After 17 years as Treasurer of the Charity, in the Men’s Shelter and then the Ark, I have handed over the purse-strings to Lucy Kealy. She will be an admirable and very capable successor in whose hands the Charity’s finances will be assured.
Over those 17 years the Charity has gone from strength to strength and its achievements have burgeoned, which is a wonderful and very humbling reflection of the extraordinary generosity of the supporters who have sustained us. I cannot possibly contact them all, but I hope this short message will let many of them know how grateful we all are, and in particular how grateful I am.
Now (DV and fingers crossed!) we are about to embark on an exciting and ambitious new chapter in the Ark’s life, in new premises where we will be able to offer homeless and vulnerable people in Shrewsbury an even better chance to turn their lives around. It will be the realisation of a long-held ambition.
But I shall not be disappearing completely: I shall remain a Trustee of the Charity which has become - and I have no doubt will continue to be - an example of all that is good in our community.
Thank you to everyone who has supported the Men’s Shelter and the Ark over those 17 years. None of it would have been possible without you.
Ian Somervaille
