Vaughan Meneses Current board member and volunteer Vaughan Meneses has been appointed General Manager of OUTLine. The appointment comes after the Auckland-based phone support service secured funding which allowed it bring back the position, which has been vacant since it could no longer afford to employ GM Lesley Belcham due to the impacts of the recession. OUTLine Chair Peter Martin says Meneses, who was previously known as Vaughan ArronJohn, is well qualified, well known and has been tirelessly involved in many arenas in the wider rainbow community for many years. "He will certainly bring a lot of energy and colour to the role and his professionalism, experience and knowledge that he brings will be invaluable." Martin says the fact Meneses has been extremely active in the community and is also currently engaged as a volunteer and board member of OUTLine means that he will be able to hit the ground running when he takes up his appointment in the coming weeks. Meneses says he is excited about returning to work in the not for profit sector of the community. "In many ways it seems that I have come full circle. Having spent the last few years working in more corporate sales-related environments has been great and has added to my skill base," he says. "I have a significant passion for making our community safer and better connected and the role at OUTLine enables me to pile a huge amount of energy in that direction." Martin says external independent guidance was sought on the entire appointment process to ensure that all appropriate protocols were followed. "The application process attracted several other people to OUTLine and we were very impressed with the overall calibre of applicants," he says. "We are extremely pleased to see that there are many people in our community with excellent skills and abilities and we look forward to them engaging with us and supporting OUTLine moving forward." Martin says OUTLine has a lot to celebrate right now with new premises, new staff, and some very exciting and strategic initiatives to launch in the coming 12 months. "There are still many challenges that those in the rainbow community face and OUTLine has the ability to work closely with other agencies and organisations to make sure that the broader health and welfare needs of all of our people are being met," he says. "We are taking great strides in this direction and we hope that the appointment of Vaughan is just one of the many positive indicators to the community that OUTLine is not only growing but developing." Meneses will resign his board position before taking up the General Manager role.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 27th August 2010 - 11:35am