High Life Highland has appointed a new chairman and vice chairman to its charity board.
Mark Tate, from Kingussie, was elected to the position of chairman by fellow board members at its board meeting.
Michael Golding was appointed as vice-chairman.
Mr Tate is taking over the role from Ian Ross, who has been in post since 2019.
As his first job as chairman, Mr Tate thanked Mr Ross for his commitment during the challenge of the pandemic.
He said: “Ian has done a superb job steering the board and the charity through the pandemic in what have clearly been the most challenging two years the organisation has ever faced.
“It has been a pleasure to serve alongside Ian and I look forward to continuing to build on his significant work.”
He continued: “It is a great honour and privilege to be elected as chairman of the board of High Life Highland.
“I very much look forward to working with the chief executive, Steve Walsh, and his team to continue to deliver vital services and activities to individuals and communities across the Highlands.”
Challenging times
Mr Tate is the chief executive of the Cairngorms Business Partnership, which is the Chamber of Commerce for businesses in the Cairngorms National Park and currently representative of more than 400 members.
Mr Tate continued: “Over the past couple of years, we have all faced and continue to face some very challenging times in our own lives.
“We are not out of the woods yet, and like many other businesses and organisations, the charity is going to have some ongoing challenges. Amongst other things, these include current recruitment challenges across the Highlands and recovering our Highlife membership numbers against a challenging financial backdrop for publicly funded organisations.
“However, I am absolutely committed to working with and supporting Steve and the excellent team of people we have across the organisation to do what I can to support them in driving this incredible organisation through its recovery and maintaining the essential services High Life delivers across the Highlands.
Mr Tate will be supported by newly appointed vice-chairman Michael Golding. Mr golding is the chief executive of tourism organisation Visit Inverness Loch Ness.
The High Life Highland Board meets several times a year to lead on the strategic direction of the large charity.
It consists of four elected members from Highland Council and eight independent directors, each bringing with them a wealth of different skills from across public, private and development agency backgrounds.
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