2025 was my first full year properly leading a non-profit at the highest level. As Vice President of the Western Regional YMCA, I chair the Membership and Project Committees, thus leading the effort to deliver value to the organisation’s internal stakeholders and external communities.
I look back with immense pride at the unprecedented successes that we achieved in 2025; a tenfold increase in internal revenue, over US$31,000 in project funding (from zero), partnership development, impactful youth-led programmes and honest dedication to plastic reduction and advocacy on environmental sustainability.
2025 taught me three key things:
1. Planning is paramount. The region’s first-ever Officers’ Retreat in the first week of January 2025 set the tone for the year. We set goals. We built roadmaps. We assigned responsibilities. We were aligned on direction and united in purpose. This clarity of purpose kept us locked in throughout the year.
2. Hard work has no substitute. We set a target to meet every Friday for 12 months. And we did. It was hard. It was repetitive. But the joy of ticking off milestones and achieving goals kept us going. Not all of us showed up every week. But as a group, we were always present. Every Friday. 12 months straight. This was our biggest achievement!
3. Ambition is necessary. Our goals were scary in January. But it was the challenge that provided the motivation. We knew that if somehow we managed to achieve them, we would have done something truly special. By June, our goals roadmap was glowing a bright yellow, indicating steady progress. By December, it was littered with great patches of green. We had done it!
In 2026, we aim to repeat the trick. We met again as a Board, this time more assured of ourselves. This time, with a little wind in our sails. This time, being a little bolder than before, setting goals that are absolutely mental. But trusting in our proven ability to commit, grind and achieve.
Excited for the challenge ahead. Wish us luck!
