Remembering Malcolm

Over the Christmas period we sadly lost Malcolm Goodall, a beloved Connect resident and active member of his local community. 

Malcolm Goodall

A key member of many groups, Malcolm was heavily involved with Connect’s resident engagement activities for almost 10 years, helping to shape our services

Malcolm was vice chair of the Connect Residents Forum (CRF) and always made sure residents’ priorities were being seriously considered and discussed by Connect. He loved an abbreviation and the CRF quickly adopted his proposed motto of “ABC” – accurate, brief and clear.

With a great ability to read performance data and pull out the right questions, Malcolm put his skills to good use as one of the first members of our Service Improvement Forum (SIF), holding us to account and speaking on behalf of residents. 

Malcolm was also chair of the Carr Street Residents’ Association and organised weekly coffee mornings, luncheons and day trips. He even secured funding for the group from Kirklees Council. 

Malcolm will be remembered by Connect staff, the residents who have met him and his friends from across the local community. 

Speaking in 2016, Malcolm said: “Friendship is the word. It’s no good moaning about something if you can’t get together and put it right – that’s what the CRF does. I like to think that CRF stands for ‘Connect Residents Friends’ rather than ‘Federation’.” 

Lisa Stead, our Tenant Engagement Officer, worked closely with Malcolm. She said: “We will miss Malcolm dearly. He has not only been a pivotal figure in terms of tenant engagement, but also a cherished volunteer who loved to go the extra mile and give up hours of his free time for others.”