Two vacancies will be available on the board of the Otago
Rugby Football Union in the new year.
The six-member board was formed in May after the previous
board was forced to resign after the union's financial
meltdown.
The new board consisted of chairman Doug Harvie, Keith
Cooper, Simon Spark, Kelvin Collins, Andrew Rooney and John
Faulks.
Rooney and Faulks were members of the old board, having been
appointed in 2010. They were given one-year terms, which will
expire early in the new year. Rooney said yesterday he would
think about over Christmas whether he would seek a board
position again.
Faulks said yesterday he was not looking to stay on the
board. He had four children and ran three businesses and
simply did not have the time to dedicate to the role.
Otago Rugby Football Union general manager Richard Kinley
said the union wished to advertise early to get people
thinking about applying for the positions.
The new positions would be for a term of three years, with an
emphasis on having a strong business acumen and financial
management skills.
The new appointments should also possess proven experience as
either a director or senior executive, and have a passion for
Otago rugby.
Under the new constitution introduced this year, when the
union was saved from going into liquidation, a panel will be
set up to oversee the board appointments.
Earlier this year, a panel of Bob Field (chairman), John
Dowling, Ross Dykes and Chris Staynes had been set up to
appoint the new board.
Kinley said he was in the midst of setting up the new panel
and some of those four men may sit on the panel again.
Field is the former chief executive of Toyota New Zealand and
NZRU board member, Dowling is a former long-serving member of
the ORFU, Dykes is the Otago Cricket Association chief
executive, and Staynes is the Dunedin deputy mayor.
Under the old constitution, the clubs had more of a say in
the appointment of board members. But that led to accusations
of too many vested interests on the board and not a wide
enough array of skills on the board to oversee the union.
Applications close on January 19.
Faulks said it had been a roller coaster ride since he joined
the board in May 2010, but he was leaving the union with the
Otago team and community rugby facing good futures.
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