Chair

Ewan Bell

Lancaster

 

Hi SSAGO,

For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Ewan. I’m currently your Members Officer, and before that I was Vice President and President of Lancaster, Logistics Officer and Secretary for two rallies, and Chair of Policy Fixers. I’m running to be your next National Chair.

Over the last few years I’ve been involved in SSAGO at pretty much every level: club, regional, national events, projects, and now Pink. That breadth of experience has given me a clear understanding of how SSAGO works in practice, where the pressure points are, and where strong leadership makes the biggest difference.

Being Members Officer this year has meant working closely with clubs across the country. I’ve handled queries, supported committees through various challenges, worked on policy development, and been involved in governance discussions that shape how SSAGO operates. Sitting on Pink gives you a full view of the organisation. You see how decisions are made, how projects move forward, and how important clarity and structure are to keeping everything running smoothly.

Before Pink, I spent two years on club committee at Lancaster, as Vice President and then President. Leading a club gives you a grounded understanding of what national decisions actually mean to clubs, and how important clarity and simplicity are from Pink, when you already have to deal with so much confusion from SUs.

My time on national event committees, as Logistics Officer and Secretary, reinforced that. Large events are complicated beasts, with risk management, finances, volunteer coordination, and long term planning. They also rely heavily on clear communication between committees and Pink. I’ve seen firsthand how valuable steady leadership from Chair can be, when committees need direction or reassurance.

As Chair of Policy Fixers, I have also worked extensively with SSAGO’s governance documents, which will be crucial over the next year as we hopefully become a charity, and transition our structures to that.

I’m running for Chair because I believe experience matters. The Chair’s role isn't just about enthusiasm for SSAGO. It's about leading effective meetings, keeping discussions focused, ensuring accountability, and maintaining continuity. It is about understanding how all the moving parts of SSAGO fit together, making sure they work cohesively, and taking on tasks that free others on Pink and Event committees to do their roles as well as they can.

As Chair, I will work closely with the Charities Assistant to maximise our chances of achieving charitable status, and with the Events Officer to help deliver successful events. Over the next year, bookings will open for Reunion and Witan, two of the major events in the SSAGO calendar. These, along with Rallies and Ball, will receive my full support to ensure they run smoothly and successfully.

SSAGO works best when Pink is collaborative, structured, and forward looking. Having already spent a year on Pink, I know what the workload looks like and what the expectations are. More importantly, I know that I can meet them.

SSAGO has given me a huge amount over the years. I want to continue contributing to it at the highest level, and I believe I have the experience and understanding to lead it well as Chair.