Aidan Curtis
TWO of Group Training Employment’s (GTE) long-standing board members are calling time after helping steer the organisation for a number of decades.
GTE board members and former board chairs Ted Jordan and John Woodland have been helping shape the lives of young tradies for 22 and 32 years, respectively.
Both men were originally nominated to the board through their roles as councillors through the South East Local Government Association (SELGA), but decided to stay on the board as community members after the initial two-year term.
They went on to chair the board, with Mr Woodland taking the reins from 1994 until 2009, with Mr Jordan following from 2010 to 2012.
While they both had fond memories and highlights from their time on the board, the pair said the thing that kept them going for so long was the knowledge that they were helping the community.
Mr Woodland said, for him especially, the responsibility of helping young people find what they wanted to do was a big part of his love for the role.
“It’s the pleasure of knowing and meeting so many great people in this organisation who have got the same drive to help people get employment, apprenticeships and traineeships,” Mr Woodland said.
“You were helping out young people to get jobs and get training.“
“Through your participation, you create a future for young people and that, in a nutshell, is what it’s about.”
While the board positions were unpaid, Mr Jordan said being involved had its own rewards, including being part of an organisation that became a giant family over the years.
He also said that getting involved in boards and community groups was just the way things were in country towns growing up, so there was never any thought of seeking monetary compensation for their time.
“I can go back a little bit, 87 years, and the expectation when you were part of a community was that you would join various things,” he said.
“That was accepted by people in those days that it would be what you do for the community to put back into the community.
“Without volunteers, it wouldn’t have continued.”
Both Mr Jordan and Mr Woodland said they would miss being on the GTE board, but their retirement did not mean they would stop getting involved entirely.
“I don’t intend to go away completely and walk off into the sunset,” Mr Jordan said.
“Without becoming a nuisance, I think I’ll have to still retain an interest in how GTE is going into the future.
“We’ll still be around to see what we can do to help.”
Mr Woodland added that it was simply time to step back to pave the way for new members and fresh ideas.
“We’re not getting any younger and we’re not as good as we used to be,” he said.
“No matter how good people think you are or how good you think you are, or how good you really are, there’s always somebody better waiting in the wings to get the opportunity.”
GTE general manager Greg Megaw said he will certainly miss “the grandfathers” of the board, but they would always be a part of the organisation.
“As far as I’m concerned, they will have left the building, but won’t have left the building,” Mr Megaw said.
“For me personally, a thing that really means a lot to me is Ted will ring out of the blue and John will walk in unannounced and want to come in and sit down to talk about how things are going.
“It really does mean a lot, because sometimes it’s lonely and to have caring board members – and these are two really caring board members – has been so important.”
Mr Jordan and Mr Woodland will officially retire from their positions at GTE’s annual general meeting on Tuesday, October 18.
