LSFC Annual General Meeting 2013


Dear Members, The AGM last week was a small and friendly affair as usual. News from the AGM: Club Management The audited books showed the Club’s management and finances to be sound. We thank Treasurer and Public Officer Debbie Wood for her fabulous work in 2013. Celebrating people
Life membership was bestowed upon Tony Reed. Tony is well known to junior players and their parents. Tony has contributed strongly to the Club for the last ten years. He runs junior grading and training field allocation for the Club. Tony is also active at the District level being one of the Club’s CDSFA delegates; he sits on the mini grading committee and was instrumental in the early uptake of small sided games by our Club and the Association. Tony is well deserving of this honour. Congratulations Tony!
A new category was created this year through which we can celebrate a person who is not a member of the Club, yet has contributed greatly. *Coaching Director* Tom Alexakis was named Club Patron for services to Leichhardt Saints Football Club. Tom is a very highly accredited coach, and yet year after year he dedicates himself to Leichhardt Saints Football Club, teams and players, alongside his work with international teams including the Thai national team and English Premier League team Wolverhampton Wanderers. Congratulations Tom, it’s an honour having you work with us.
Committee movements To everybody’s sadness, our longest serving *President, Liam Griffith* has stepped away from the president’s role, in favour of a well-deserved break. The Club enjoyed a golden period characterised by stability, harmony and growth under Liam’s presidency. Fortunately, Liam will stay on the committee as *Secretary. We look forward to continuing to see Liam’s happy face at Club functions and fields throughout the District. Unfortunately our *General member/Merchandising OfficerRafael Chemke and General Member Sam Cosentino will not serve on the committee in 2014. We thank Raf and Sam for their contribution. Although no longer on the committee, both will be around lending a hand in many and various ways. We are excited to welcome a new Equipment Officer Stewart Marsden. Stewart is a parent and coach in the U9 age group and brings a wealth of enthusiasm and ideas to the position. b>Rosalina Rees has come on board as the Assistant Secretary. Rosalina has a son in the U6/U7 age group. Ben Kisny Gordon has taken up a General member’s** position. Ben plays in an all age men’s team. We are very excited to have these new connections to a broad cross section of our teams. While continuing to set records with the President’s position, we welcome our first female President Liza Schaeper. I have moved across from the Secretary’s position to provide Liam his well-deserved break and carry on the good work of Liam and the outgoing committee. Committee overview The committee has remained fairly stable with Scott Wilson asSenior Vice President: Scott is behind many of the larger laborious projects the committee delivers, such as the year book and keeping that busy BBQ functioning week in week out. Howard Charles stayed on as *Junior Vice President, CDSFA Delegate* and *Member Protection Information Officer: Howard is our legal eagle who helps with many of the complex administrative problems we have to solve. Debbie Wood* is another record setter. She has been our *Treasurer* for seven years and has been on the committee for 11 years. This is her 12^th! Debbie is Treasurer by name, but so much more. Debbie knows the Association rules back to front and is a perpetual font of information on the Club, Association and the game. Andrew Williams is again *Registrar* and Administration Officer. Andrew does a huge job. He processed over 700 registrations in 2013, and keeps up to date with all the process changes required by the Association and the FFA. Tony Reed is a *CDSFA Delegate* again and will continue his work with junior teams ensuring this part of the Club runs smoothly and children are placed in suitable competitions. Laurel Lawrence will once again be *Canteen Manager. Laurel has opened the canteen every match and training day for past 12 or so years and through the canteen has been the Club’s greatest fund raiser. Robert Owe-Young, our resident photographer, score recorder and BBQ assistant holds a General Member* position. Nick Buchannan and Jim Merewether, still considered “new blood”, are learning the ropes and settling in to committee roles as *General Members. Help Needed* Everything that happens to enable games to be played and training to be had was organised by someone. From negotiating how long we can use the parks to ordering the right size jerseys. All our committee members dedicate huge amounts of their time to create a happy and healthy environment for children and adults to play sport. Please consider whether you are able to give a small amount of your time, whether weekly, or occasionally. Help needed: registrations distribution of equipment coaches, managers, age coordinators canteen graphic artists or desktop publishers to help with brochures and invitations, and, party planners to help re-invent presentation day or organise fund-raising/social events If you have a skill, let Andrew know and we will give you a call when needed. We are all busy, and a “not this time” response is fine. To register your skill and interest email Andrew now, help is needed from January: admin@leichhardtsaints.com It’s never too early or too late to get involved, and we look forward to meeting you. Liza President Leichhardt Saints Football Club m: 0414 840 263 *check the website for updates:* *www.leichhardtsaints.com*