Elaine (41) lives in Milton of Campsie with her husband John. She has three stepchildren, Lisa, Amanda and Rae, and a 15-week-old grandson named Reece.

How long have you lived in East Dunbartonshire?
I've lived here for most of my life, other than 14 years spent working in the south of England.
I grew up in and around Waterside, in Kirkintilloch, and went to Gartconner Primary, Auchinloch Primary and Lenzie Academy before leaving school at 16.

What did you do when you left school?
My parents told me that if I didn't get a job then I would have to do a sixth year, so I sent off lots of application forms.
Me and a friend ended up working in an outdoor activity centre in Northamptonshire for two years. We taught everything from how to negotiate scramble nets and assault courses to the craft of narrowboating.
Groups from schools and the Scouts stayed in log cabins and the staff took care of everything, including drama classes and even cooking and catering.
We lived in an old farmhouse and it was a great experience.

What does your current job entail?
I've been here for four years. I manage people and enable them to respond to the rehabilitation and enabling needs of older people in their own homes.
What we are trying to do is keep people in their own homes and for them to be able to be independent for as long as possible, rather than be admitted to hospital inappropriately which can sometimes happen.
We provide targeted rehabilitation over a short-term period, which can include everything from physiotherapists, dieticians and nurses to psychiatric nurses. It's a challenging role because we are dealing with many disciplines.
We also deal very closely with the social work department so we don't work at cross purposes.

How did you end up working in your current job?
After the outdoor activity centre I went to college in Watford and trained as a social worker. During my training, I worked in a residential home for older people in Buckinghamshire and stayed there for seven years, followed by my first practice post for Kent County Council.
I didn't move back to Scotland until 1995 when I worked for Inverclyde Council for two years.
By then, I'd had 13 years of
different experiences and felt it was time to move on and concentrate on developing services.


I had my first management job at Law Hospital, for South Lanarkshire Council, before moving to Hairmyres Hospital and then Stirling, before returning to Inverclyde Council as their delayed discharge co-ordinator. That was the last job I had before coming here.

What is the best thing about your job?
It would have to be working with and helping staff members.
I've seen so many join us and then go on to be promoted and I'd like to think that I have helped them reach their potential.
My expectation when somebody joins the service is that I will be able to guide them, but also learn something from them – it's very much a two-way process.
I also get a real buzz out of talking to older people and hearing what their needs are.
We also get lots of thank-you letters and it always amazes me that people take the time to write and let us know how we've helped them.

What would be your dream job?
I can't say I'm particularly ambitious to get to the top of the tree as I'm really quite comfortable where I am at the moment.
I have a really good work/life balance and get to work with lots of really nice people.
It was very much a natural progression for me to come to this job. I'd never worked in my local area before and it's a pleasure to work with local people.

What do you do in your spare time?
I love spending time with my new little grandson and I make costume jewellery for myself and for presents.
I'm a bit of a hobby butterfly and at various times have taken part in amateur dramatics, folk singing and card-making.
I also help care for my grandmother who is a feisty and independent 89-year-old. She's wonderful and lives in Auchinloch.

Getting to know you
First record: The Alarm
First car: A red one!
Book currently reading: Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs
Favourite holiday destination: New Zealand
Famous person most like to meet: Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong
TV programme: Primeval