John Bollom elected as National President of Bacta for two-year term

John Bollom has been voted as the National President of UK trade association bacta; while Joseph Cullis, owner of Scottish operating company Windmill Leisure, has been elected as the association's Vice-President, both for two-year terms. A total of 45 members have been elected to take up various positions at the organization under its new streamlined structure.

Meanwhile, Nick Harding, Greg Wood, and James Miller are the three Past Presidents to have been voted onto the new 11-person bacta National Council. A further 40 bacta members have been elected by their peers onto the newly configured Gaming Council and Amusement Council, both of which have 20 members each. 

New bacta President John Bollom had previously proposed to introduce a dynamic streamlined structure for the association, which was unanimously accepted at an EGM held in May.

“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 organization that has served the industry well and which turns 50 next year," Bollom stated.

He explained that the purpose of the reorganization was to create a structure that is "more aligned with the dynamic nature of the leisure entertainment business" as well as a structure that would "appeal to a broader constituency of bacta members."

He added: “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.”

Bollom noted that the Amusement and the Gaming Council include members who have not previously had any official involvement in bacta and that he looks forward to their insights and perspectives on the future of the business.

Bacta Vice-President Joseph Cullis added: “Huge credit should go to John for taking on the restructuring program. The arguments presented to members were based on thorough research, careful analysis, and experience coupled with a vision for the future. This isn’t a cosmetic exercise but a measured and strategic initiative which gives the industry the very best chance to succeed in what is a competitive and challenging environment.”