It is with great sadness that our Chair, Sacha Bedding, has passed away. I had the privilege of working alongside Sacha for almost 15 years. Sacha served as the Chair of our organisation, providing constant guidance and his belief and trust in people guided how he wanted the organisation to work. It became our core organising principle. And he set the standard. I was asked to share some words at his funeral, and I thought it was also fitting to share his eulogy here.
Being asked today to share a few words, about Sacha’s professional life is a great honour but also a great challenge. How am I to condense all of his achievements, and share how deeply respected Sacha was both locally and nationally, and do them justice into a short set of words.
The respect people held for Sacha came, I think, from his ability to truly meet people where they were. Whoever he was with, whether a Prime Minister or someone who had fallen through the cracks of a system he believed was deeply broken, he treated them with the same humility, the same honesty and the same compassion.
He had a rare ability to make people feel seen and valued, recognising not just their struggles but their strengths and what they could offer. Even when he disagreed with someone, he approached them with openness rather than judgement. He was willing to listen deeply, to understand their perspective, and to treat them with dignity and respect
It was this foundation that ensured his work in Dyke House was not only deeply transformative for the local areas, it was nationally recognised as being a leading example of something he cared deeply about and that is the power of people when they work together.
The National recognition for Sacha’s work meant he became a powerful advocate for the town of Hartlepool (whilst also continuing to champion Blackpool) and of course for many 100s of other communities too who have been in Sachas words ‘left out and not just left behind’ for far too long.
His work led him to leading national movements for community power and sitting down with Government Ministers of all colours providing constructive critique, evidence and guidance to inform policy.
I know his most proud achievement was shaping and informing the recently launched Queen Elizabeth Memorial Trust in which his legacy of ensuring the extraordinary acts of ordinary people live on.
I could go on, however rather than focussing on ‘what’ Sacha achieved, I want to share ‘how’ Sacha achieved this, and how he always will be, an inspiration for me and so many others personally and professionally.
There is one simple phrase that Sacha lives by whether he ever said it out loud or not: “Start with yes.”
Now that might sound small. But in the work that we did together and in life more generally I feel it’s actually quite radical.
Because by “starting with yes” doesn’t mean agreeing with everything and it certainly doesn’t mean avoiding challenge. It means beginning with openness, with humility and with a willingness to listen before you judge.
It means believing something is possible before there’s any real evidence that it is. And Sacha did that; instinctively.
Throughout our time together there were many moments, many of them from me, where most people would say “that won’t work” or “we don’t have the capacity” or “this is too complicated.”
And Sacha would pause and instead of shutting it down, he’d say something like: “Yeah… let’s see.” Or “There might be something in that, let’s give it a go”
There were many times when he would share with me how people would bring ideas for transforming their local community. Sometimes they didn’t appear to make clear sense, often they were under resourced and at times, if I brought them to the table, a touch chaotic.
But Sacha never dismissed it. He would lean in. He would give it time. He would give the people involved the feeling that they mattered.
And somehow, through that quiet openness, something good always came out of it.
And that’s the thing about Sacha’s “yes.” It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t about being the centre of attention. It was quiet, steady, thoughtful.
And for all his achievements as I said, for me it’s not what he achieved it is how he did it. And it showed up in how he worked with communities especially with people who weren’t always heard or taken seriously.
It showed up in how he worked with us as colleagues making time, listening properly, not rushing past people. And it showed up in how he handled uncertainty not needing to have all the answers straight away, but trusting that if you stay open, something will emerge.
He believed in a culture of possibility. That takes real strength. And it takes a deep belief in people. In his work, Sacha talked a lot about listening, about relationships, about building power.
But underneath all of that is this idea of starting with yes. Because when you start with yes: You invite people in. You create connection. You make change possible.
And that’s part of Sacha’s legacy. Not just the work he did but how he did and how he made people feel; Seen, heard, that they had something to offer.
So maybe the best way we can honour Sacha is not just by remembering him for all he achieved but by carrying forward how he achieved it all
And we can do that by choosing, especially when it’s difficult, to start with yes. And we can be a bit more open, a bit more generous and a bit more willing to believe in each other.
Because that’s what he gave to us and all, and I believe that’s something we should all hold on to.
Thanks for reading,
Nick.
