Meet The Team

Julie is the monetary side of the National Flood School. Her responsibilities include invoicing and sales, although she can and does lend hand to other aspects of the business.

At the age of 16 Julie started work as a Junior Accounts Clerk. Jobs since have ranged from the finances of large companies with over 50 retail outlets and running offices of over 19 staff to her current role at the National Flood School running Chris Nethertons’ business finances.

Despite having worked in finance for over 20 years, this is the first time that sales has come into her remit. The fact that Julie has become involved in more aspects of the business than just the finances is part of the appeal, “the fun part is that at times everyone has to muck in together to get things done”.

For anyone that pictures Julie solely behind a desk it is important to point out that she has two young children, both of which are boys. As such Julie’s spare time is mostly taken up learning to kick footballs and bowl cricket balls which is rapidly becoming second nature.

Julie’s calm and relaxed manner is as important as her skills with the Sage Financial System at the National Flood School. She is an important part of the team, dealing with a wide variety of vital tasks!

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Adam is the National Flood School’s upholstery expert. Responsible for the Carpet Cleaning and Upholstery courses, Adam is rapidly expanding his repertoire to include the Drying side of courses, an area he is familiar with through his own company.

Adam’s father was a polish refugee following the Second World War, unable to return to Stalin controlled Soviet Russia he and his family escaped to England where Adam was born. However, as you would expect with a name like Jankowski, Adam kept strong links with his Polish heritage, involving himself strongly with the Polish Ex-pat community.

After his A-Levels Adam began a degree in Civil Engineering, but soon realised the subject was not his true calling. Besides which, being married at 21 and a father at 23 meant a job became a priority. Beginning in Logistics for the Littlewoods Group his career progressed through sales, account and marketing manager, IT consultant and Finance Director for companies including GEC and Olivetti.

Finally Adam decided to make the most of his entrepreneurial skills by starting his own business.

After talking to friends and looking through advertisements Adam founded Valetek Limited in 1993, a small carpet cleaning company. Since then the business has grown considerably and has extended its reach to upholstery, flood damage and mould remediation.

Adam now sits on the board of the directors of the NCCA and the UK Council of the IICRC. The transition to instructor at the NFS was a natural progression, where Adam specialises in the carpet and upholstery side of life. Valetek is still a successful business that takes most of Adam’s time, however with his wife and two sons a part of the family firm he knows the company is in good hands while he is here at the Flood School.

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Gemma is the daughter of Chris Netherton, and has been working with her father for most of the National Flood School’s existence. Gemma now manages the office and is largely responsible for the day-to-day administration of the school.

On leaving school Gemma was soon recruited by Chris Netherton to run the office for his growing rental business. As the company expanded so did Gemma’s experience of dealing with the construction and restoration industry. Completing part time courses in IT, business communication and management in her spare time was typical of Gemma’s professionalism.

Eventually Gemma outgrew her role working for her father and moved on to a managerial role for a local building contractor. However This job was cut short when Gemma decided to go abroad for a short time, where she was able to indulge her passion; working with horses, for the charity Riding for the Disabled.

On returning to the UK in 2001 Gemma was once again called upon by her father to run the office of his growing Flood School. At the same time, Gemma took over a Sunbed Business which she grew into a profitable sideline as the Flood School expanded.

Gemma is still with the National Flood School now, her early dealings with the restoration industry coupled with her endless office skills have made her an essential member of the National Flood School team.

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Greg is currently finishing a degree at Bradford University, but in his spare time works as the National Flood School’s Temporary Manager. Most of his time is taken with the maintenance of the NFS Network, but he is involved with all aspects of the School.

On moving to Bradford to study International Relations and Security Studies Greg joined the Territorial Army in his spare time, commissioning again to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant and taking over a local platoon. This history has meant Greg has been training, managing and taking responsibility for other people since the age of 15. As an adult instructor in the Army Cadet Force and as a TA Officer he has attended numerous courses on Instructional Techniques and regularly takes lessons ranging from lectures on the history of regiments to practical lessons on weapon handling. It was these skills that were first put to use at the Flood School when Greg began to help Chris review the way in which courses were taught and structured.

As well as reviewing the teaching side of the Flood School, Greg spent much of the summer of 2003 in London assisting with the restoration work following severe flash floods that had left many businesses and homes in over 5 foot of water. This gave him a brief but clear insight into the industry, seeing a wide range of work and often a wide range of operators.

In September 2004 Greg was forced to take a break from his work with the National Flood School to deploy to Iraq as an Infantry Platoon Commander for a 6-month tour. Greg commanded a platoon of 30 soldiers from the TA ranging from 18 year-old privates to his 38 year old platoon sergeant. During this time Greg faced a very steep leaning curve in management and consolidated his training skills.

Since his return Greg has been given the new project of overseeing the National Flood School Network. So far this has included writing and compiling the newsletter, promoting the courses, vetting applications (with technical advice from Chris) as well as continual reviewing of courses. While he is still learning the full intricacies of the Restoration Industry, Greg has experience and enthusiasm that guarantee a promising start to his time here at the National Flood School.

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