News

Five new trustees appointed to Wooden Spoon board

Five new Trustees have been appointed by Wooden Spoon, the children’s charity of rugby. They will join the Board of Trustees, led by the Chair, Quentin Smith.

The appointments provide further expertise in strategy, people and volunteer management, marketing, communications, data, healthcare, education, sport, fundraising and policing. Their experience covers both the private and public sectors. Two of the new Trustees also are regional volunteers on local Wooden Spoon committees.

Jane Harwood

Jane trained as a Scientist and has a career spanning over 30 years working as a senior executive leading on strategic business planning and corporate support functions for various police forces including the Metropolitan Police and Surrey, Sussex and Thames Valley Police. She has also worked as Dep CEO for Centrex (the organisation responsible for police training), the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council and the Metropolitan Police Authority.

Jane has long been a supporter of rugby and is also Vice Chair at Missing People. She is currently part of the Surrey local resilience forum leading the welfare and vulnerability response to COVID-19 and is a Non-Executive Director at the University Hospital in Southampton.

Graham Allen

Graham has been a supporter of Wooden Spoon Scotland for a number of years and has recently joined the charity’s Bristol and Bath committee. He was also an integral part of the world record breaking “Everest Rugby Challenge” and “Longest Game” rugby teams in 2019, using his skills as a highly experienced referee.

He has had a varied career that started in medicine and has set up and run a range of businesses from coffee houses, to wine bars to travel agents. He is currently the founder and Chair of defence company Subsea Craft and owner of a commercial forestry business, LAM Forestry Ltd.

Christine Braithwaite

A marketeer by trade, a rugby player and Chair of Women’s Rugby at Firwood Waterloo Rugby Club in her leisure time, Christine brings 20 years of marketing, CRM and business improvement experience to the Wooden Spoon Board.

Christine learned her trade at 3M where she developed her interest in the digital and data side of marketing. She spent over three years working with Beanstalk charity. She works as a freelance Marketing Consultant and Trainer and is passionate about helping businesses and charities make the most of digital opportunities.

Brett Bader

Brett is currently the Chair of Wooden Spoon Dorset and Wilts. He has a background in education, working in schools in senior management roles, as well as being a medical educator and serving as a senior officer in the Army Reserves.

Brett has founded and manages three businesses –in educational training, in expedition training and in sport coaching where he works in collaboration with a range of sports.

Brett was part of the World Record breaking “Longest Game of Rugby” in 2019 and also joined the Wooden Spoon Vets on its Armistice rugby tour in the same year.

Callum Whitton

Callum has been working in sport development and administration for over 10 years. He is currently at the forefront of British Olympic and Paralympic sport where he drives and influences the highest standards of professional, organisational and ethical conduct across a high-performance system.

Callum provides strategic programme, project and operational management support to UK Sport teams, stakeholders, events and athletes.

Retiring trustees

The new trustees will succeed four exiting trustees, whose term of office has come to an end – fortunately they will continue to support the charity in a variety of ways.

Retiring from the Board will be Nigel Timson, who has been appointed President of Wooden Spoon; Richard Smith who will continue to volunteer as a project inspector and help with fundraising and finance operations on the Yorkshire committee, David Allen who will continue to support the charity through his business networks and fundraising, and Martin Sanders who will work on voluntary strategic projects for the charity.

Looking ahead

Quentin Smith, Chair of Wooden Spoon’s Board of Trustees said: “It is a really exciting time for Wooden Spoon but also tinged with some sadness as we say a huge “thank you” to four hardworking, very effective and supportive retiring Trustees.

“We followed a careful process to select new Trustees which involved the whole Board. We were forensic in our approach working to understand the skills we already had at Board level; which particular skills we would be losing with the Trustees leaving and what particular skills and experience we were looking to gain with the new appointments.

“We had an extraordinary response when we advertised the roles and are delighted with the appointments who bring great insight and experience from a range of disciplines such as youth problems, sports at all levels, business leadership and volunteering. There is a good representation across a variety of ages, gender and geographic parts of the country. They are bursting with energy and creativity, and will bring a really diverse, fresh, outlook to our work.”

Nigel Timson, Wooden Spoon Founder and newly appointed President said: “I am deeply honoured and privileged to be named President of Wooden Spoon. The charity has been a fundamental and very active part of my life since 1983. I see my role as supporting the Chair and Trustees to actively help and support taking Wooden Spoon onto its next stages of development and growth.”

Sarah Webb, Wooden Spoon’s CEO said: “I look forward to working with our new Board and President, drawing on their expertise and support, as we navigate the challenges and opportunities presented to us in the current environment.”

Click here for the new trustees full biographies and more information about the work Wooden Spoon does funding life-changing projects supporting vulnerable children.