Active Lincolnshire welcomes new chair of the board and CEO

Following recent recruitment Active Lincolnshire is delighted to announce the appointment of Mark Locking as Chair of the Board of Directors and Emma Tatlow as Chief Executive Officer.

Active Lincolnshire is a charitable company whose vision is for everybody in Lincolnshire to be active, every day.

The organisation works with numerous partners across Lincolnshire with the aim of making a positive difference through physical activity to the health and wellbeing of communities.

Mark Locking joins Active Lincolnshire as Chair of the Board, succeeding Dennis Bell. Mark is currently Managing Director of the Lincoln College Group.

He has been involved with a number of key initiatives directly related to sport and physical activity throughout his career and is a keen sports person, having played and coached in a number of sports, including elite level futsal.

The board have recruited Emma Tatlow as CEO of Active Lincolnshire. Emma brings a wealth of experience, and transferable skills to the role including countywide connections, as well as passion and vision.

She has lived and worked in Lincolnshire for over ten years, predominantly in the tourism sector and in her leisure time enjoys a range of physical activity and participates in triathlon. 

Mike Diaper, Executive Director, Children, Young People and tackling Inactivity at Sport England said:

“I am delighted that Mark and Emma are now on board at Active Lincolnshire. Too many people in Lincolnshire are inactive and missing out on all the benefit from moving and being active.  These challenges will have been heightened by Covid-19 and the lockdown. 

“The Active Partnership has a vital role in working with partners to find local solutions to help people build physical activity into their lives in a way which makes sense for them.”

Mark Locking commented on his appointment; “I am very excited and proud to have been appointed as the new Chair for Active Lincolnshire and serve the county of Lincolnshire which has provided me so many opportunities in life.

“Exercise and physical activity play a critical role in society for young and old to develop the competencies and behaviours to be successful in life and promote good physical and mental health and well-being. This coupled with the impact physical activity and sport can have on wider health outcomes excites me to help Active Lincolnshire with their role.

“I am looking forward to establishing more opportunities to collaborate with partners across the county to see what collective impact we can have on activity levels within our communities.”

Emma Tatlow commented on her appointment as CEO: “I am delighted to be working with the Active Lincolnshire team, the Board and our stakeholders to lead the physical activity agenda in the county. Together, we can increase the levels of activity across the county to support healthy lifestyles and communities.

“Through an insight driven collaborative approach I am looking forward to building new partnerships that support the people of Lincolnshire realise the benefits of becoming more active.

“The current pandemic has had and will continue to have an impact on the physical and mental health of the people of Lincolnshire; working with partners we are working to support those who will benefit from being more physically active during this time and beyond.”

Active Lincolnshire would like to thank outgoing chair Dennis Bell for his contribution and commitment to the organisation over many years and Jo Metcalfe, who has stepped down from her role on the board.

Also joining the board is Kate Truscott who becomes Vice Chair. Kate has spent the majority of her working life over the past 25 years in the public sector, and in the NHS in particular, specialising in human resource management. She has a particular interest in public health and mental health and well-being.

Active Lincolnshire is one of 43 Active Partnerships across England that are working to make physical activity and sport a part of everyone’s life, regardless of age or background. Mainly funded by Sport England, Active Lincolnshire helps to deliver their strategy, Towards an Active Nation, across Lincolnshire. This strategy focuses on groups that traditionally are more likely to be inactive, such as women and girls, people living with a disability or health condition or those from less affluent backgrounds.

Active Lincolnshire is currently focused on helping the sport and physical fitness sector to access the support and advice they need at this difficult time, as well as encouraging everyone in Lincolnshire to stay active and healthy during the coronavirus pandemic. For more information about Active Lincolnshire’s work visit www.activelincolnshire.com