Left to right above …....  Anne Uzzell, Dave Foster, Maureen Gouldsmith, Norman Grove and Sandy Haig at Norman's retirement lunch

Sandy Haig, Managing Director of DOE SPORT LTD since 1985, will retire at the end of 2005 following major heart surgery in November.   His recovery is going well and, with the DOE business now on very solid foundations, Sandy has decided this gives him an ideal opportunity to leave the daily work and worry to others and concentrate on improving his golf handicap instead of margins.

Sandy's retirement will change the structure of the DOE Board and also the operational structure in East Anglia where he has been carrying out the additional role of Regional Director for several years.  

To take the Company through the next stage of its development programme and beyond, the Board is being joined by two new directors – Mike Lawrence, formerly of GreenSet Worldwide and Glenn Peck who will be taking over the role of Regional Director in East Anglia.  

Mike Lawrence, who joined DOE last October, is known throughout the tennis construction world - particularly in Europe - for his extensive knowledge of indoor tournament courts, acrylic surfaces and resin technology.   Mike also brings with him more than 20 years' experience of general court construction.   His knowledge of the playing requirements of world class players and coaches gained during the many years he installed GreenSet tennis surfaces for the ATP Tour, Davis Cup, the World Championships and Masters events, will further strengthen DOE's reputation in the UK indoor tennis market where the Company has been the exclusive distributor and installer of GreenSet surfaces since 1991. 

Glenn Peck joined DOE shortly after leaving school in 1986 following his mother and stepfather who had both worked for the Company.  Glenn has since made his way up through the ranks and, for the last five years, has been Construction and, latterly Regional, Manager in the East Region.   During this time, Glenn has trained closely alongside Sandy with the specific aim of eventually taking overall responsibility for DOE's business in East Anglia. 

Glenn has already appointed Philip Letchfield as his Contracts Manager for DOE's East Region.   Philip, who will take up his new post in January, is the youngest son of another long serving, former Director and shareholder, David Letchfield.   Philip has been constructing DOE tennis courts and MUGAs for 14 years and, like Glenn before him, will bring a wealth of first hand knowledge and hands on experience to his new role in the Company.

Dave Foster, Sandy's Board colleague and fellow shareholder for the last 20 years, now becomes the backbone of the new Board and its Chairman.  

Sarah Swanick, currently Commercial Director, will be appointed as Managing Director on 01 January 2006 and she, together with the other existing Board member, Ron Flegg, will be joined by Mike Lawrence and Glenn Peck, in taking the opportunity to acquire equity in the Company as Sandy relinquishes his shareholding during the year. 

The new Board is looking forward with great enthusiasm to the wealth of opportunities envisaged in the next 5 year phase of DOE's long term development plan.   The last 5 years have every target met or exceeded and it will be a challenge to match or surpass the success achieved by the Company so far in the new millennium. 

DOE SPORT (NORTH), established in 1995 and where Sandy will retain his current shareholding and directorship (possibly, say colleagues, with a keen eye on the many excellent golfing opportunities in Scotland!), continues to go from strength to strength.   With turnover approaching £7 million in the UK, DOE remains the acknowledged industry leader for tennis court construction and a major force in the Multi-Use Games Area market.   DOE also constructs full size 3G pitches in Scotland, an area where it has quickly confirmed its reputation for quality and service in this competitive new market sector and where it is looking forward to further growth next year.