Hi all,
Firstly, on a sad note, I learnt today of the passing of Donna Krenn’s mother, Mary Nicol. We send our condolences to the entire Krenn family.
I thought it prudent to give you all a quick update on the senior club happenings as although our season concluded prematurely, rest assured, behind the scenes the club has been working hard to ensure we give our players every opportunity to play at their best and experience finals glory!
We have reappointed our coaches. Matthew Clark, Craig Brockley, Pierre Schumann, Greg Joseph, Scott Nicholas, Candyce Wright and Ray Lacey will lead our teams in their various levels. Without giving too much away, Joey was the most difficult to sign due to his demands of a 100% pay increase. But we got there in the end and Joey will once again lead our Vets to beers and wins!
Ash Johnston, our football manager has re-signed our playing list which is one hell of an achievement. Ash is an incredible asset for our club and with the support now of Andrew Wright, I have no doubt the work load for Ash will reduce and Wrighty will bring a unique enthusiasm to this role and support Ash with all footy ops matters.
Ash has managed to sign Mitch Mellis. This is a huge acquisition for our club. Make no mistake, Mitch is a seriously good footballer and we now have a young list that we believe can compete for many years to come. Maintaining this list is not easy as other clubs love our younger players but they wish to stay with us as our club culture is so strong at the moment. We all know this can change quickly so we all have a responsibility to maintain and grow our positive culture. Easier said than done but we never stop trying!
Our Recruiting Committee of Matt Clark, Wayne Preston, Tim Currie, Dean Collins, Ash Johnston, Andrew Wright and Cam Mellis may not be able to pick many winners on a Saturday, but they can locate many a footballer worth talking to! Great work so far lads!!
Wayne Preston was awarded our club person of the year. It is now called the Mick Kimmitt Club Person of the Year and Wayne was a much deserved winner. We couldn’t think of a better way to recognise Mick’s 50 years of volunteer service to our club.
Our club has grown into a big club now. No longer are we just a 19’s, reserves and seniors like in my playing days. We now have two female teams and four netball teams under our banner. This growth is a sensational development for our club, but it also creates more work for our volunteers, committee and Board. I thank every volunteer for their efforts. Without you guys, we just would not have a club. Interestingly, not one person has said “no” to me in the past four years when I have asked them to manage something for the club. That support is heartfelt and so appreciated!!
You don’t need to be a brain surgeon to know the past two years has been a huge challenge for our club. Every function we planned for has been cancelled due to COVID yet bills still flow in. Our sponsors have been so loyal and generous, even when we know their businesses have struggled during these times. Past players and supporters such as Glenn Milne at Glenbrae, Ash Johnston at Bark King, Timmy Currie at Dyson Currie, Kristan Wood at Allstate Refrigeration, Brendan Lee at John Alan Betta Home Living, Adam Maloney at Pro Finish Roof Plumbing, Craig Kenny at Your Local Telecom, Knox Club, you guys have been sensational. We will also continue to support GK Travel as they have had tougher times than any business could expect! Hollywood will bounce back and we intend to help him do just that!
Robert “Bomma” Kimmitt, Leanne Rech and the Hawks Nest Coterie Group are now our largest sponsor. The Coterie is an amazing initiative that will become our club backbone for many years to come.
Leanne and Bomma will help the club project manage our clubs 90th birthday Gala Dinner next year. With David Murrihy, Karen Little, Greg “Stick” Krenn and Grant Bertram working with Bomma and Leanne, I can absolutely promise you our birthday dinner spectacular will be one hell of a night next year. I’ll keep you posted on dates when they are locked in! Spread the word on this, we are planning an amazing night!
We will be running our GOLF DAY once again in 2022. This was a huge success and we look to move to Eastwood GC next year and build on what was already a great day out for everyone. Date for this event will be posted soon.
Finally, with Scott Nicholas as Chairperson and Kristan Wood running our juniors, our club is in great hands. I have great support on our senior committee and will always appreciate more volunteers to get involved. It’s actually a real honour to be president of such a great club. Our club is full of great people and makes being involved on the club a joy!
We still have aspirations to update our club and social rooms, this is proving a real challenge but we won’t give in! We have a new net being installed shortly behind our club room goals and we intend to update our kitchen appliances and a new ice machine will be installed shortly. Lots going on as the ‘off season’, strangely, is often busier than the playing season.
Stay well all.
Greg “Flash” Hannon – Senior President, BHFNC
