I have now left the YMCA, and I’m very happy. I retired at the end of March to take up the wonderful promotion of spending the rest of my life with my wife, Noshin. What more could a person want than spending it with the best person in the world, and doing silly websites like this one, perhaps? But we just want to continue to bless people.
As I go, I want to thank all the people I’ve worked with — fantastic people, amazing people, clever, bright, creative, wonderful people, the wonderful people I love in Stoke-on-Trent. I want to thank all the staff. I want to thank all the young people we’ve worked with. The blessings go both ways, backwards and forwards.
And finally, it’s been a privilege to work with and know Nicky Twemlow, who has been appointed the new Chief Exec of the YMCA. I pray for her. It’s a fantastic appointment, and I know she’s going to be brilliant. She’ll be different to me — but thank God there’s only one of me, you don’t need two, that would be terrible. I’m just dead chuffed that Nicky is taking it forward.
The YMCA is like the best family business in the world. It has been serving people for one hundred and eighty-nine-odd years, and I feel incredibly blessed to have been part of that group of people who have served so many, so well.
God bless YMCA. Thank you.