All organisations have their unsung heroes, the ones rarely seen and barely known-about without whom the whole thing would fall apart. For STAA, it’s always the volunteers, and most particularly the management committee; giving up their evenings – and often a lot, lot more than that – to make sure budgets balance, procedures are adhered to and that staff are free to get on with doing the stuff that everybody notices.
I’ve been at STAA a long time, long enough to live through a number of eras, times when one or two of those unsung heroes have gone above and beyond, grabbed a situation by the horns and almost single-handedly moved the whole thing into a better place. Almost single-handedly, I say, but never actually so, because part of their genius is to inspire others to get on board and row in the same direction; the art of the gentle, judicious push.
These last few years have been the era of Rob Wood, who has just stepped down as Chair of STAA after 4 long years. His time has spanned significant transition within STAA, from being predominantly site managers worrying about gates and rents to a much more outwardly-facing, community-enabling approach. At a time when “the end of STAA” was frequently discussed as a serious possibility, it was Rob’s (and, in the early days of that period, Cathy Symes’) vision that lit the way forward.
Imagining a bold future whilst at the same time being prepared to look circumstances squarely in the face sort of captures something of the style of this era, of Rob’s way of working. Passionate but not showy, committed yet light-touch, serious-minded but with silly jokes, unassuming yet thorough, and very determined. Above all, Rob inspired trust and he generated it. He is a thoroughly nice man and has been a wonderful man to work with and for.
I would say he will be much missed – and it’s true, he will – but perhaps one of the most remarkable things he has done has been to manage his own exit strategy. Now – perhaps a little later than first intended – he passes over the helm to Lydia with STAA a significantly stronger, more focused and more professional organisation, and yet one doing more and more of the things that matter, that make a difference, the things that people see.
