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Y NSW appoints 2 sportsmen, 1 financial expert as board directors

Paulo Rizal February 11, 2021

2 min read

The YMCA NSW (Y NSW) has appointed three new board members, the organisation announced in a media release. This comes as directors Philip Knox and Frances-Anne Keeler have announced their departure from the not-for-profit’s board.

Based on their credentials, the new Board Members share a passion for empowering young people.

“Young people are the future of our community. It is vital that environments are created so that they have the opportunity to live their best lives, physically and mentally,” said Wild, whose breadth of Helen’s experience includes financial management, corporate governance, risk management, legal compliance, human resources, administration, information technology, knowledge management and media relations.

For his part, King said he was thrilled to be given the chance to help inspire young people.

“I’ve seen first-hand the important role the Y plays in our communities and jumped at the chance to be involved. As a father of three young boys, I couldn’t think of a better purpose than believing in the power of inspired young people to be aligned with,” King said.

King has led programs in high performance and athlete development and been responsible for designing and implementing strategy for elite sporting competitions. Before this, he was a former professional rugby league player for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles where he played 239 matches and captained the club from 2010 to 2014. Jason also represented the New South Wales Blues in 2010 and 2011.

Meanwhile, Perry expressed hopefulness for today’s youth and believes that Y NSW is the proper avenue to realize their potential.

“The Y has such a range of opportunities for today’s youth, often maligned as device-hugging. To develop and enhance their physical, social and mental wellbeing is something I feel passionate about and look forward to contributing to in a meaningful way,” Perry said.

George Perry has over twenty-five years’ experience in the sport, major events, and venue management industries. George’s careers include some of the largest sporting events Australia has seen including the Sydney Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the Rugby World Cup.

Y NSW chair Richard Hughes welcomed Jason King, Helen Wild and George Perry to the not-for-profit’s Board of Directors and thanked departing Directors Philip Knox and Frances-Anne Keeler for their service.

“I would like to thank and acknowledge Mr Knox and Ms Keeler for their valuable contribution to the Y NSW across their four- and two-year respective tenures, and for playing a significant role in weathering the recent storm of COVID-19 while staying true to who we are,” Mr Hughes said.

“We move forward in this pursuit with Mr King and Perry, who bring extensive experience in sports administration, events and venue operations to the Y NSW, and current Company Secretary for the Australian Institute of Company Directors Helen Wild, whose financial expertise will help increase our footprint and impact sustainably, ensuring the oldest youth organisation in the world holds that title for generations to come,” he said.

Y NSW CEO Susannah Le Bron also joined Hughes in welcoming the three new board members.

“Having diverse expertise and voices on our Board is absolutely fundamental to the Y’s success, so I’m thrilled to see a suite of such high calibre Directors wanting to join the Y family,” she said.

The Y NSW Board Members provide leadership and strategic guidance for the Y NSW in addition to overseeing management’s implementation of significant initiatives.

The Y NSW supports diverse communities through 22 recreation centres, 62 Outside School Hours Care centres, two outdoor education and camping locations and myriad valuable youth and community services.