Arbroath FC Community Trust have announced the appointment of Barry Valentine as their new chairperson.
Arbroath-born Valentine has taken over from outgoing chair Shelley McCarthy and is determined to take the Trust to the ‘next level.’
And McCarthy has been praised for the ‘exponential growth’ in the charity since she started laying its foundations in 2019.
The Community Trust has supported residents through a pandemic, storms and a cost of living crisis with an aim to improve the life chances for people of the town since being official registered with OSCR in November 2020.
Based at Gayfield, the Trust works very closely with the football club and supports a community cafe, coaching, walking football, amateur football and the newly-formed Arbroath FC Women’s team.
Now, with McCarthy stepping down, BP Well Intervention Engineering Manager Valentine has taken over the reigns.
Barry Valentine impressed by ‘depth’ of Arbroath FC Community Trust projects
“It’s an honour to take over a chair from Shelley,” said Valentine.
“She has done a tremendous job since she took on the role in 2019.
“I have watched from afar as the Trust has grown from strength to strength.
“Now I have the opportunity to work with the board of trustees and the team on the ground to drive the Trust to the next level.
“The Trust is heavily active in football but it only forms 20% of what is actually delivered by it.
“As I started the handover with Shelley, I’ve been amazed at the depth of projects that are ongoing.
“The Trust is responsible for a community cafe, physical and mental health initiatives for male and females, football memories sessions at Gayfield and the fantastic work being carried out in the schools network in Angus – name a few.”
Exponential growth
The Trust’s manager Ryan Beattie added: “Under Shelley’s leadership and guidance, the growth has been exponential.
“And the Trust hopes to continue growing in the coming months.
“When I came into post last January, the aim was to secure our place within the community, stabilise the organisation and find our new post-pandemic normal.
“The next objective is to refresh where we are as an organisation. We will look at what we can do better and strive to help more people in Arbroath.
“A logo on our women’s, amateurs and walking football playing kits says: “powered by (y)our community.”
“We genuinely believe we are. The community in Arbroath is fantastic.
“Any time we put a rallying cry out, the support is there.
“My role now is to work on a cohesive strategy which will give us operational security and an opportunity to grow to help more.
“It’s an exciting time and Barry’s help and guidance on that will be pivotal.”
McCarthy is, rightly, proud of her achievements during her time as chair.
She said: “When I took over as chair our vision was to help, support and encourage the people of Arbroath to access sports and services to improve their quality of life.
“I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved together.
“We are delighted that Barry has been appointed as the new chair. I will be supporting the transition over the coming months.”
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