Each week I am highlighting good people I meet along the way and some of the great things they are doing to make the world a better place.
🏉 Initially it has been about young entrepreneurs, and community leaders. But this week I want to celebrate the long contribution my friend and colleague John Byrne has played over the last 20 years with the (now) Active Together here in Leicestershire.
👊 Thanks to Tim Garfield John took a risk on the local MP joining the old County Sports Partnership Board as its Chair in the mid 2000's and neither of us would guess that in 2026 it would be John retiring first!
🗺️ For anybody who has worked in Sport and Activity in Leicestershire John will be well known for his dogged determination and passion for his team and what we can achieve by championing our sector. There will be hundreds of people across the County that will have been impacted by his work - but most won't know how or what role John played. From pre school physical literacy to our Go Gold programme for aspiring elite athletes and a deep commitment to tackling the inequalities across a City and County like Leicestershire John was always there to take on the fight! But he was also happy to put on the High Vis Vest and do Car Park duty at School Games when it was needed.
📣 Even on the national stage John's fight and determination is well known across the Active Partnerships network and across Sport England (Who usually deserved his deep frustration!!).
🥇 It felt surreal chairing one last Active Together Board Meeting with John and the team. We allowed him and Noel Haines to run through the history of our story to this date and what lies ahead. We have been a team as Chair and CEO on and off for 20 years. I am looking forward now to working with our new CEO and helping with succession planning as we always need to celebrate our past but look to an ever changing future!
👍 I am sure all of you who have known John will want to wish him well in his retirement. It really is happening at the end of the month!
