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Spotlight on Tania Follett
 Tania Follett is a very impressive lady to meet! She is one of our more well-known residents. The portfolio of her achievements is formidable. For instance, last year she organised a charity auction at the Coppid Beech Hotel with some incredible prizes and raised a large amount of money for The Parapet Clinic in Windsor where both Tania and her mother were treated.
Her achievements have been noted in the media. On the programme 'Question of Sport' this question was asked, 'How did Tania Follett make Boxing history?' On another television programme in 2002 Tania and four other people with interesting and varied lives competed for the opportunity to have a programme made about them. Tania won and a camera crew followed her around for a year resulting in an hour-long television programme being made about her life in Boxing, 'The Lady and the Champ'. She made a guest appearance on the Gloria Hunniford Show and was the subject of an article in the Daily Telegraph. On 17th June 2010 she will attend a reception at the House of Lords for the Breast Cancer Campaign's annual celebration to share all their ambitions for the future and to thank Tania and all the other campaigners for their hard work.
Tania originally came to Bracknell from Slough when she was nine and she thought the countryside here was amazing. At Woodenhill, her first school, she was greatly inspired by her brilliant headteacher, Ms Wilcox.
From a young age Tania has always written articles for magazines. One of her first jobs was working with Birds of Prey at the Windsor Safari Park. Then in 1993 she made British Boxing history by achieving her dream of becoming Britain's first woman to be licensed in a professional boxing corner and went on to become the first woman boxing manager in 1997.
She began to train dogs for drug detection and eight years ago she founded her own company Empire Security Solutions Ltd. Fifteen employees now work for her and several local businesses and festivals employ her. Her drug detection dogs work for many local authorities.
In her personal life she has had so much personal tragedy having lost many members of her immediate family to serious terminal illnesses and she herself has had two operations for tumours. As a result she has become a tireless campaigner for the causes of prostate cancer and breast cancer and speaks about her experiences nationally.
Her philosophy in life is to make the most of every opportunity. She says, 'Grab the moment because you never know what will happen. Get yourself out there, follow your passions and make a difference to your community!' She thoroughly agrees with the aims of The Bracknell Forest Society and our efforts to encourage civic pride.
Next year is going to be an exciting year for Tania as she has great plans. She also has great visions for Bracknell Forest. She says, 'Watch this space!'
Click here for An Interview with the Society's Chairman, Rev Michael Bentley, on BBC Radio Berkshire.
Click here for Spotlight on 'Bracknell in Bloom'
The Aims of The Bracknell Forest Society:
- To celebrate all aspects of Bracknell Forest and to promote a positive interest in the locality
- To improve the image of Bracknell Forest and instil civic pride
- To act as a consultant regarding future planning and independently support its development
- To ensure information regarding history and events is easily accessible to all
- To be an umbrella for all the organisations in Bracknell Forest especially those without a website
There are over 750 towns with civic societies.
Griff Rhys Jones, writer, actor, and comedian, is the new President of the Civic Trust (now named 'Civic Voice') which campaigns for better places in the built and green environment.
Griff Rhys Jones said: "All over Britain people who love and care about their towns and cities work to take responsibility for something that affects us all - our urban landscape. I salute them, respect them and am delighted to be made their President and to support the work of the Civic Trust."
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