Tim Takes A Lead On Safety

A warm welcome to Tim O’ Donoghue (SOLWAY) as he joins the Board of Directors in the newly created Safety Director role. Tim has been co-opted by the existing Directors and will stand for election at our AGM/EGM. Tim will be a familiar face to many, especially those who ran at last years Scottish Championships in Dalbeattie Forest where he fulfilled the role as event organiser.

An introduction

Tim retired a few years ago after working for more than 35 years in the chemical industry with ICI and then DuPont.  After gaining a degree and a PhD in Chemistry at the University of Cambridge, he started work as a Research Chemist with ICI, and followed a well trodden route through Technical Development into Production Management on High Hazard chemical processes.  Eventually he moved to the ICI Dumfries site where he first encountered orienteering in nearby Mabie Forest.  A few years later he took on the local Health, Safety and Environmental Manager role which he kept for the next 20 years, while also becoming the Global Safety Manager and gaining experience of managing safety at sites in China and Japan.  He brings to the Safety and Policies Director role substantial experience in managing processes and safety, change management, auditing and with writing corporate safety standards.  He is a long standing member of Solway Orienteers and its committee, having recently reached 20 years as the club chairman, and is a qualified controller, coach and an amateur mapper.  He and his wife, Helen, have also been involved in String course mapping and design for many years: they are currently the SOA Coaching Coordinators.

Tim is looking forward to his role on the Board, and the opportunities to share more learning more widely across SOA, and to refresh safety related systems and SOA policies. 

Orienteering is his main interest and when injury in recent years has limited opportunities for competing, he has turned to coaching and local mapping.  He also enjoys music, singing in a group he helped found 25 years ago and playing the trumpet in a local wind band, where he plays alongside his younger daughter.