State Opposition Leader Mia Davies, retiring RLSSWA President Colin Hassell and RLSSWA CEO Peter Leaversuch
Faithful member celebrated at 2021 AGM
Royal Life Saving Society WA’s 112th Annual General Meeting was held last night at our headquarters in Mount Claremont. The night was a great time of celebration, reflecting on the successes of the past year, and long-time service of faithful members.
The evening was attended by a number of faithful members, as well as WA State Opposition Leader and Royal Life Saving WA Vice Patron, the Honourable Mia Davies MLA. Ms Davies was pleased to be able to take part as we celebrated the service of her friend, resigning Royal Life Saving WA President, Life Member and long-time Board Member Colin Hassell. For over 50 years Colin has contributed to water safety and drowning prevention initiatives in Australia and the United Kingdom. His tireless efforts have been predominantly in regional communities, creating opportunities for physical activity, social connectedness and the development of swimming and lifesaving skills, a commitment toward preventing childhood drowning and inclusion of people with disabilities. Colin has demonstrated the most genuine and inspiring example for others to follow and we are all the better for having had him involved in our Society.
Colin is a quiet and humble achiever who has dedicated his life to serving his community through his work and volunteer service. He now retires from his service in the aquatic industry to spend more time with his wife and family. We wish him all the very best for the future and thank him for his incredible service.
Last night we also welcomed two new board members Ms Lisa Lilleyman and Mr Jonathan Seth. Lisa has been involved with Royal Life Saving in various capacities since 1999, including the Department of Education’s VacSwim program and our Honours and Award Committee. She has a detailed understanding of aquatics, the multi-facetted nature of Royal Life Saving and importantly opportunities for growth and development. Promoting water safety within the WA community is a genuine passion and Lisa offers extensive experience in delivering strategic advice, collaboration with stakeholders and working with not-for profit organisations and Government. Lisa was the State Manager of the Australian Olympic Committee and is currently performing a national role as the Relationship Manager. In these leadership roles she has achieved many strategic outcomes, engaged with a wide range of stakeholders and works with all tiers of government including Ministers.
Jonathan is the General Manager of JLT Public Sector operations in Western Australia and CEO of LGIS. JLT Public Sector is a division of JLT Risk Solutions. Jonathan has over 30 years' experience in risk management, insurance, reinsurance and account stewardship across a broad range of industries and professions including corporate, not-for-profit, local, state and federal government as well as managed self-insurance funds. In 2013, Jonathan was appointed CEO of LGIS Western Australia, a member-owned mutual for WA Local Governments. He leads with a strong focus on governance practices and systems and is passionate about providing an innovative service and working together to deliver tailored risk solutions for LGIS members. We look forward to working with Jonathan and Lisa, as they share their professional experience for the service of Royal Life Saving WA as board members over the next two years.
Existing board members Carol Harper and Vaughan Davies were re-appointed to the board for a further two-year term. These members share a range of experience in the aquatic, corporate and government sectors which is invaluable to the organisation as we continue our work across Western Australia and strategically plan for the future.
The night was also an opportunity to share the stories of our 2020-21 Annual Report, a year in which the organisation continued to recover strongly following the disruptions of the global COVID-19 pandemic. We were able to engage 236,654 participants in our swimming and water safety programs, a huge jump from 195,546 during the COVID-19 affected previous year, while our first aid and lifesaving programs saw 32,395 people learn vital lifesaving skills, 10,000 more than the 2019-20 financial year. It was pleasing to see this resurgence in participation as we work to ensure all Western Australians have access to learn to be safe in, on and around water.
You can view and download the full 2021 Annual Report at the link below.
The evening also saw us award a number of faithful members for their service.
