Last night the JOY Board met and collectively made several important decisions with some significant changes put in place.

I and the restructured Board of JOY are fully committed to listening and engaging our members, our community and developing a recovery plan that will take us into the future at our new home the Victorian Pride Centre and to provide the structure and culture for JOY to be the place that we all want it to be.

It is important to understand the current financial issues facing JOY do not reflect on the station's listenership, value to our community and the outstanding work by members and volunteers which results in JOY's otherwise excellent performance.

Board Composition

All executive positions were spilled by a vote of the Board and as a result an election was held to fill all the vacant positions as follows.

I want to thank the Board members who have resigned for their work on the Board for JOY and I look forward to working with and being part of your newly invigorated and restructured Board to take JOY forward to the AGM and beyond at The Victorian Pride Centre.

• Melinda Rich's position as President was declared vacant and David McCarthy was elected as new President and Chair.
• Melinda Rich has reached her Board term limit and as such she will not be eligible for election at the AGM, but will serve out the remainder of her term up to the AGM.
• Marcus King's and Jane Smith's respective roles as of Co-Vice Presidents were declared vacant and Amanda Millar was elected as Vice President.
• Marcus King has resigned this morning from the JOY Board to devote more time to his increased family and work travel responsibilities.
• Jane Smith has resigned from the JOY Board this morning and has said  "It's been a challenging time for JOY over the last two years. There are a range of factors that led to the 2018/19 result. However I have resigned effective immediately so a new leadership team can take JOY forward. I wish them well."
• The position of Treasurer held by Josh Pearson was declared vacant and Priscilla Jeffery was elected as Treasurer.
• Rachel Rees had resigned from the Board as a member and as Secretary earlier this week. Rachel's role as Secretary was therefore already vacant and Melinda Rich was elected Secretary.

The Board is now made up of six members who are:

1. President David McCarthy up for election at AGM
2. Vice President Amanda Millar
3. Treasurer Priscilla Jeffery
4. Secretary Melinda Rich Retiring at AGM
5. Board Member Josh Pearson
6. Board Member Mark Adams up for election at AGM

The three Board members whose term limits are current (in Bold) and are therefore not up
for re-election at the AGM on 20th October 2019 Amanda Millar, Priscilla Jeffery and Josh
Pearson. 

Member Forum – Sunday 8th September 2019

Last night your Board also resolved to call a member meeting for Sunday 8th September where there will be the opportunity for an outline of your Board’s future plans for JOY to be presented and discussed. This meeting will also allow members to raise matters of concern for discussion in a full and frank but respectful Q&A environment. The Board has received several representations and communications desiring a forum whereby members can raise matters of concern. The Board is calling this meeting to enable members to seek answers and to put forward suggestions and provide feedback. The meeting is being called in the spirit of engagement and consultation to inform and focus everyone at JOY on the challenges that lay ahead.

Your Board looks forward to significant membership and volunteer engagement to resolve our current financial difficulties and deliver the long-term sustainable JOY that our community has worked hard for and deserves. Post the AGM the Board will facilitate two member forums to take place before the 2020 AGM which we expect will take place at the Victorian Pride Centre. Additionally, I will make myself available once a month for consultative feedback meetings with our members.

David McCarthy
President and Chair of the Board
JOY 94.9
david.mccarthy@joy.org.au