Greetings Nelson Netball,

Firstly, thank you all for your support and commitment to Nelson Netball - you all make the game so special!

Autumn is almost upon us and that means it’s time to turn our attention to netball. I write to you as the newly elected chair of the Nelson Netball Centre Board. I appreciate the trust my colleagues on the Board have placed in me to lead them and the organisation for the next year. We will be in touch with more information in the coming weeks about our plans, including the preparation of a new strategic plan and my intention to reach out to all our clubs and schools in person. In the meantime, I want to thank Julie Baxendine, our retiring chair, for her tremendous commitment over the last five years. We are in a better place as an organisation thanks in large part to Julie’s exceptional leadership. We will miss her able stewardship and passion for the game.

The most pressing task at the moment is going to be hiring a new centre manager; sadly I need to share the news that Jared Lock is resigning. Jared has recently experienced significant and unexpected family challenges that must take his priority. We are sad about Jared’s circumstances and sad to farewell him from the role. I am sure we would all wish him well in what lies ahead for him and his family and trust it will be the best it can be.  Knowing how passionate Jared is for netball, I know we’ll see him return to the sport in time.

I want to assure you the Board has already acted swiftly. We’ve engaged a recruitment agency to undertake a new search for a Centre Manager and for the vacant administrative role. We will be involved in recruitment for these positions in the coming weeks. As Jared’s last day isn’t until 31 March, we will have a healthy transition period. I plan to work alongside Jared during the month and after I’ll support Aleisha Cederman, our Athlete & Coach Development Coordinator, in the office to transition into the season. And as always, we expect to call on some volunteers who have always been ready to assist us when needed. I thank those in advance who are approached to help out.

There is a lot going on at a very busy time. We aim to make it through the next few months as smoothly as possible, but please bear with us if we have a few bumps in the road.

We have a few other updates from the Board. At the AGM last week, Leanne Cook was re-elected for a new three-year term and Helen Stevenson was elected for her first term. Following the AGM, the Board re-appointed Angela Ricker to a new three-year term and we are working now to fill the final appointed vacancy that remains. We undertook a skills audit of the board at our last meeting and have a clear understanding of what we require to strengthen the new board. We expect to be able to announce the final board member by the end of next week. Emma Riddell, Sarah Rankin and myself complete the remaining positions on the Board. Once we have everyone in place we will have a board induction session and later this month have our first full new board meeting.

Jared and Aleisha will be working in the NNC office, business as usual, through this month, so reach out to them with any routine questions. If there is something I can help with, email me hrbrokering@gmail.com or phone me 021548273. I will be in touch as we make progress and I thank you for your understanding and patience.

We are all eager to see the season begin and wish everyone a fantastic time. I look forward to a competitive and fun season of netball!

All the best,

Gary Cox

NNC Board Chair