Martin Hodson says ‘goodbye’ to one Convenor and ‘hello’ to another
One of the less prominent but critically important roles within BUS is the Convenor. This is the person who serves as Chair of the Trustee Board, who chairs the Council and the AGM, and who generally acts as a sounding board and wise friend to the General Director.
At our recent AGM Frances Bloomfield stepped down from this role, having served since 2015. Frances was a great gift to BUS, drawing on her experiences as a solicitor, a counsellor and an ordained minister.
During her time of office she diligently helped BUS to fulfil our legal responsibilities and to be attentive in seeking the mind of Christ. Some of the particular challenges that arose on her watch were the introduction of Data Protection regulations, the incorporation of BUS and the appointment of a new General Director, not to mention a worldwide pandemic.
We are immensely grateful to Frances for her generous and insightful service to our network over these years and pray for God’s blessing on her in the next season of her life.
Stephen Hagan has now been appointed as the new Convenor
Stephen is a member of Westray Baptist Church where he was secretary for 20 years. Originally from Northern Ireland, after graduating from Edinburgh University as a Civil Engineer he worked back home before moving to Orkney to run his wife’s family farm.
He has been involved with many community organisations and was a councillor with
Orkney Islands Council for 23 years, 9 of them as Convenor. He has served on a number of public sector boards and has recently reached the end of his term as a non executive director with CalMac Ferries and Visit Scotland.
Stephen has been on the trustee board of BUS for the last 4 years. He recently became a trustee and treasurer for Gogo Olive, a charity supporting the rehabilitation of women prisoners in Zimbabwe.
Stephen is married to Linda and has 4 children and 7 grandchildren. He enjoys golf, walking and spending time with the family.
I’m delighted that we have someone of Stephen’s faith and experience serving as the new Convener and trust that in God’s strength he will serve us well in the days ahead.
