It’s fair to say 2021 was a lot tougher than 2020 although both were interrupted seasons. There was still a lot of uncertainty if 2021 would go ahead after a series of snap lockdowns which made it tough to re-engage with our sponsors. They too had been doing it tough but we were very fortunate that a good 95% recommitted in supporting the club again in 2021.
The start of the season was frantic. In what would normally be a 4 month planning process had to be condensed into 1-2 months. This year we wanted to build on what we had started in previous years and to introduce new ideas and initiatives.
Our inaugural Golf Day was a huge success with 20 teams entered which generated an excellent profit for the day! We relaunched our Sponsorship proposal which is now a professional document that is designed to attract more sponsors to our club. Membership packages were reviewed highlighting a gap in our social offering for friends of members and community. This will be a major focus for us in 2022 so watch this space!
Once the season started our attention soon switched to game day and how we could improve the experience for all players and supporters. Our bar offering was reviewed with the introduction of Great Northern on tap, a better wine offering and the introduction of the Billson Vodka varieties. The bar menu took on a refresh which became electronic and now gives us a better tool to engage with our customers. Live music was a regular addition after some of the games which provided entertainment and ensured our bar sales ticked over into the night. A special thanks to Nick Blomfield who was kind enough to share his other talent with us outside of playing in our Vets football team.
As much as we tried to run our revamped “Ladies High Tea” we didn’t quite get there. A lot of time went into the planning of this event which was headed by Carly Dymond and her dedicated subcommittee. It was a real shame, but we are determined to launch it in 2022 which is sure to be a great day!
The other big news in 2021 is that Knox City Council have committed to the planning of our new clubroom. Although we need this sooner than later to cater for our growth, the important thing is that it is now on the Council’s radar and they have committed to the scoping to begin in 2023/24, design in 2024/25 and construction in 2025/26. A big thank-you to our number one ticket holder Jackson Taylor MP who secured $120K of Victorian Government funding towards this project. This money was intended to go towards fast tracking the scoping & design component, but unfortunately the Knox City Council no budget capacity and declined the offer. We will continue to work with the Council and Jackson to explore how we can shorten the time frame of this project.
Although this last lockdown brought an end to this season we are working behind the scenes on yet more ideas. The Growler project was a great example of continuing to look for different ways to engage with our members and generate funds for the club. In the midst of lockdown we were pleased to be able to deliver much needed funds back into our bank account. Thanks for everyone who supported this initiative and a big shout out to Flash, Grant, Billy & Jase who helped pull this together in the space of one week.
Bring on 2022 and look forward in seeing you all at our games next year.
Wayne Preston, Director of Revenue