After 8 years of wonderful service, Sphere 17 is saying farewell to three terrific servants.
June 29th, 2016, was an auspicious day for Sphere 17. Aine Galvin, Niall Swords, and Christine Campbell, were all co-opted to the Board of Sphere 17 Regional Youth Service. Their journeys were all a little different. Niall was a recent retiree with many years of corporate sector management. Christine working in HR was sourced through Boardmatch, and Aine came through a Board contact in UCD.
It’s widely accepted that having the benefit of a diverse range of background experience and skills on the board of an organisation can bring the kind of insights, critical analysis, and balance that are required in a high functioning board, and in these 3, we got it in spades!
Christine was a terrific asset to the organisation, bringing her HR skills and her sound reasoning to benefit the Board, and over her time with Sphere she provided terrific guidance on all HR matters especially through work on the Staffing Committee and support of the management team.
Niall brought an insight and appreciation for the value of strategy to the organisation, and for being proactive in relation to development opportunities. Niall also served as an interim Chairperson for 2019 which provided the Board with the valuable opportunity to develop our chairperson recruitment processes.
Aine served as Chairperson of the Sphere 17 Board over the last 5 years, and in that time, she demonstrated core skills in abundance that made her role appear effortless. Aine’s facilitation of discussions, her analytical nous, and sound judgement were all superb, as was her ability to read the room, to know when something needs more work, and when to distill the discussion into a decision or action. Of particular value, was her ability to make people feel at ease and involved, with a witty comment or kind word.
It’s difficult to do proper justice to the contribution these people have made, but under their stewardship, our service has grown steadily and significantly. They have overseen the governance code compliance journey, and the replenishment of the Board, including the recruitment of two fantastic Youth Directors.
They have facilitated the development and implementation of multiple strategic plans, policies, and actions, and they have helped to guide the service through a range of challenges, demonstrating at all times a commitment to the high-quality governance that is a prerequisite to high quality youth service provision.
Their shared achievements don’t happen by accident. It takes a willing and engaged Board made up of generous people, all demonstrating the principles of public service in their work to oversee Sphere 17. These principles are Selflessness, Integrity, Objectivity, Accountability, Openness, Honesty, Commitment, and Leadership.
Aine, Niall, and Christine, on behalf of all of us who benefitted from your commitment to those principles and from your service to Sphere 17, please know that we are extremely grateful for your wonderful contribution over the past 8 years, and that there’ll always be a welcome for you in Sphere 17. Thank You!
