John Bollom named Bacta national president

A fresh chapter in the history of UK trade association Bacta has opened with a total of 45 members elected to take up positions in the new streamlined structure.

Respected industry personality John Bollom has been voted national president with Joseph Cullis, owner of Scottish operating company Windmill Leisure, elected as vice-president, both for two-year terms.

Nick Harding, Greg Wood and James Miller are the three past presidents to have been voted onto the new 11-person National Council.

A further 40 Bacta members have been elected by their peers onto the newly configured Gaming Council (20 members) and Amusement Council (20 members).

Bollom, whose proposal to introduce a dynamic streamlined structure for the association was unanimously accepted at an EGM held in May, stated: “I’m delighted to become the first national president of what is a new Bacta.

“This is a really important phase in the life of an organisation which has served the industry well and which turns 50 next year.

“The purpose of the reorganisation was to create a structure which is more aligned to the dynamic nature of the leisure entertainment business that we are all involved in as well as a structure which would appeal to a broader constituency of Bacta members.

“Ours is an industry packed with talent and energy and this structure enables Bacta to draw on those talents and attributes, remove the bureaucracy which slows the decision making process down and instead get on representing the business interests of our members with gusto, focus and creativity.

“We have been really pleased with the level of engagement evident in the volume of nominations received for the new positions and the numbers who have voted.

“Both the Amusement Council and the Gaming Council include members who have not previously had any official involvement in Bacta and I look forward to their insights and perspectives on the future of the business.”