Kintore and District Community Council

Meet Moira Moran who is Chair of Kintore & District Community Council.

Moira was brought up at a farm in Bourtie between Inverurie and Oldmeldrum. 

She went on to train as a psychiatric nurse working in both hospitals and the community in Grampian and South Manchester with a break to live in Norway. 

Moira moved to the Middle East for several years where she worked in office administration. 

On return to Scotland she worked in Marine Insurance and also worked in office management at the Rowett Institute. 

Further to that Moira has worked in IT administration including UK IT Manager for a couple of oil service companies. After being made redundant she took the opportunity to retire. 

She has lived at Thainstone for 45 years and seen many changes in the area, some for the better, some not so good.

Interested in gardening, particularly fruit, foraging and looking after her beloved cats.

Moira joined the Community Council in 2020 as Secretary and is now Chair of Kintore and District Community Council.

You can email Moira at chair.kdcc@gmail.com

 Meet Donna Heron. 

Donna moved to Kintore in 2008, where she began her journey as a support worker and a retained firefighter. Balancing her role as a caretaker and a full-time mum, she found time to volunteer at the local primary school, leading to a rewarding career as a Pupil Support Assistant (PSA), a role she still thrives in at a different school. Passionate about community involvement, Donna has been an active member of various village groups and committees. In 2018, her dedication earned her a nomination for the Pride of Inverurie Award in the Unsung Hero category, a moment that left her both humbled and astounded. First joining the Kintore and District Community Council (KDCC) in 2017, she took a break but rejoined in 2021. Donna loves staying busy and enjoys lending a helping hand wherever she can, always eager to make a positive impact on those around her 

 Meet Janine Cracknel

Janine was born in 1975 in a little village in the heart of beautiful Dorset and married her husband Mark in 1998.  Janine and Mark have lived and worked all over the UK including London, Cardiff, Jersey, Durham and Grimsby.  Prior to becoming a full-time mum in 2008, Janine had worked in many customer service and relationship management roles including JPMorgan, Reed Recruitment and Liverpool Victoria.  Janine loves learning and studied at Robert Gordon University recently and achieved a Certificate in Higher Education in Business Management.

The Cracknell family moved to Kintore from Dorset in 2012 when their daughters were 4 years old and 2 years old. Kintore was chosen over other Aberdeenshire towns because of Kintore Primary School and the brilliant additional support needs unit within the school. It was essential to find the right school for both daughters and Kintore matched the family’s requirements.  

Janine has been running a monthly support group for parents and carers of children with additional support needs for the last ten years.  The support group is open to any parent or carer with any additional need, regardless of diagnosis status and offers a non-judgemental supportive environment to share experiences, brainstorm solutions and munch on some home bakes!

Janine is an active member of the Kemnay Academy Parent Council and represents KDCC on the parent council.  Through the KDCC, Janine had the opportunity to work as a polling clerk in recent local and Scottish elections based at Kemnay Public Hall which was rewarding.

Janine loves cooking, long walks along Newburgh beach, listening to political podcasts and family movie nights.

Janine joined the Community Council in October 2020 as an associate member and was elected the first time around as secretary in 2021.

You can email Janine at secretary.kdcc@gmail.com

Meet Jim Reid.

Family man Jim is Managing Director of Kintore car dealership Jim Reid Vehicle Sales & Service.

Jim joined the KDCC in June 2022 as he wanted to give something back to the local community. Motivated to join the community council as he was incensed that the local FREE Community Magazine , the Kintore Konnect was on the brink of extinction and wanted to help save it. 

Taking this important community asset within the control of the KDCC has been a real game changer and the magazine is now thriving.

Jim also helps organise and coordinate the community volunteer team , the Kintore Resilience Group which has been a been very active during the local flooding in late 2023. He also headed up the Kintore- It's Your Neighbourhood Project 2024, which was a massive success.

You can get in contact with Jim by emailing advertising.kdcc@gmail.com

Meet Eve Lamond

Eve works as an event organiser and an Administration Support .

Moving to Kintore back in 2019.

Eve joined the Kintore & District Community Council in September 2023 after joining one of the KDCC monthly meetings. Eve had come along to personally thank the Community Council for having supporting the local De-fibs as  one of the Community AED's saving the life of her father in law who had been visiting them in Summer 2023.

Meet Alan Milne. 

Alan works offshore as a rope access construction supervisor. 

An important Member of KDCC with a passion for helping others and is an active member of the Kintore Resilience Group. Alan's responsibilities also extend to ensuring that the 6 Community owned AED's are regularly inspected and maintained to make sure they are in good working order when required in an emergency.  Alan is also a Community First Responder with Scottish Ambulance supporting the Garioch Area. 

Meet Angus Cheyne

Angus is a graduate in farm business management with a broad and varied career in agriculture. His experience spans the full agricultural system, from farm work to agronomy. 

After a stint as a potato agronomist for Tesco suppliers, he ventured into new business ideas, developing skills in web marketing. Angus has since become proficient in e-commerce, selling a variety of products including turf, garden supplies, whisky, and food. 

Currently, he is working with a young business to develop their firewood enterprise through a period of rapid growth. 

Having moved to Kingsfield Road just in time for the 2023 floods, Angus was so impressed with the local resilience group that it inspired him to join the community council and "put his shoulder to the wheel".

 Meet Ken McEwen.

Throughout his career, Ken McEwen’s focus has been on communications and media. He started with the Press and Journal, became press officer at the Aberdeen City Council, moving to NESDA, before founding his own PR company.

When he moved to Kintore, in 1999, the town was perceived, in some quarters, as simply a “dormitory town” for Aberdeen. Ken saw the web and social media as way to correct this image and project Kintore as the truly vibrant community it is, with a strong history and heritage.

He set up the kintore.org.uk website, followed by the Kintore Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram. After 20 years of running them as a free service to Kintore, ownership was transferred to Kintore and District Community Council in 2021.

Ken served as vice chairman and acting chair of Kintore and District Community Council between 2019 and 2021 – a period which included adapting to the pandemic and switching meetings to online. 

Ken is a trustee with local charity Action Kintore, who run The Bothie youth organisation and are working to bring the Town House back into use for the community.

Meet Dave MacAllan.

Dave’s married with a teenage son, and has lived in Kintore for 17 years, having been brought up in Kemnay and Inverurie.

He works in operations, and has been in the energy industry for over 20 years.  Dave originally trained as a quantity surveyor, spending time in Edinburgh and Inverness before returning to the North East. 

Working mostly in an office through the day, Dave loves a project.  

He likes an opportunity to get involved and particularly enjoys practical, outdoorsy activities. 

 The recent ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ initiative, and the brilliant work of the Resilience Group have drawn Dave to join the KDCC and give something back to the village and local community.

 Meet Laura Murrie

Laura moved to Kintore 9 years ago. She fell in love with the town and it's surroundings. Laura has been a volunteer for delivering Kintore Connect magazines for the past few years. 

Laura has work experience in Architectural Technology, Administration and Project Management. In her spare time, she likes to take on DIY and up-cycling projects. Over the past few years, her newest passion has been gardening. 

Having recently joined Kintore Community Council, she is looking forward to getting stuck in and helping. 

Meet Fabio Greatbatch

Originally from Strathdon, and not a resident of Kintore, Fabio started working in the area 5 years ago. 

Fabio is a Sales Consultant at Jim Reid Vehicle Sales & Service based in Kintore, his passion for helping others doesn't just end at work having recently joining Inverurie First Responders with The Scottish Ambulance Service. 

Fabio was inspired to join the KDCC after seeing the commitment from others in the community especially during the floods in 2023.