THE Malvern Hills Trust is inviting candidates to stand for election to its board, writes Mia Sen-Gupta.
The Trust is the charity responsible for caring for the Hills and Commons and is governed by the Malvern Hills Acts.
The board of trustees is the body which is legally responsible for managing the Trust and two new trustees are being elected for West and Priory wards by the voters of each of the wards.
Trustees are responsible for the strategic oversight of the charity, ensuring that it is meeting its statutory and charitable objectives.
The board meets at least five times a year, but most trustees are also on one of the four committees. Elections will be held on Thursday, September 18.
CEO of the Trust, Deborah Fox, said: “This is your opportunity to join John Michael, chair of the board and trustees and set policy for the care of this iconic landscape.
“It is a fantastic opportunity to get involved in making key decisions about how the Trust delivers its charitable objectives.
“This is a privilege and also a significant responsibility, including financial control of the charity, health and safety matters and risk management.”
“The board particularly welcome people with experience in areas such as finance, land management, charity governance or human resources, it would also be great if candidates who bring more diversity to our board stand.
“It is important to say that being a trustee is different from being elected to a local authority, once elected, our trustees are legally obligated to act in the best interests of the charity, and are not representatives of the voters.”
All trustees are unpaid and candidates for election must fulfill certain criteria including; being registered to vote in, living in or working in the electoral area of the Malvern Hill Trust.
Nominations open on August 13 and close on August 21 at 4pm.
Full details of the election process and more information about the Trust can be obtained from the Trusts website or their offices at Manor House, Grange Road Malvern.
Trust staff will be happy to have an informal chat, with anyone interested in becoming a trustee.
A briefing session has been organised for potential candidates on Monday, August 18 at 6:30pm at the Trust’s offices.
Booking in advance in essential, do so be emailing: [email protected] or call: 01684 892002.
