Island Life Magazine Ltd June/July 2012 | Page 56

INTERVIEW Three special projects for Island's new High Sheriff Nick Hayward describes himself as ‘just an ordinary person’ but the 12 months of his life that began in April will be anything but just ordinary. Nick is the Isle of Wight’s new High Sheriff, his declaration taking place recently in Newport followed by a lunch for the friends and dignitaries at the Royal Hotel, Ventnor. In his role that will continue until next April, Nick, who along with wife Nicky, owned and ran the Seaview Hotel for 25 years, will undertake around 350 engagements, ranging 56 www.visitislandlife.com from sitting with High Court Judges to opening school fetes. But he has earmarked three special projects that he hopes will have a lasting effect on his term as High Sheriff. He will be focussing on: *Enabling young Islanders to have a greater knowledge and respect of the Law. *Encouraging them to avoid the problems of debt particularly with finance in further education. *Highlighting the importance of giving loving care with dignity to the elderly. Nick explained: “Firstly, I decided that during my term I wanted to do something that would advantage kids, and put something back into the community to help them have an understanding of the Law. “So I began looking into it last summer, and spoke to several people including a retired Circuit Court Judge, Tim Milligan. As a result I contacted the seven senior schools on the Island, and they were very much in favour of taking part, and the courts