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 Frieda Maher for her fabulous work in 2015.
Celebrating people
Life membership was bestowed upon Keegan Ridings. Keegan has played 22 consecutive seasons
with the club since his debut in the U8s. Keegan is a true club man; he helps out at registration days, runs the goal keeper training sessions, and, has an amazing record of never missing a penalty! Keegan has made history by being the first life member who is the son of a life member. Keegan is the son of our esteemed life member and ex-president Tony Ridings. A great club family.
Committee movements
This year we are sorry to bid farewell to Jim Merewether who has served a few years in the demanding role of equipment officer. Jim has done a great job keeping the players and the fields well dressed and we thank him warmly for this.
We also say farewell to general committee members Nick Buchannan, Ben Kizney Gordon and Jane Coles. Ben and Nick provided a great service to the club with the review and development of planning documents. Jane had a fantastic year envisaging an online shop for Saints merchandise. A task we hope someone else will complete for the 2016 season, which starts now! Thanks and see you around the Club Ben, Nick and Jane.
For the first time in many years, Liam Griffiths has not taken a committee position. Liam is in Vietnam for a year, enjoying a break from soccer while learning more Vietnamese language and culture, developing an interest he has had for many years. We wish Liam all the best for this season and we hope to catch up with him at a field in 2017.
We thank all of our retiring committee members and wish them all the best in their endeavours in 2016. Our door is always open to them.
Wendy Frazer has made a very welcome move from Assistant Secretary to the Secretary position. Wendy has made a great contribution to the Club over many years and is sure to continue to do so I 2016. We welcome Claire Lloyd to the committee. Claire was the recorder in 2015, has played in a women’s team for nine years and is the mother of a Saint. We are hoping for big things from Claire in 2016. And we welcome back Robert Owe Young: magician of the BBQ and the camera, the club is just not the same without Robert. Look out for Robert behind a lens in 2016. Welcome back Robert.
Committee overview
The committee has remained fairly stable with Scott Wilson as Senior Vice President: Scott is behind many of the larger laborious projects the committee delivers, such as ensuring that the fields are up and running every Saturday morning. 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. Frieda Maher survived her first year as Treasurer and has stayed on for another season. Thanks Frieda. Andrew Williams is again Registrar and Administration Officer. Andrew does a huge job. He processed over 800 registrations in 2015, 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; that players are placed in suitable competitions, that coaches have the opportunity to get up to speed with current practice and that the Club sticks to it’s philosophy of fun, fairplay, and skills development. Laurel Lawrence will once again be Canteen Manager. Laurel has opened the canteen every match and training day for past 14 or so years and through this Laurel is the Club’s greatest fund raiser. Ree Panuccio continues her role as sponsorship coordinator, bringing much needed funds to the club.
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, either weekly, or occasionally.
Ongoing roles:
General committee member: preferably a parent from the U6-U9 age group. The Club needs to stay in touch with this age group so we deliver the service younger players and their families want
Equipment officer: Why not get a group of parents together to share this job which is very busy at the start of the season. Expert help and advice available to get you started.
Assistant Secretary: we seek an organised person with a willingness to learn and/or book keeping skills
Coaches, managers, age coordinators: be the face of the club for our young players
One off or irregular roles:
- registration days
- distribution of equipment
- canteen
- graphic artists or desktop publishers to help with brochures and invitations, and,
- party planners to help re-invent presentation day or organise fundraising/social events
If you have a skill, let Andrew know at: admin@leichhardtsaints.com 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.
Volunteering is great for the soul. 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: 041484 0263