Paul Young

I am standing for election to the Essendon FC Board and I am asking for Your Vote

Members will decide who they will vote for on many different levels.
The question I am asking members is, who meets your objectives and values and who has the skills and desire to achieve these aims.

Hopefully after reading my statement and work life overview you will consider my qualifications to achieve the objectives in my statement.

I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Either by:
Facebook on this thread
Twitter (pjandsl5)
Or Email ([email protected])

Over the last year I have heard complaints from members in Melbourne, Country Victoria and Interstate.
All a very similar message:
That the communication from the club to membership is poor
That they feel like their views are not considered
And that they feel like when there is communication from the club it’s not the full story.
Off the 9 people on the current Board they all have strong Medium to Large Business backgrounds.
But the club is not made up of 60,000 members with medium to large Business background.
I think that the main reason there is a disconnect between many members and the Board can be directly linked to the lack of a mix of society on the Board.

The question I am asking member is, what is missing from the Board?
Do we need another person with the same background as the other 7 remaining Board members?
Or do we need a different type of person on the Board?
I believe what is missing is someone who can devote their time and energy in improving the links between the Board and the majority of the membership, to take on the task of reviewing the current communication process and seek improvements.
Over my working life, the most rewarding roles have always been the ones where I have been involved in change, where I have investigated and then implemented change that added value to the organisation.
Additionally, I have years of experience representing members in a union environment, including currently an elected member of the CPSU Governing Council, which is my unions peak decision making body, representing a membership of over 50,000.
I am confident my qualifications in administration and management as well as my life work experience fills a void and will be a valuable addition to the Board.

Summary of my background and skills.

Finishing Year 10 in 1977 aged 16 year I went straight to work
The MWS&DB (now Sydney Water)
1978 I started at TAFE: in Public Administration.
1981 Completed Post Public Administration.
Course. (Now Cert IV.)
1982 – 1990 Moved up layers of Sydney Water.
At time of resigning was in a middle management role

1980 - 1989 I was involved in a soccer club and the ALP.
I was the club’s secretary / register for a number of years of a local club.
I stopped playing soccer after 35 years of local soccer at aged 40.
I held the post of Senior Vic President of the Parramatta Branch of the ALP and on various sub groups.

1991 – 1992 Took a sabbatical and travelled Overseas and around Australia

1992 – 1993 Various roles

1993 Randwick Mite 10 Medium size business, 40 staff (General Administration)
• Redesigned stock management procedures
• Established and controlled first stocktake at Store in many years
• Created and implemented new administrative and purchasing procedures.
1995 – 1999 Assistant Manager
(Auxiliary staff, marketing/promotions and purchasing)
1993 – 1996 Advanced Certificate (now Cert IV) in Retail Management.
State Medal winner

1997 - 2002 Part Time Lecture at St George TAFE
1997 National Teaching and Learning Certificate

1999 – 2002 Franklins Distribution Centre (Team Leader and Weekend Shift Manager)
2000 The Bullet Proof Management Training Series
2001 Certificate IV Assessment and Workplace Training

1998 – 2000 Supervising results at Club/State/National Comps for Australian Synchronized Swimming
2000 Olympics Volunteer - confirm that & published the Synchronized Swimming results.

2001 Met my future wife (Married 2003) who introduced me to AFL and the mighty AFL club Essendon FC and her hero James Hird

2002 Moved to Melbourne

2003 – 2006 Various contract Teaching roles in Retail, Business and Job Searching
2006 Volunteer at Melbourne Commonwealth Games

2007 – Current Australian Public Service.
• Most interesting role to date: Jobless Families / Helping Young Parents Team
Community presentations / Workshops / Counselling.
• Develop relationships with Local Government & Community Organisations.
Additionally: I took an interest in staff /Management relations and OHS.
Currently I am an elected member of the Community and Public Sector Union Governing Council

I didn’t realise @Bacchusfox was running for the board.

Joined Blitz July 13.

Relevant.

hi Paul!

Can you give some examples of ideas you may have to improve communication between the club and the members and vice versa?

Hi Paul - thanks for stopping in, mate.

Two recently elected board members have ‘communication/people skills’ as some of their primary skill sets. How do you see your own skills enhancing what is already in place?

Interesting read.
It sounds like Paul has a real love of the common people and believes everything must change.

Synchronized Swimming?

Hi Paul,
One question

“I am confident my qualifications in administration and management”

What qualifications do you have?

Interesting read. It sounds like Paul has a real love of the common people and believes everything must change.

I’m only voting for him if he’s a family man.

Hi Paul
Here are the questions I am putting to all the candidates

Welcome to Blitz

I am interested in
where in non-football terms you think the club should be heading in the next few years?
what do you think the club needs to do to improve its operations not just football in the future?
your thoughts on communication strategies that have been employed in the past three years and if and how they could have been improved and improved into the future?
What are your thoughts on making the board more accountable to the members in terms of reasons for decision making, and how can this be achieved?
What are your thoughts on having a comprehensive review of the actions of the board in relation to the SAGA over the past three-four years?

Thanks

A correction: The clubs constitution allows for up to 9 Directors. With up to 3 appointed and 6 elected. I was aware another person was appointed in 2015, however unaware one person resigned (DARYL JACKSON AO ) in Oct 2015 until reading the 2015 Annual report, this now leaves 8 current members. There will be 6 current Board members not up for election and 2 positions up for election.

Hi Koala: Can you give some examples of ideas you may have to improve communication between the club and the members and vice versa?
If elected the first thing I want to do is do an audit of all the various official and unofficial communication streams to club members. I would then like to form a group with all the admins from all the various sites to design a detailed survey to members to get the full story, what’s good and bad. I am keen to ensure every state has at least 1 official Bombers Facebook site. Members need a way to communicate with the club in an easy member, one way is to have a dedicated email address another is to have regular Q&A sessions on the various sites, a schedule could be drawn up where a representative from the club is available between 7pm to 8pm over a 4 week period covering a different site each night (except Friday/Saturday/Sunday). More members forums (say each 3 months). Skype meetings for interstate members. If I am elected I will ask that I am tasked with working with the current relevant admin staff at the club to design an improved communication process.

Interesting read. It sounds like Paul has a real love of the common people and believes everything must change.

I’m only voting for him if he’s a family man.

What about if he was Yesterdays Hero??

Hi Deckham:Two recently elected board members have ‘communication/people skills’ as some of their primary skill sets. How do you see your own skills enhancing what is already in place?

I feel that I have good problem solving skills that I can bring to the club. With all respect to the 2 members who were elected last year, there does not seem that a great deal of changes in communication process over the last 12 months (apart from the forum) .
If elected I will drive a program of improved process.
I see my key skills in problem solving, development of new procedures and representing members an asset that I bring to the Board. I look forward to working with Paul and Katie using their marketing and people skills to come up with a detailed plans to submit to the Board. Over the years I have been involved in various organisational improvements by seeking out advice and working with experts to achieve a successful result.

Hi wimmera1
Interesting read.
It sounds like Paul has a real love of the common people and believes everything must change.

I have spent much of my working life involved in activities representing people to achieve a fair go.

Hi Diggers
Synchronized Swimming?

My younger sister was the Australian champion for 10 years in Synchronized Swimming. She started this as she was born with a club foot and the doctors suggested she do a water sport to build up strength. Apparently she saw a movie one day when she was very young that include a Synchronized Swimming routine and that’s what she wanted to do. Anyway parents have a good way of talking their children in helping out and my father was very persuasive. I turned up one day to have a look, my father mentioned he was a person short in calculating the scores (had to be done manually). Next thing I know I am running that side of all the comps.

Hi Darli
“I am confident my qualifications in administration and management”
What qualifications do you have

I left school at 16 having come dux in 3 subjects. Coming from a large family my responsibility was to get a job.
Over the next 4 years I completed a course part time in Public Administration Post Certificate (current level is Certificate IV)
In the mid 1990’s I completed a course in Retail Management; Advance Certificate (current level is Certificate IV) I did well in this course, I was award the state medal. In order to achieve this result I had to score the highest overall grading in the state, as well as achieve a level across the subjects of high distinction. The TAFE I attended were rather please apparently no one else had ever from that TAFE had ever one this award so they took a photo of me receiving the award stuck it in a hall way and asked my to teach part time.
Over the next few years I completed a few short length training course and finally Certificate IV in Workplace Training and Assessment.

Hi Scorpio
I am interested in
1)where in non-football terms you think the club should be heading in the next few years?
2)what do you think the club needs to do to improve its operations not just football in the future?
3)your thoughts on communication strategies that have been employed in the past three years and if and how they could have been improved and improved into the future?
4)What are your thoughts on making the board more accountable to the members in terms of reasons for decision making, and how can this be achieved?
5)What are your thoughts on having a comprehensive review of the actions of the board in relation to the SAGA over the past three-four years?

1)I think we need to continue to grow out member base. Giving our member more of a variety in activities outside game day, activities that will attack younger supporters and activities to engage our interstate members. We need to win back to some degree our brand. A strong club that stands for loyalty, passion and success.
2) Communication with its members. members need to feel they have a voice, the club needs to members and explain better why a decision was made.
3) I think the communication strategy over the last 3 years has been poor. We received notices via email a bit but it felt like we only received have the story. If you have a look at my answer to Koala question it details some of the ideas I have to improve communication.
4) If our club is to grow and not lose membership the membership needs to have opportunities to contribute with ideas, to express their concerns and what they like. If I am elected I will be asking that my primary role for the Board is to drive this change in communication between the Club and the Membership.
5) over the last few years I have seen and heard compliant, anger and confusion. I have been at times ranging from anger to disbelief. Yet with all this frustration and disappointment with decisions no one was saying they would do something. In the absence with anyone else doing something I started a petition in August with the objective of forcing the whole Board to face the membership in fresh election. If that had occured it was my expectation that if that had occurred members would of been able to let go their frustration and we could all accept the result. While I was pleased with the level of support I got it was not enough to force a full Board election.
Which left for me where to next. I saw the answer being to try to get on the Board and work towards improving the communication process so members had a voice. so that we don’t repeat poor decisions that don’t have support of the members.
While i personally would like a comprehensive review of the SAGA over the last 4 years, I doubt there is sufficient appetite among the membership to push for a full review of all the decisions that were made over the last few years. My reading is that most members want to start 2016 with a clean slate, not that they have forgotten or in anyway happy about some previous decision.
If elected I will seek to run a comprehensive survey to find out members view of the good the bad an the ugly. I may be wrong and it could be that a lot of members are unable to move on without a review of the Saga and if that is the case I will push for one.

Hi Bloodstained Deviles

I’m only voting for him if he’s a family man.
What about if he was Yesterdays Hero??

I am married, unfortunately due to issue no children, but heaps of extend family and siblings children to spoil.

I didn't realise @Bacchusfox was running for the board.

Not me.

Not enough wives in CV, and too many training courses, obviously a slow learner.

Though I like his politics.