Message from Ian Brace our Chairman

At the MRBA AGM in September I shall be standing down as chair and as a trustee of MRBA.  After nearly 20 years as chair it is time for new blood and new ideas to lead the Association.

I shall of course be sorry to be no longer closely involved with the running of MRBA, but I know that it will be in good hands.  Virginia Monk has been elected as the chair designate and will take over from me at the AGM.

I look back at some of the changes in the MRBA over the last 20 years and am pleased with the progress that we have made.

A new constitution in 2006 paved the way for changes in how we operate; the Association’s first website; the introduction of MRBA Skills, to enlarge the scope of the charity; the creation of the Corporate Patrons and Friends scheme;  the computerisation of our processes making us more responsive to our applicants’ needs; and of course the help and assistance that we have been able to give to hundreds of people over that time.

None of this could have been achieved without the dedication of the team of trustees, volunteers and Regional Managers as well the supporters, Corporate Patrons, fund-raisers and others who have provided is with the means to reach those in need.  And I must thank in particular Danielle Scott, who as our administrator has supported me wonderfully for most of those years.

One on-going challenge will continue, which is creating and maintaining on-going awareness across the sector at the point of need.  This has been a constant theme during my time in office and is currently the subject of a real push to try to make progress.  Several Corporate Patrons and other supporters have been working with us to address how this might be achieved in today’s world with today’s channels of communication, so many thanks to all involved with this. I look forward to the outcome of that work.

I am sorry to report that Jenni Perry is also stepping down from the MRBA Trustee Board and Management Committee.  Jenni joined us in 2018 and took on the marketing brief.  Since then she has introduced a number of innovations, the most recent of which was the successful webinar on mental health issues earlier this year.  However, she is now setting up a new business and can no longer devote sufficient time.  Thank you Jenni for all that you have done.

To view MRBA Matters August 2023 articles click here