International Ticket Secretary and Patrons Coordinator

Karen (Kaz)East 

Email: kazaeast@gmail.com
Contact number: 07791 064047

How did you get involved in the county?

I first got involved in county rugby by complete accident! In my day job I have my own business providing Business Support and Project Management on a contractor basis (www.kebserv.co.uk). I was asked if I could help out at meetings to take the minutes after meeting Kevin Robinson who then sat on the board. I took on the task and then became secretary taking over from Colin Baldwin and the interim George Merry. The secretary role has certainly evolved and has become bigger since 2016. But the board has evolved too during that time and real progression has happened. I look forward to continuing to work as International Ticket Secretary and Patrons Coordinator.

What are your rugby highlights?

For me its grass roots. I loved the winning of games that my son took part in, but from a county perspective I have enjoyed seeing clubs thrive, and sometimes against the odds. Meeting the wonderful people who work in clubs and working alongside them when and where needed has made this role enjoyable. It’s nice to be able to make a difference sometimes or to just offer that helping hand.

Within the board I’ve been the go to for clubs as County Secretary and I have helped sort out many issues within the board and clubs, I created a festival pack to help clubs organise festivals, have helped organise, attended events and supported the volunteer recognition programme, planned workshops and meetings and everything in between that sits with the administration for the county.  More recently I have been assisting with dealing with Covid support for the county, arranging hand sanitiser for clubs, sending out information regarding grants, updates that are vitally important and have also set up a clubs Whatsapp group, recognising that Covid has meant people needed an extra way of contacting and sharing group ideas and questions. I now turn my focus to looking after the international tickets for the county and as I also look after the Patrons my focus will be on looking at ways to maximise their engagement with county clubs and increase the patrons support.

What do you want to achieve in your time on the board?

I want to ensure that the board, clubs and Patrons remain supported, to ensure relevant paperwork is done, and ensure questions are answered. I want to make sure that I am the person who can provide that quick answer or can point them in the right direction. I would like to see progression of the board, to be diverse and inclusive with real community support and to help facilitate that. I would like the board to be known and approachable to all of our clubs and their members.

I have a real passion to support mental health, something I work on outside of my role in rugby. I would like to see that motions are in place by the board to ensure mental health continues to be supported for all, through board to clubs, of all ages.

How could I get involved?

The board always needs support. Contact the County Secretary or one of the Principal Officers for a chat anytime if you want to be involved.