Dear Supporters

Message from the Chair

I am delighted to confirm that Richard (Beef) Frankland has been appointed Manager of Prospex Youth Services effective June 16^th 2008. Beef’s challenging task is to lift Prospex to a new level and ensure that we continue towards our goal of establishing Prospex as the benchmark for youth service provision.

Leading Prospex forward to deliver that quality of service and performance to which Prospex aspires, and which our young people deserve, is a demanding and exacting task which demands more than vision, dedication, commitment and a sound knowledge of youth work. While these qualities are critical foundation skills, truly effective leadership requires an additional and broader level of human and organizational competence.

Whether it is in the acquisition, development, motivation and retention of our talent or in the building and maintenance of our organisation as sharp, responsive, competent and utterly reliable, whether it is in the establishment and maintenance of influential relationships with all those with whom we engage or in delivering an inspirational, magnetic and credible brand promise, the effective leadership of Prospex is in all respects fundamentally important if we are to ensure that young people we work with are to be offered the best possible hope of realizing their potential and turning their lives around.

As you would expect the Trustees and I have, as part of our routine planning, been considering leadership succession and Beef was our number one candidate. I believe that Beef brings with him a powerful combination of capabilities which make him extremely well suited to this unique leadership role, and I ask that you give him your full and unreserved support as he begins to take the organisation forward.

Beef will be  sharing with you his thoughts and aspirations for Prospex over the coming weeks through this website. Continuity and stepping up our game is his ambition and intent.

Lastly and importantly I want to thank Matt Calvert. Matt was the Founder and originator of Prospex and its vision for helping young people, and it was his leadership which created and delivered Prospex to the point where we find ourselves today. Many, many young people owe a huge debt of gratitude to this man who has enabled them to turn their lives around. It is through Matt’s legacy here that you can see the extraordinary effect and ripples of influence which can be achieved by uncompromising commitment to life and a cause.

I wish Matt great success in his new venture and look forward to a continuing interest from him as we move into a new chapter.

Mike Hickes

Chair - Prospex