Regional Sport Victoria held its 2021/22 Annual General Meeting on 1 March 2023; delayed due to the impact of the floods across regional Victoria commencing in mid-October 2022. 

With three elected director positions becoming vacant following Secretary Carmel Mackay reaching her maximum term in office and the conclusion of Dan Poynton and Michael Flynn’s terms, RSV received six nominations for the positions. The Board sincerely thanks those who nominated. 

RSV is pleased to advise that Dan Poynton has been re-elected alongside new directors Rick Bell and Carissa Harris.  

Mr Bell and Ms Harris are the first directors to be elected from outside of Regional Sports Assembly staff. 

Following the AGM, the new Board re-appointed Dan Poynton as Chair and Carissa Harris as Deputy Chair.   

Chair, Dan Poynton acknowledged the significant contribution of both Carmel Mackay and Michael Flynn as Directors of RSV, with 10 and 8 years of service respectively. Both Directors shouldered considerable load, particularly prior to the appointment of a General Manager to drive collaboration and raise the voice of the needs of regional sport.  

“Both Carmel and Michael have gone above and beyond in their roles as Directors and as Secretary and Chair respectively. Their efforts were instrumental in building the organisation that we have today, and we are grateful for their dedication and energy that they have demonstrated to RSV,” said Mr Poynton. 

“I welcome the addition of Rick Bell and Carissa Harris to the Board. We look forward to their contribution as they bring significant experience within the sports industry and passion on the benefits sport plays in regional communities,” Mr Poynton added.  

 

Director profiles: 

Dan Poynton – Chair 

Daniel Poynton is the Chair of the Board at RSV. Dan has been a part of the community sport sector for over 20 years with qualifications in business, sports management, Not for Profit Governance and Executive Coaching. He has been working with GippSport for over ten years and their Executive Officer since 2018 – with a short hiatus working for Sport & Recreation Victoria from 2017-18. Dan is passionate about the role of community sport in Regional Victoria in its ability to drive social change and improve community wellbeing. 

 

Carissa Harris – Deputy Chair 

Carissa Harris is a Senior Consultant at MI Global Partners with more than 20 years’ experience delivering major events. Carissa was most recently employed by Cricket Australia for over 9 years leading the national event delivery team. Here she planned and delivered 60 days of Men’s and Women’s International Cricket in Australia annually, the largest being the Boxing Day Test. This was a multi-disciplinary operations team, supporting innovative and creative approaches to engage more fans. As part of this role, Carissa developed a strategic approach and critical path planning in conjunction with international venues across Australia. 

Prior to Cricket, Carissa was a core member of the Operational Readiness team for the London 2012 Olympic Games, delivering the departmental operational readiness program – integrating existing venue staff, venue teams, utility providers, contractors, key stakeholders and the Games C3 structure to ensure the effective implementation of LOCOG’s venues program. 

Carissa has also held various senior positions at several international sporting events including the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games, 2006 Asian Games, Australian F1 Grand Prix, Red Bull Air Race and 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games. 

 

Rick Bell 

Having grown up in a small regional community and still living in regional Victoria, Rick Bell is passionate about the role sport plays in regional communities. Previously as Head of AFL Victoria he had primary responsibility for working with the AFL Victoria Board and growing the game across the state. Rick’s current role with Sports Facility Advisory firm, Waypoint, involves him working with a variety of sporting and government clients, advising on the planning and delivery of key sporting infrastructure. Whilst he has been fortunate to have worked professionally within the sports industry for more than 20 years, Rick has a range of volunteer experiences in local sport as a coach, committee member and various game day volunteer roles, providing a first-hand experience on the opportunities and challenges at that level.

 

For further details on RSV’s Board, click here