Merlin residents vote for new Board member
09 Mar 2009
Merlin Housing Society residents were asked to go to the polls last month and cast their votes for a new tenant representative to join the organisation’s Board.
It was the first time Merlin had held an election for a new Board member and more than 1,000 households put pen to paper. Now the winner of the election has been revealed as Marshfield resident Carol Solan. The fifty-one-year-old is one of five residents who sit on Merlin’s Board and Carol is now busy getting to grips with her new role which will see her involved in setting the direction of the society.
Carol, a mother-of-four, was appointed following a selection process to replace former tenant Board member Linda Hodder, who stepped down from her position at the end of last year. Four people expressed an interest in joining the Board. A panel of residents then interviewed all the candidates and narrowed it down to a shortlist of Carol and fellow Marshfield resident Lawrence Whittle.
All Merlin residents were then invited to vote for their new Board member and Carol won by 644 votes to 377.
Carol has 34 years of customer service experience, working in the retail and education sectors. She gave up her position as a special needs teaching assistant to become a carer for her husband.
“I am looking forward to this new challenge and can’t wait to get started,” said Carol who moved into her Merlin home in 2006. “I want to build on the experience of my working life and hope to be able to fine tune Merlin’s customer service.”
Merlin’s chairman Les Good said: “This was the first time residents had been asked to choose a new Board member and I am delighted so many of them decided cast their vote.
“I would like to welcome Carol to the Merlin Board; I’m sure her experience will bring a great deal to the Board. We are looking forward to working with her in the coming months as we strive to improve our services for our residents.”