Following Bob Bobswell’s ‘manifesto’ – we invite readers to learn more about the second candidate in the GBGB owner’s election, Paul Ephremesen.

Paul Ephremsen was originally an owner at Walthamstow, probably best known for his association with Gymcrack winner Droopys Woods.  He also created Beechfield Racing, from where Carly Philpott trained and handled a small team of open race dogs. Following the closure of Walthamstow, Paul reduced his greyhound involvement but remained in touch with long standing friend Mark Wallis.
Ephremsen eventually returned as an owner and was directly involved in the ill-fated California who was owned by the World Syndicate which Paul set up last year. He is also involved with a group of friends who own the ‘Calco’ runners.
Paul is a successful businessman with a significantly sized marketing company called iD – idagency.com – plus a couple of similar marketing organisations.
(Check out the show reel on the idagency.com  website – it’s a mind opener- Ed)
So why apply for the role of owners’ representative?
Paul said: “The way I see it, there are two roles. Firstly, to represent the interests of owners who have vital role in this industry. Secondly, as a businessman, I feel a great sense of frustration that for a number of reasons, our sport has not modernised in the way that most other sports and leisure activities have.
“This crosses all areas of customer/owner experience including stadiums and hospitality (facilities), the quality and presentation of the event itself, online products (availability and quality), quality of TV broadcasts, and the general PR and promotion that creates the hype about an event or sport.
“I know how good greyhound racing can be. But as an owner I certainly don’t currently have an idea about the plan to address these areas. And it’s difficult to introduce greyhound racing to new people because it hasn’t moved with the times.
“As a businessman, I am aware that funding will be needed for many of the projects and I would be keen to develop a new approach with the betting industry. ‘With a true collaboration between the GBGB and the bookmakers, what sort of strategic growth plan could we jointly develop to grow the sport, to modernise it , and how could both parties benefit financially now and further down the line?’
“Is there a plan in place to do this? If not, why not? What are we going to do about the decline in owner numbers? I am not aware of an industry strategy to tackle the problem.
“Personally, as a marketeer, I have a number of ideas that I think would benefit the industry. But I am aware that I also lack specialist knowledge in certain sectors of the industry and would be reliant on a committee structure to produce a workable coherent strategy.”
 “I would really like to emphasise that, should I be offered the seat, my role would be firmly collaborative. This is not a full time gig. There are some exceptional people in the owners ranks and it would be a priority to get them involved’’
‘’The first aim would be to set up a mechanism for owners to share positive ideas for change and with the help of others filter these and prioritise before I present them to the Board.’’
“This really is a fantastic industry but it needs fresh ideas and impetus. I applied the owner’s position on GBGB because I think I can provide both.”