Poul V. Thomsen´s health had been very weak since months ago and we were deeply saddened by his demise. Our prayers and thoughts are with him, his dear wife Bodil and with our colleagues at Y´s Men International.
We will deeply miss Poul and his enormous commitment with the international work of the YMCA and Y´s Men International. His leadership skills, personality and socially focused profile, made him one of the most outstanding international leaders during decades serving both organizations.
At Y´s Men, Poul was strongly involved with this service club in Denmark before leading the organization in Europe. His work included the extension of Y´s Men across different countries in Eastern and Southern Europe, always seeking for relevant agreements with the YMCA movement and the development of socially relevant initiatives benefiting the community.
During this period, Poul´s intervention was crucial for the success of projects at local level in Eastern Europe, the Balkans and other regions in our continent where the joint work between the YMCA and Y´s Men contributed to improve the conditions and opportunities provided to young people.
Together with his colleague and friend Paul-Henrik Hove Jakobsen, who passed away last summer, Poul Thomsen was a real ambassador of YMCA Europe´s work for more than two decades at all levels, including other public and private institutions. One of his most successful projects was his contribution to the development of YMCA Europe´s Training Center in Litomysl, Czech Republic where his work will be always recognized by our organization and the City Hall.
Poul served at Y´s Men International for 28 years, including his term as International President. This work was recognized last year through the prestigious Ballantyne Award.
YMCA Europe´s members of different Executive Committees and Staff Teams were truly blessed to have Poul Thomsen attending all General Assemblies for more than twenty years. Last year together with his wife Bodil, Poul joined us for the last time at the General Assembly held in Sanary, France and we had the privilege of acknowledging his work, commitment and support to the European YMCA movement. It was an emotional moment for all of us present.
We know that Poul´s spirit will always remain among us, being a reference and an example for our movement and our future projects.
May God bless Poul and may his soul rest in peace.