For the first, and hopefully last, time the annual general meeting was held over zoom. However, there have already been calls to do it annually as the meeting lasted less than half an hour. The chairman was particularly happy as it saved him from buying the first round afterwards!
Now for the highlights… John Evans welcomed everyone and thanked all those attending. Another bonus is being able to mute all the participants. Work is being carried out in the lab to see if this can be done in person for meetings! John reported that the club is in a sound financial position and wanted to publicly thank Mike Fishwick and Rich Tuck for their efforts. He went on to assure people that the social committee in partnership with the beer festival committee will ensure that the bar makes up for the months it has been closed.
Thank you went to Eric and Nev for their continued work on the two grounds. The captains Uzi, Sam, Ali, George, Dan and Denise were also thanked for their hard work ensuring there were lot’s of opportunities on the field. A special thank you went to Slim Catto for his worked on getting our games live streamed. John said that the highlight of the season was the teams run in the Village Knockout.
More good news followed with the announcement of a new main sponsor. We hope to make a full announcement on this in the near future. John publicly thanked Ali Bray for his work on sponsorship and keeping a high profile on social media. Huge thanks also to Wigs & Slim Catto along with Rob Austen for arranging a new three lane net facility that will be located at St Peter’s Field.
The youth also proves a very difficult ship to steer but with Wigs at the helm we are in a great position. Under her guidance we have continued to flourish. Wigs is on the look out for her successor. She would like to get someone in place as soon as possible so they can shadow her this year and learn the ropes. If you are interested please get in touch.
On a more sombre note John wished to report that Eric Bird officially stepped down as bar manager. It was noted that there will be a big send off for Birdy when Covid restrictions lift. Thank you went to Chris Whincup who has stepped into Birdy’s shoes. Another resignation was that of Nick Trainor from board and committee duties. The chair thanked Nick for being the main factor in the clubs promotion to the top tier of WEPL and gaining three WEPL titles. Fortunately Nick has agreed to stay on as a coach. Mark Helmke also stepped down from his duties. Mark was instrumental in setting up the company limited by guarantee status. He and Nick played a massive role in the building of the new pavilion especially after we lost Dave Reed and Chris Partridge.
The chairman wrapped up his report by thanking all the volunteers and members who contribute to the club. The volunteer effort being led by our club president John Hawkins who in his 80s chucks on his wellies and clears the ditch next to the club house everyday.
We then moved onto the treasurers report. If you wish to know more please contact Mike, treasurer@frocestercc.com.
Next on the agenda was the election of officers. Ali Downey was officially elected Vice-chair and then stepped in to elect John Evans as chairman again. About 30 seconds of freedom was enjoyed by Evo! A new role was added, Sponsorship and Media which was filled by Ali Bray. Chris Whincup was elected Bar Manager and Ali Downey confirmed as chair of the cricket committee. We welcomed a new director, James Cook. We also welcomed back Dave Whincup to the general committee. There were no more changes or additions so the rest of the roles were voted in on block. For a full list of all club officers, captains and committees click here.
Subs and Match Fees were next on the agenda. Kay Davis has agreed to continue with subs collection. This year she will be ably supported by Eric Bird and Dan Whincup. The decision has been made to allow players to pay their subs online. These details will be shared soon. Playing subs and match fees will communicated to the players in due course.
That just left AOB. John Evans proposed that Ali Bray was made a life member of the club joining a prodigious group of Frocester stalwarts. A question was asked regarding the opening of the club on the 12th April. Chris Whincup advised that we would do all we can but until there is clear guidance from the government there isn’t anything to report on this currently.
So that is it… until next year (or later this year?!)
FROCESTER CRICKET CLUB 