We’ve recently (February 2021) elected new members to the board/Executive Committee at our AGM
The AGM meeting took place on February 2 with GCA members in attendance “virtually”, as the meeting was held online.
Iain Wylie, Chief Executive of the GCA, said: “The AGM is held at the start of the GCA Conference in January but with this year’s event having to be cancelled due to the Covid pandemic, we held the meeting online instead.
“The meeting was a great success, and we would like to thank all the members who gave up their time to join and contribute to the discussions. We heard our GCA Chairman, Mike Burks’ report that 2020 had been a huge challenge, but with great cooperation between the team at the Horticultural Trades Association and the GCA and the way that members had supported each other, showed what a great organisation the GCA is and how important it is.
“Our members also elected two new members to our Executive Committee, these are David Yardley, Chief Executive at the Klondyke Group and Will Blake, who is Director at St Peter’s Garden Centre. We’d like to welcome them both to their new positions.
Will has been Area Chairman for the Midlands so has sat on the committee for a number of years already, but David joins the committee for the first time. His role in running a group with centres in England, Scotland and Wales will be an invaluable and a unique perspective to add to the committee’s collective experience.”
During the AGM, David Little was also re-elected as Treasurer, however, he did confirm this would be his final year in the role and that he will not be standing again in 2022.
As part of his report, Mike also commented on the Association’s succession plan. He confirmed that current Chairman Elect Tammy Woodhouse, Managing Director of Millbrook Garden Centres will take over in 2022 when his term of office comes to an end and, in turn, Will Blake has agreed to stand as Chairman Elect to follow Tammy.
Ben Harrison of Haskins Garden Centres has agreed to take on the role of Treasurer from next year, when David retires from the role and will be working with David in the coming months to ensure a smooth transition.