Alan was Kingdom’s first and only employee back in 1985, when the Association had no houses at all but was given the responsibility of refurbishing sixteen tenements in Dunfermline.
Since then Kingdom has built over 3,500 new houses in Fife and has grown to employ 350 people.
Last year alone Kingdom invested £17.5 million in Fife with 236 new homes completed and started work on a further 174 houses.
The association has also developed a wider role within the community. The Fife Works Project last year provided 251 local people with support and training opportunities and helped 211 people gain employment.
And the association’s Support and Care service provided valued support to some of society’s most vulnerable members.
Mr McGuckin said: “I think that our strong team of committee members and staff has created in Kingdom Housing Association a real asset for the whole of Fife. And it is gratifying that the association’s expertise is now being extended outwith Fife too.
“I am not so surprised that we went on to build 3,500 homes. We were after all ambitious although a very small organisation back in 1985. But I could not have imagined the sheer range of services we would provide over and above the housing provision. From Support and Care, Care and Repair, Employability services and a whole range of wider role initiatives.
“I am also very pleased at how the quality of affordable housing has improved in terms of insulation, energy consumption and sustainability.”
He added: “I’m proud to have been part of an organisation that has lived up so well to our mission of providing ‘More than a Home’. Clearly we are facing a number of very significant challenges ahead but I believe that the enthusiasm, flexibility and resilience we have shown in getting to our present position will go a long way to ensuring that we will continue to play our part in supporting and sustaining the communities in which we work.
“I am struck by how overwhelmingly positive this experience has been, regardless of the number of difficult issues we have had to deal with. I also have to thank our Committee members for their support and encouragement. Finally, I owe my biggest thanks to my colleagues for their hard work, enthusiasm and much needed sense of humour. This has made my time at Kingdom a pleasure as much as a privilege.”
Alan was praised for his role in building Kingdom by the association’s chairperson Charles Milne.
He said: “Alan was not only our first Chief Executive but was our very first employee and has been instrumental in Kingdom becoming the successful organisation that it is today. We put on record our thanks to Alan for his immense contribution and wish him well for his retirement.”
