis, an executive search and selection company he jointly founded in 1999 in St. Albans.

Very active around the sports scene, he was for many years Chairman of both Codicote Tennis Club and Codicote Sports & Social Centre as well as being Chairman Of Codicote Table Tennis Club Treasurer of Codicote Heart Action Team which raises money to enable all young people to be assessed for potential heart defects.

Socially, much of his time centres around his interests in Codicote although his great passion remains a slavish addiction to supporting Hereford United (hanging around the lower echelons of the football pyramid these days but with great days ahead!) and the England football team whom he follows both home and away.

With England, he works closely with the FA, the Foreign Office and the British Council to improve both the image and experience of England fans as they travel the world in helping arrange such events as visits to schools, fan’s football matches and parties with fans of the opposing teams!

Despite the disappointments of South Africa, Ukraine and Brazil, he fully expects to be celebrating England’s win in the European Championship Final in Paris in 2016!!!!

John West

John and his wife Lee have lived in Hertfordshire for the past 42 years moving from Hertingfordbury to Codicote 15 years ago. Their children and grandchildren also live close by.

Once a serious squash player in Hertfordshire leagues he now enjoys walking and playing golf. He loves watching all sports and has been a season ticket holder at Spurs since the fifties – so he has seen both the good & the not so good times!

John will provide his experience in the hotel & Leisure development business to help the team establish a sound business proposition to raise finance from the various sources available.

John has been responsible for the finance, development and operation of a number of high profile clubs and hotel spa’s developments including; Wildmoor Spa (Day Spa of the Year 2007), The Malvern Spa Hotel, The Sportz Academy in Hertfordshire and Brooklands Healthtrack in Weybridge.

John was founder of the Odyssey Group of Health Clubs and The Racquet & Healthtrack Group; he has also worked with Olympian Daley Thompson OBE, the Royal Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Marylebone Warwick Balfour Plc.
For the last 10 years John has been a frequent visitor to Grenada and for the past two years he has spent his time researching and putting together his passion to create a wonderful boutique hotel retreat on that beautiful island.

Jim Park

Jim was born and brought up in Troon, Ayrshire where he developed his love for sport, firstly believe it or not in swimming ( outdoors ! brrh ! ) and football, and then on to his great loves, rugby and golf.

His role in the team as Project Director is to ensure the right vision of where the team wants to get to and then ,working through the expertise of the rest of the team, lead its realisation. After 30 years running international businesses in ICI and then 10 years leading the development of a variety of smaller industrial businesses he still likes the buzz from working with an A team “ that sees a plan come together “.He is currently a non executive director of the Altro Group plc and a Governor of the University of Hertfordshire.

This particular vision (which has been supported by the research survey of the village) he first saw 30 years ago in a village of similar size to Codicote in Germany and again last year in a smaller village in France where he and his wife, Anthea, often spend time brushing up on the languages they studied at university. These two villages, Seeshaupt in Bavaria and Amou in the Landes, have each been able to build a Sports and Community Centre (and more) so why can’t Codicote do it ahead of the London 2012 Olympics !

He has lived in Codicote for 33 years, was Chairman of the Scout Group, and can still remember helping to destone the football pitches and supporting his 3 sons Gregor, Fraser and Andy as Codicote Tigers - they are all still keen sportsmen. After 25 years of rugby in Scotland, England , France and Australia he coached rugby at Datchworth while Andy was there and still pops down to his old club, London Scottish. He is a past Captain of Mid Herts Golf Club, a member at Royal Troon and also likes to ski in the winter.

Socially he can be seen having a beer at weekends with his dog, Bonnie, and Gas ( The Goat Appreciation Society) Board mates, and believes a new Sports and Community Centre would reward the tremendous efforts of the present sports and social clubs , extend the amount of sport played at all ages and be a continuing tribute to the memory of John Clements.

Brian Chapman

Now 72, Brian is a civil engineer by profession who spent38 years in Local Government before establishing his own design practice, mainly in architectural work, for the following 15 years.

Along the way he spent 40 years helping to advance the cause of potential civil engineers to professional recognition via the ONC/HNC route. During the same period, he contributed to the development of Hitchin Rugby Club.

He has chaired a Board within the Institution of Civil Engineers and served on the council for 2 years. He has also served the Hitchin RFU for 30 years (Members’ Secretary1982-98, President 1990-92 and Chairman England Rugby Counties 1992-94)

He has derived considerable satisfaction in helping 5000 ONC/HNC holders into a new form of membership of ICE where a degree is mandatory. He was also party to the foundation in 1998 of the Hitchin Acadamy of Junior Rugby – the first such in the game.

He comments, “I played my first club rugby game for and at Canterbury in 1956; My last for Hitchin against Canterbury in 1994. I excelled in neither game nor any of those in between. My cricket career followed a similar pattern. Thankfully most club players are my standard!”

Jeff Chapman

Jeff has been a chartered accountant for over 40 years and still runs his own private business .This does not stop him enjoying his sport, especially football and cricket

FOOTBALL: 1960-1973: Played semi-professional football with Borehamwood and Ware Town / 1974-1980: Played County League football with Potters Bar Town / 1980s: Helped run the Codicote Tigers Junior Football Club.

CRICKET: Joined Codicote Cricket Club in 1984, becoming a Committee Member and grounds man in 1986. Although unable to bat or bowl, has made well in excess of 500 appearances, obtaining over 100 ‘0 not outs’.

Jeff has lived in the village since 1977 and is old enough to remember the days when Spurs always finished higher in the league than the other North London Club.