Meet SFHA's Board: Douglas Mackie, SFHA Chair

When I retired from teaching, a family friend suggested to me that I might want to consider applying to join the Board of the association that she worked for. Despite knowing little about housing associations at the time, I was accepted and matters have moved on a bit since then.

I was immediately impressed by the breadth and range of services that associations provided and the vital role they play in the communities they served.  I subsequently became Chair of West Highland Housing Association, joined the Board of Link Group of which West Highland is a part, became Chair of the Rural and Islands Housing Associations Forum and five years ago was elected to the Board of the SFHA.

Having been elected Chair of the Board in October, I trust I can continue to build on the excellent work of my predecessor, Helen Forsyth, and the rest of the team. This is a challenging time for housing with a myriad of issues to be faced: cost of heating, homelessness, housing shortages, transition to net zero, EESSH2, adaptations, to name just a few!  As Boards we must continue to seek and recruit new members, a challenging task when employees may struggle to find or obtain the necessary time and retiral for many occurs later in life than previously.

Hopefully the Board and I can continue to build on the great work of Sally and all her staff at SFHA so that the organisation can continue to be the respected voice of the social housing sector.

As someone who comes from a generation of Scots many of whom born and brought up in the social houses which replaced the really terrible housing of the past, I know how important it is to be able to live in a home which is safe, warm and affordable. We can be proud of what we have achieved to date - but there is still much that needs to be done. 

Douglas Mackie, SFHA Chair