Board welcomes new members

18 December 2015

As part of Royal Life Saving Society WA's aim to continually develop all areas of our work in the WA community, we recently welcomed two new members to our Board of Directors.

Carol Harper and James Sheridan attended their first board meeting last week, joining existing members Ross Peters, Colin Hassell, Jeff Fondacaro, David Cummins and Mark Gubanyi.

Carol is the Manager at Pool Spa Outdoor and Pool Spa Outdoor Expo, and has extensive knowledge and networks in relation to outdoor living in WA. She was a co-owner of Exclusive Pools for 10 years, which builds individually designed swimming pools and was a winner of over 50 industry awards.

Prior to this Carol had worked in the commercial pool building industry. She says during this time the company built the pools for the Remote Aboriginal Swimming Pools project, which gave her an opportunity to see first-hand the benefits that program provides for remote communities.

Carol hopes her involvement as a Board member at Royal Life Saving Society WA will help to spread the word about how important education about safe pool use is. “If we can teach more people how to be safe around water then it will benefit everyone. Education is key so I want to ensure people are able to safely enjoy life around their swimming pools, which is important for the industry and important for our society in general" said Carol.

James Sheridan is the Manager, Organisational Risk Services at Jardine Lloyd Thompson Australia, who through LGIS leads the risk management service deliverables into WA local government. James has specific skills in relation to risk management, governance, leadership and organisational culture, and has been working alongside Royal Life Saving Society WA for the past 5 years, assisting with our aquatic risk management programs.

He also has a strong background in being involved with aquatic sports, so has a good understanding of what Royal Life Saving Society is trying to achieve in terms of aquatic safety.

James says his reason for accepting a position on the board is twofold, "I can see a strong alignment between my own personal values and those of the Royal Life Saving Society, but I'm also excited about where the organisation is at in its strategic planning cycle. I'm keen to share my areas of expertise in relation to organisational sustainability, good governance and valued service for members and the industry."

With such a wonderful lifestyle of aquatic activity here in WA James is looking forward to seeing the Royal Life Saving Society continue to develop its role in the community; "It's very much about being able to maximize all those outdoor and aquatic lifestyle opportunities, and ensuring people are knowledgeable and respectful of the risks associated with that; ensuring people can safely utilise those opportunities."

The Royal Life Saving Society WA looks forward to working with Carol and James, and wishes them a warm welcome to our team!