Pictured above: Newly appointed chair of Whitefriars
Housing Mick Rawson looks forward to working with Coventry's
largest social housing provider
After 10 years of service, Peter Lacy has stepped down as
chairman of Whitefriars Housing. He passes the mantle on to
new chair Mick Rawson.
Peter, 69, who is also a former chair of housing at Coventry
City Council, has retired after providing the housing association
with 10 years of service. He was chairman of Whitefriars
since it was formed in 2000 and played an integral role in
positioning it as a nationally respected housing organisation.
"My overriding principle has always been that we must provide
homes that my Mum would like to live in," said Peter. "I'm
really proud to have served Whitefriars," he continued.
"Where else could I have had the opportunity to be part of an
organisation that had a significant impact on the quality of life
of more than 20,000 households in the city? And who could
want more than that?
"After ten years, however, I think it is time for fresh thinking
and I'm convinced that Mick will provide the leadership and ideas
that Whitefriars needs to create a secure future for the residents
of Coventry."
Mick, who has been a Whitefriars board member for four years, is
a born and bred Coventry man. The retired 67-year-old dad of
two and grandfather of three had a diverse career which spanned the
private, public and voluntary sectors. Starting off as a toolmaker
apprentice, Mick worked his way up as a production engineer to
become general manager of Coventry company Kango Electrical Hammers
Ltd. He then worked for Coventry Voluntary Service Council
before joining Coventry City Council, initially as the employment
and training officer for people with disabilities, and finishing in
the role of head of external services. He has since taken on
various management consultancy roles.
Pictured above: Peter Lacy has stepped down as chair of
Whitefriars where he leaves a ten-year legacy, including launching
of the organisation's 'Splash' card in 2003
"Peter has been a fantastic chairman," said Mick.
"Whitefriars has been a success story from its inception in
2000 to the present day. The board and its entire staff
should be justifiably proud of this achievement.
"This strong position provides me and the board with a good
platform from which to take the organisation forwards.
Clearly the most pressing factor for our immediate future is
the coming prospect of severe government spending cuts, which is
likely to have an impact on housing associations. My stance
on this is that Whitefriars should not in any way lower its
standards and expectations in the face of these likely cuts.
On the contrary we must strive to achieve better value for
money services and be innovative in our thinking.
"Most importantly, however, we should work more closely with our
residents to decide our future direction and concentrate on
increasing our customers' satisfaction."
Pat Brandum, chief executive of WM Housing Group, Whitefriars'
parent organisation, said: "We have been really lucky with the
quality of our Whitefriars chairmen. Peter has been an
outstanding lead and now I'm very happy that Mick is able to take
on this role, as he is the right man to effectively lead
Whitefriars into the future."
Mick lives in Allesley with his wife and is a keen walker and
golfer.