Your Candidate - Joshua

Joshua Townley for Secretary of the Deeside Defenders

Reelection Manifesto: A Vision for the Future

First of all, thank you for your support and trust in electing me as Secretary of the Deeside Defenders last year — it was truly one of the highlights of my year! We’ve achieved so much together, from vibrant events to strengthening our sense of community and fostering growth. After a brief break in January, I’m back, energised, and ready to continue building on that momentum — and I’m asking for your vote to help shape the club’s future.

This vote comes at a pivotal moment, we can’t lose sight of the fact that the next few months will be filled with pouring over the legal paperwork involved in setting up the new club structure. From the start of this process I’ve been an advocate for choosing a fair and representative structure, such as preventing directors from taking a wage and expanding the board to at least five equal members to ensure every voice is heard. But change is complex, requiring a team that brings passion and experience to steer the club through its next chapter.

My vision is clear: Fairness, representation and sustainable growth. While growth is exciting, it should never come at the cost of the enjoyment and experience of our current members. My experience in running multi-national organisations across Europe and as a Cheif Engineer in the Merchant navy has seen me enter the pressure cooker of industry more than a few times and emerge with a smile on my face and a stronger team at my back, and that’s because i have one guiding principle above all others - Fairness. By working together and leveraging our collective strengths, we can build a robust, well-organised club that remains welcoming for everyone.

My commitment to the club is unwavering — I’ve attended nearly every Thursday night session, promoted and participated in Gauntlets and Gauntlettes, embraced the lively chaos of the Christmas raffle, and organised events beyond regular club hours. Living in Mold allows me to handle essential opening and closing duties on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and weekends, helping to keep the club running smoothly.

I’m eager to continue serving this club, but I can’t do it without you. Your support and your vote will help us create a future where the Deeside Defenders thrive like never before.

Let’s make the next chapter our best one yet — together!

Key Policies and Initiatives

1. Members-Only Free Game Days: Champion Free members-only game days. Select days where the club gives back to its members and offers a day or two of free gaming. We could invite people from across the region to join as new members and participate in our vibrant community.

2. Social enterprise oversight: Ensure the structure and goals of the new club system stay true to the spirit of our club, serving its membership first and not losing the casual and fun atmosphere we have fostered, which may be a risk when formalising a club into a company.

3. Representation for RPG Groups: I support the introduction of representatives from the Monday and Wednesday RPG groups on the board of directors to ensure diverse voices and perspectives are heard.

4. More cool stuff! Over the past year, I have been designing and sourcing custom game aids, mats, and club shirts for game clubs and organisations nationwide. Should the membership demand it, I am well-positioned to expand our offerings for the Deeside Defenders. I would open a tender system that would allow us to source the best quality and prices for our membership.

   

   An example of the merchandise I have helped design and source in 2025 so far (from left to right: community objective markers, Vale Renegades club objective markers, Welsh community shirts).

5. Skill Sharing and Workload Distribution: Implement a larger board of directors as soon as possible to facilitate skill sharing and reduce the workload on individuals within the committee. As it stands, should anything happen to one or two of the committee members, there is a risk of disruption to the club's activities. To achieve this, we should outline key roles and responsibilities of the board members and that those responsibilities should be rotated often to promote a more balanced and efficient governance structure.

Qualifications and Achievements

●     Community Champions: Successfully Launched the Officers group which represents and champions individual game systems within the Deeside Defenders. I also conducted the first online club survey, which allowed us to make investment decisions based on the games our members actually play, rather than a popularity contest for equipment. As such, we have more RPG equipment, board games, Bolt action terrain, gaming mats, warhammer terrain, and perhaps most importantly, communication than we ever had!

●     League play & Tournaments: Starting and running the Warhammer 40k Community league with Ben has been one of my proudest achievements at the club. Nothing has galvanised the group better, and there is nothing like it. Aside from this, I have had a hand in every competitive event held within that community. I have also encouraged other systems such as Bolt Action and Old World to lead a community-driven effort to repeat that success. The sky is the limit!

●     National connections: As creator of the non-profit Wales National Championships (WNC), a hub designed for all the clubs to post their event results, share and promote their activities and build a wider community. The WNC represents eight different clubs and over 500 players from across Wales, and as your secretary, I would ensure that Deeside Defenders plays a key role in leading these communities.

●     Vice Captain of the WALES 40K Team: As Vice Captain of the national team, I have significantly grown our funding and membership of the Wales national team, demonstrating my commitment to fostering growth and community engagement. We have built within Deeside Defenders a grassroots movement that spread nationwide and feeds into the national game, strengthening the community and its player base.

●     Deeside Defenders online: A group of tech-savvy members have started meeting up weekly on an ad hoc basis to play games online using the Deeside Defenders Discord. From TTS board games online to a WW2 shooting frenzy in Hell Let Loose, this is an excellent resource for further encouragement.

●     Professional Experience: I served as an engineering officer in the merchant navy for ten years and currently run Northern Europe for a multibillion dollar chemical company. I am known for my solid sense of fair play, clear vision, and communication style.

●     Skills: Event running, Marketing, PR, Communications, leadership and team building.

We need a steady hand on the tiller, somebody with the knowledge and understanding to set up the board and ensure it remains true to the Deeside defenders' goals.

I am deeply committed to the Deeside Defenders and its future. My experience, passion, and dedication to fair play and good conduct will ensure our club thrives. I am eager to serve as your Secretary and work alongside you to achieve our shared goals.

Let's continue to make the Deeside Defenders a stronger, more inclusive, and vibrant community.

Thank you for your support!

Joshua Townley