The new committee of the Association was elected on 14th June 2008. There are a few of the old faces who help the community acheive its present status and plenty of new blood, who together hope to take the Association forward and achieve even more for La Torre.

On 14th June, our Association had an Extraordinary General Meeting. The reason for this was threefold:

1.       Many of the current officers had been elected ‘President’ of a parcella and are now members of the Community Committee. There is a limit to what retired volunteers can take on!

2.       The ‘La Torre Community‘ is called in Spanish Law: “La Torre Golf Community of Owners”. We wanted to change our English name slightly to ensure that there is a distinct difference between the two organisations.  After a vote at the EGM, the majority voted for La Torre Owners and Residents Association – LTora for short.

3.       In order to achieve the above it was necessary to alter our constitution.

The newly elected Officers and Committee pledge to continue to be a voice for the members of LTora whenever the need arises, and to encourage social interaction by organising events and activities in which  members and guests can become involved. More of that in the coming weeks as activities are put in place. 

A start has already begun: Dancing Classes now take place at 5.00pm every Friday at the Valle del Sol Restaurant (there will be a break for August)and our first major event, a ‘Street Party’ was held on 28th June. A report on how successful that was is posted elsewhere.

Who are the Committee?

The Officers:

Chairman - Helga Dessauer 

To many people, Helga is LTora; she has been the ‘front woman’ since its inception when acting as secretary to the old committee. German by birth, Helga is a British citizen, having lived in the UK all her married life. She is a former breeder of rare cats and was a respected  International cat judge for many years before the permanent move to Spain. Indefatigable, Helga leads from the front, never asking someone to do something she is not prepared to do herself. Helga can be contacted at: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Treasurer  - Henri Snapps

Henri is Belgian by birth and lives on La Torre permanently with his wife Ria (also a committee member) and one of their three daughters. An accountant by profession, Henri runs a business in Spain. We are grateful for his financial and legal expertise; the fact that he speaks several languages, including Spanish fluently, has great advantages.

Vice Chairman – Stuart Garland

Stuart is also a Vice Chairman of La Torre Golf Community of Owners and thus a great asset in continuity of purpose for our members. Stuart is a permanent resident on La Torre with his wife Jane, also a committee member. Stuart’s background is in electrical engineering in the armed forces. After leaving the RAF, he went into Recruitment and then did private consultancy. His quiet, honest diplomacy is redolent of his background.

Vice Chairman – Philip Weaving

Our second Vice Chairman is also ex- armed services having served in the Gloucestershire Regiment for over 25 years.  He subsequently moved into Local Government, initially with Wiltshire Education Department and later with Somerset Social Services where he managed the finance and administration.  Philip and his wife Catherine, also a committee member, are permanent residents on the Resort.

Secretary – Vera Stringer CBE

Vera has been helping Helga with the day to day administration of the Association for several months, so she has a head start on keeping our records up to date. She is a permanent resident, though her husband, David, who acts as Administrator for our website, commutes weekly to the UK.  Vera is a nurse by profession and has been the Chairman of an NHS Trust, but she has had an eclectic career and has undertaken many appointments which have involved fundraising and event management. Vera can be contacted at: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

The Committee:

Ria Snapps

Ria works in the family business here in Spain and is no stranger to the organisation of events.

Jane Garland

A former nurse, one of three on our committee! (That means the First Aid is well taken care of!) She loves cooking; many sampled her expertise at the Street Party. Jane has been involved in organising many prestigious ‘black tie’ fundraising events.

Catherine Weaving

The third former nurse, Catherine is from West Cork, Ireland and trained in Psychiatric and General Nursing.  After her training, she went to Australia where she worked and travelled throughout the Continent for over 5 years.  After returning to Ireland she decided to train as a midwife and it was during this period that she met and married Philip.  They have been travelling the World together ever since, but think they are now finally settled in La Torre.

David Goldsworthy

David is not yet a full time resident of the Resort, but will be in the fullness of time. He is our Bridge Master and will be arranging classes for beginners and a club for those who can play to a certain standard, starting in September. Watch the website for further information.

David Moore

This David is still working back in the UK and regrets that he only gets to Spain for holidays...at the moment! David runs our website; writes many of the articles and encourages others to write items of interest for our members.

Judyth Palor

Married to Geoff, Judyth is a resident on La Torre. She spent many years running a small hotel and says that her life seems to have ‘revolved around food and catering’.  A good background for an Association who will be involved in organising social activities.

It is with regret that some members of the Committee have, because of changes in personal circumstances, had to resign from the Committee. We thank them for putting their name forward for election and hope that at some point in the future, they may be able to once again get involved.