Following on from the appointment last month of Linda and Dave as Group Leaders for Cheshire and the Northwest, we are delighted to announce that two more Owlss members have agreed to take on the role of Group Leaders.

Claire, who is currently our Mentoring Coordinator for Hull hospitals and Jules, Owlss Book Club Coordinator are familiar faces at our group meetings held in Hull & Scunthorpe and have both accepted an invitation from long-term Group Leaders, Colin and Debz to join them on the panel of the Owlss Steering Group.

Now there are six Group Leaders, it is hoped, by sharing the duties of running Owlss on a day to day basis, we can provide greater support to our members and over the next year, we will be introducing some new and exciting initiatives to expand our services even further.

Jules will remain as the Owlss Book Club Co-ordinator and take specific responsibility for looking after our members in Lincolnshire as well as those of you living south of the Humber. On accepting her new role, Jules shared with us a little about herself: "I have been married to Adrian for 34 years, and have a son, I had a daughter, and have a handful of grandchildren.

I had been overweight for most of my life. In March 08 I asked my GP about a gastric bypass. In June that year, I saw Bariatric Surgeon, Mr Jain and after several visits to Beryl (Dietitian) and a second consultation with Mr Jain, I went on the waiting list. Exactly a year later (June 22nd 2009) I had my op and the rest as they say, is history. To date I am 6 stone lighter and 6 dress sizes smaller.

At the beginning of my "journey" I was introduced to Owlss. I attended the meetings every month and soon realized what a great support group this is. I was particularly impressed by this wonderful website and the invaluable support available on the Forum. Within a few months I had become a helper. After my op I wanted to be more involved and became the book club lady, and did the raffle.

I am very much involved with the mentoring and like to answer questions which members are unsure about. I go on site most nights and am always happy for members to join me for a chat."

Our other new Group Leader, Claire has agreed to continue as an Owlss Mentoring Co-ordinator in addition to taking on the specific role of Group Leader for Yorkshire and the Northeast. So, if you are based anywhere north east of the Humber, you can now contact Claire who will be there to advise and represent your interests.

Claire said: "I have been involved in Owlss for about 18 months now. I started attending the meetings before I was put on the waiting list for a gastric bypass and have continued to be involved in the group ever since. I have now reached my target weight and have lost over 7 ½ stone since my surgery in February 2009. Owlss has been such a huge help to me, both pre and post op and I felt that I would like to give something back. This is why I have taken on this new role. I am excited about this opportunity to help keep Owlss one of the best weight loss support groups in this area."

Here is a summary of recent changes and contact details:

• Linda -Group Leader Macclesfield, Cheshire & Northwest - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Dave - Group Leader Macclesfield, Cheshire & Northwest - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Claire - Group Leader Hull & East Yorkshire - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Julia - Group Leader Scunthorpe and Northeast Lincolnshire - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

We hope you will join us in congratulating our new Group Leaders and wish them every success as they take on the more responsibilities within the Owlss Group.

As Owlss popularity expands with more and more people joining us from around the UK, we hope to appoint even more Group Leaders to ensure we maintain our current position of being one of the top weight loss surgery patient support groups in the country (according to recent Google search rankings). If you think you have what it takes to become a Group Leader of Owlss, why not get in touch?

Contact Colin or Debz (or indeed your new local Group Leader!) for further details:

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it