BASW Cymru statement: A tribute to Gareth Powell

BASW Cymru National Standing Committee and Team are deeply saddened to hear of the death of Gareth Powell. Gareth was a long-standing member of BASW Cymru, he served on our Committee and was more recently, an Ambassador.

Gareth worked tirelessly to promote the social work profession and was a strong advocate for BASW Cymru. He leaves an indelible mark upon the Committee and the wider Association.  His presence will be deeply missed.

Here are some further tributes from BASW Cymru committee members:

‘Gareth accepted the invitation to be a British Association of Social Workers Cymru Ambassador whilst I was a member of the BASW Cymru Committee. I have worked with him on numerous occasions since that time, including two years whilst I was Chair of the BASW Cymru Committee. Gareth was a gentle and kind man. He was deeply committed to ensuring that social justice was upheld and that the needs of those who were experiencing difficulties were upheld by the very best of social work services. Gareth was proud to be a social worker, social work was proud to have him as a social worker.’ Nick Lovell – Former BASW Cymru Chair

‘I have had the pleasure of working with Gareth many times over several years. He was a member of The BASW Cymru awards judging panel along with being a regular member and participant

of our independent Social work group. 

Gareth could always be relied on to offer a consistent, knowledgeable, and professional contribution in whatever role he played. 

Thank-you Gareth for your contributions and hard work for BASW Cymru, you will be sorely missed.’ Jean Letton – BASW Cymru committee member and Chair of South Wales Independents group

‘I first met Gareth some seven years ago, at a BASW session for new or aspiring Independent Social Workers. At that time, I was very clear in my own mind that I wanted to strike out on my own, but I was plagued by doubts about being able to find work, be organised and be a successful business person.

That chance meeting with Gareth, discovering he was from South Wales and was already successful in his own right, gave me the confidence to take the next steps. Gareth was calm, reassuring, tremendously supportive and very generous with his time; we met for coffee on a number of occasions to talk things through and I always came away with new knowledge and feeling inspired.

It would have been very easy and understandable for him to see me as a competitor and therefore not want to divulge the ‘tricks of the trade’ he had learnt, but there was never any hint of that at all. We talked loosely of collaborating on a few projects and I wish I had been brave enough to take him up on them, but sadly I was never organised enough to do that.

Over the years, I bumped into Gareth here and there and he would always take the opportunity to ask how things were and was I ready for Dragon’s Den yet!

I owe a lot to Gareth and am genuinely saddened to hear he is no longer with us. He was great for social work in Wales and a great role model for me. He will be sorely missed by us all.’  Phil Mitchell, former BASW Cymru committee member