The former deputy mayor has been a long-serving member of the community and has decided to take up the new role because he felt the need to provide stability to the organisation.

Despite being retired from the workforce, he is keen to still have an impact on local events and groups and spoke about why the athletics club was a natural choice for him.

"If they can't get an executive then under the rules of the state body they can't maintain their club status and I saw that as being a need for the community," he said.

"I've had a lot of experience on committees through council and various other ventures through my life of running committees and also executives so it was easy for me to take that on, and it may just be a transition thing."

Fitness has been a crucial aspect of Ogg's life being a former distance runner himself, as well as his admission that he gave up smoking within three weeks of taking up the sport in 1980.

Even though he will turn 70 next month, the well known city servant is firm in his belief he has plenty left to offer the community.

"Just because you're getting old it doesn't mean you can't be active in life, and I don't feel old and I don't have any problems about being active and being involved," he said.

The reception to his appointment has been hugely positive, although he admits it raised a few eyebrows within his family.

"Well my daughter said 'you're crazy', but then she says that to me quite often so I'm not worried about that," he laughed.

"It's been fairly positive, I think there was a fair amount of belief by the existing members of the executive that there were people willing to take on the three positions of treasurer and secretary and president."

He's hoping to gauge a better understanding of the clubs wants and needs at their annual general meeting next month, and to stabilise them so they're poised to head in the right direction in coming years.