Meeting off as directors quit

Oct 9 2008 by Tim Taylor, The Journal

THE extraordinary general meeting of the English Women’s Golf Association, scheduled to take place in Birmingham yesterday, was called off following last week’s resignations of the four non-executive directors who were the subject of its only resolution.

The proposal that never was called for the immediate removal of the four – County Durham’s Jane Longhorn, Carola Babcock, Carolynn Ann Baker and Ada Mary Miller.

The Northumberland-based chairman of EWGA, Sue Whittaker, had said she would resign had the resolution not been carried.

Whittaker, from Wooler, is the wife of a former Newcastle Lord Mayor, Derek Webster, and a member of the Bamburgh Castle club.

Longhorn, from Hartlepool, is a member of Seaton Carew and was the only member of the EWGA company management who had held office on what formerly was the committee-run English Ladies Golf Association.

A former general manager of Coca-Cola in Ireland, Longhorn said: “I resigned before the meeting because even if the vote had gone in our favour, I would not have seen anything changing. Within women’s golf circles, an awful lot was said about the situation to the extent where it had lost the plot.

“It was simply about the fact that although the four of us are fiercely independently minded, we shared the view Whittaker was the wrong person for the job and unless she went, no progress would be made in furthering women’s golf.”

Whittaker said: “Given I had said I would resign had the resolution not been carried, I am confused to hear the view that nothing would have changed. I don’t want to get involved in recriminations, the priority now is for all of us to work together to ensure the association continues to move forward on behalf of our members.”

The staff of EWGA recently issued a statement backing Whittaker and the rest of the management team.

At the same time, EWGA president Elizabeth Earnshaw said: “The non-executives’ interference and involvement in the day-to-day running of the organisation and the atmosphere generated by the discord has had a detrimental impact on staff morale.”

The departed non-executive directors were members of the seven-strong EWGA management board and the appointments committee will now recruit a company secretary/finance director and, initially, at least one non-executive director.

The golfing activities of the association will continue to be undertaken by the EWGA operational board.