John Schoner MBE – Honorary President and Director

John Schoner MBE has been Honorary President of Hythe Venetian Fete since 2019 when Steve Way took over the role of Chair.

His main role is to invite and host the various VIPs who attend the Fete: the Lord Warden of the Confederation of the Cinque Ports, the Hythe Town Mayor and the Mayors of the Confederation of the Cinque Ports.

John has a loyal history with the Fete having first taken part in 1970 when he helped the catholic church to build their float. In 1974, John had become a scout leader in Hythe and became more involved in helping the Fete. At the time, the floats were all held in West Hythe and the scouts were tasked with rowing them all down to the Twiss Road end of Royal Military Canal. John also got involved with floats and entrants from then, and on through the '70s. In 1980, he officially joined the committee to look after entrants and floats.

John was elected Chairman in 1989 and remained in that role until 2019 when he retired from the role.

John is nuclear power engineer by trade and moved to Hythe in 1968 when he started working at Dungeness.

He says: "As with all things related to volunteering, I became a scout leader after being asked to 'help out for a few months'."  and he is still involved today as the District President of Folkestone and Hythe Scouts.

Steven Way – Chair and Director

Steven has chaired the Fete since 2019. (Full bio to come soon)

Alongside his dedication to Hythe Venetian Fete he runs Collier Stevens Chartered Surveyors in Hythe.

Elizabeth Quinn – Vice Chair and Director

Elizabeth first joined the committee through a friend whose husband was on the committee in 2011. She assisted the then vice chair with selling advertising space for the programme and became vice chair in 2018.

She says: "The role as vice chair entails deputising for the Chair, Steve Way, when needed and being the 'eyes and ears' on the day of the Fete day Steve is on the centre stage with the VIPs. I also deal with printed publicity material, including the event's programme. I do it to give something back to the community. "

She continues: "The preparations to get the event going is very hard work but it is so rewarding seeing the results on the day."

Elizabeth is married to Paul, the Fete's secretary and has taken part in the Fete with him twice. Her most memorable moment was in 1987 when they took part on a float themed 'The Sound of Music.'

Elizabeth has worked in a clinical role for the NHS for over 46 years. She works part-time now alongside her volunteer role with the Fete.

Dan Dacey, Treasurer and Director

Dan has been treasurer of Hythe Venetian fete since 2022 when his good friend Steve Way (Fete Chair) asked him to help. He initially helped with stall holders then the previous treasurer stood down and Dan took on the role.

Whilst he has never taken part as a competitor, he has fond memories of the Fete after seeing it for the first time the year after he moved to Hythe in 2017.

For anyone considering volunteering, for the Fete, Dan says: "Just do it! There are always things to do. My role requires some work all the time, including non-Fete years, but for many volunteers their help is only needed in the Fete itself. You can do as little/much as you like. It's an old cliché, but many hands make light work."

And if you have more time, Dan is keen to encourage new people to the committee. He says: "The committee would welcome new members who may bring fresh ideas and opinions to what we do."

Away from Fete duties, Dan is retired having worked in various fields of Financial Services for c. 40 years. He plays league table tennis and enjoys (attempts) woodwork. But his real passion is watching football, specifically Dulwich Hamlet. Dan no longer lives in Hythe, but has agreed to stay on in his role as Treasurer.

Paul Quinn, Secretary

Paul has been secretary for the Hythe Venetian Fete since 2018. He is responsible for taking the minutes for the Hythe Venetian Fete Committee meetings, drafting key documents and ensuring the AGM is held each year. He joined the committee having been asked by the vice chair when the role of secretary became available.

He says: "I enjoyed the Fete in the past and have always been community focused. Joining the committee felt like a great way to give something back. I'd encourage others to do it too as it's such a great opportunity to be involved with a historic community event. It allows you to make an impact and it looks great on your CV too."

Paul has taken part in the Fete twice in 1987 and 1989. He says: "I helped build two floats, participated, and also rowed the tug boat. In 1987, the theme was the Sound of Music, then in 1989 it was the environment, highlighting the impact of pollution."

Alongside volunteering on the Committee, Paul has held senior roles within clinical development at pharmaceutical companies. He now runs his own consulting company PQ Clinical Consulting Ltd.

Nic Evans, Website and Social Media

Nic joined the committee in late 2023 when the Chair, Steve Way asked her to 'help out with a few social media posts'. From there she was invited to a meeting and the rest, as they say, is history.

Nic says: "Steve has been one of my business clients for many years and has been very supportive, so when he asked for help, I said yes. I've got a lot of experience in content writing and editing, so when I started to help with the social media posts, I couldn't help but start reviewing the web content and looking at more strategic communications for the Fete. I thought, if I was going to do it, I wanted to do it properly"

Nic moved to Hythe in 1999, but it wasn't until 2009 she had her first experience of the Fete – previously she had been away when it took place. She says: "I was very heavily pregnant with my first child who was due just a few weeks later, so I was really excited to think that I could bring him to the Fete in future years. I couldn't believe I hadn't seen it sooner – it was such a wonderful event, the likes of which I had never seen before."

Nic juggles volunteering for the Fete alongside running her own business as a communications specialist, copywriter and editor, as well as family life.

She says: "Volunteering is as hard as you want to make it. If like me, you work and have family, it can be tough to get everything done, but there's no pressure from the committee. I just do what I can in the time I have. It might not always be to the high quality I would give my clients, but I still want it to be good and engage an audience, hopefully boosting the Fete's visibility."

Ian McKeown, Volunteers Coordinator

Ian McKeown is the newest recruit to the Hythe Venetian Fete Committee. He joined as Volunteer Coordinator in January 2026 after seeing a social media post asking for help.

Ian was born and lived in Northern Ireland before moving to Hythe in March 2025. He was in the Scouts when younger, and a member of St. John Ambulance for many years. Through this, he has seen how much fun and how fulfilling volunteering can be. Even though Ian hasn't yet seen a Fete, he volunteered for the role to get more involved in the local community.

Ian has worked for many years in customer service roles and is currently a Service Desk Analyst on an IT service desk.