Oldham Athletic Community Trust are delighted to announce three new trustees, including a new chair of trustees.
Phil Royales is now appointed as the Chair of the Trustees at OACT, with Tansy Jones (HR Trustee) and John Belfield (Customer Experience Trustee) also joining the organisation.
Here's their reaction to joining...
Phil Royales – Chair of Trustees
I work as a Regional Head of Service for Guinness Property, until recently I held a national role with Guinness which involved travelling around the country.
I’ve supported Oldham Athletic all my life with my great great Grandfather, Albert Grey, a founder member of Pine Villa 125 years ago, I suppose the club runs in my blood.
Given my new role at Guinness I now have time spare to give back to our community, something I really enjoy doing in my day to day role. The sense of achievement you feel when you’ve put a smile on faces of people who sometimes are less fortunate is truly satisfying.
I’ve been looking to get involved in the community for a couple of months and saw the job advertisement for the OACT Chair which I had no hesitation in applying for and now I can’t wait to get started. I’m going to work with the Directors and staff to really understand the skills we have in the Community Trust and identify any gaps, along with building relationships with the club and stakeholders across the community.
With the team we are going to look at other valuable initiatives to get involved in and support along with increasing the good work we already do in our community.
Tansy Jones – HR Trustee
I live in Oldham with my partner Graham, our four pet guinea pigs and we are currently expecting a baby boy. I’ve worked in HR in central government for over a decade now.
I’m a big Latics fan, having gone to my first game well over 20 years ago having received a free ticket from my school - as a result of the work of the equivalent of the trust at the time. I’ve also spent time as a volunteer running Boundary Blues.
I’m a big fan of the work of the trust, and the impact they have both on local community and Latics, so I was really keen to support them when the opportunity came up.
I’m really hoping to be able to use my experience in HR to benefit the trust, to help ensure that we continue to have great people doing great work for our community.
John Belfield – Customer Experience Trustee
Currently I work as a Customer Relations Manager for IKEA, a role that I have held for four years. Previous to that I have been held store manager roles in both food and non food retailers. I have two kids who are seven and five, and myself and my partner are also foster carers so we usually have a third child in the home.
I’ve been an Oldham supporter for over 35 years, I’ve sat in every area of the ground over that time although I have fond memories of The Lookers Paddock. In my spare time I present a radio show on Radio Alty, featuring unsigned and up and coming music and I’m also the Artistic Director of Goose Green Festival which is a two day music festival in Altrincham featuring unsigned bands and artists.
I really enjoy being part of projects that involve and enrich the local community. The opportunity to be involved in a project with the club I have supported since being a child was a great opportunity. Although the success of the club is largely driven by performances on the pitch, I am a big believer that the Community Trust plays a massive part in bridging links with the local community.
From the short time that I have been in role, it is clear that the work the Community Trust do is already well thought of in the community of Oldham. I would like to explore how we can improve that further, and reach all parts of the local area. I’m also looking forward to working alongside the other trustee directors to support the Community Trust to continue it’s fantastic work.