Former army officer to head Family Holiday Association
The Family Holiday Association has appointed of Martin Realey as its new chief executive, replacing John McDonald who retired last year after 17 years with the charity.
Realey, a former army officer, has extensive experience in the charity sector, having spent three years as CEO of Restore, a mental health charity providing employment coaching and training opportunities to adults suffering from severe illness, and leader of Build Africa, building schools and delivering education programmes in sub-Sahara rural Africa.
The FHA said: "Martin’s commitment to charity is inspired by life experiences, including the loss of a sister to cancer in the late 90s and witnessing a lack of support for injured servicemen and their families.
"He is fuelled by a passion to address inequalities and opportunities for children. His own two primary school aged children and his experiences with many local communities are his inspiration to be at the forefront of the Family Holiday Association’s pivotal work."
Realey added: "I am delighted to have joined an organisation that does such important work with struggling families. This is an exciting time for the charity as we aim to deliver our goal of doubling the number of families we help every year by the end of 2020. I am very much looking forward to working with the dedicated charity team and industry colleagues as we work towards our goals together."
During 15 years of military service, Realey was deployed on numerous overseas operations, predominantly in Afghanistan and Iraq.
He worked alongside major International non-government organisations to deliver long-term projects including the Alternative Livelihoods Scheme and the Afghanistan Education Infrastructure Development Programme.
As a liaison officer to the International Red Cross, Martin worked to reunite children with their families post-conflict. During his service Martin maintained strong connections with Macmillan Cancer Support and The Afghanistan Trust.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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