As a new year dawns, so does the opportunity to make 2018 a truly amazing year, and as Chairman of Upton Cricket Club I’d like to extend my very best wishes to all of our members and friends from the local community and other clubs a Happy New Year.

2017 has been quite a year and we achieved a lot, but that is all in the past now and I for one am very much looking forward to moving the club forward based around the Strategic Plan we unveiled at last month’s AGM. I was really pleased with the attendance at the AGM and I hope that is testament to how our membership view the club and can see we are moving forward with good momentum – it was either that or the lure of a free pint and mince pie!! Seriously though, whilst my annual report might have been lengthy, it hopefully demonstrated just how much work has gone in by the whole committee and the exciting plans we have for the future. Going into the AGM I’d just about finished writing my report the day before and when I went down to set up the room the first time I’d heard what I’d written was when my eldest daughter Becca asked if she could read it out loud. Whilst this might seem a small thing, the fact that my children are taking an interest in what their dad is doing meant so much to me. I want my kids to grow up appreciating the values of volunteering, so if what I do is rubbing off in any way I’ll take that as a bit of a ‘win’! I did however get the usual bit of sound advice from my own dad who once again requested I “keep it brief” – sorry dad, I didn’t quite stick to that plan!!!

With the AGM out of the way, December is typically a quiet month club wise, but I did get the opportunity to attend a champagne reception ahead of Sports Personality of the Year over at the Echo Arena. Ignoring the fact I had a brilliant day being wined & dined, what was really prominent both in the entertainment beforehand and during the show was the prominence of women’s sport and it was great to see the recognition the England Women’s cricket team got when they picked up the “Team of the Year” award. As we go into 2018, we can look forward to a very exciting time in the Club’s history with our own girls and ladies cricket really taking off.

I might have mentioned before, but there’s a LinkedIn ‘group’ for like minded cricket club administrators and one of the recent articles posted was around the burden placed on club administrators (read it HERE). What it highlights is the incredible amount of time and effort that is needed to run a cricket club and the subsequent discussion was about the merits of ‘outsourcing’ some of the admin duties. I’ve said this so many times but we are blessed with people who give up their time freely, but please consider this when you might have a bit of a ‘moan’ about something or other.

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been putting some thought into the ‘marquee weekend’ and I have been looking at ways to re-ignite mainly the Sportsman’s Dinner we typically host on the Friday evening (29th June). We have the opportunity with this event to raise a lot of funds for the Club, but to do that we more people to chip in and help as I can’t do it all on my own. The big area where I need some help is selling tickets, or even better ‘tables’. You may think that you’re not in an opportunity to do this, but please have a think if you can through any of your corporate contacts, whether that be bringing some clients along or asking any of your suppliers to take a table, or if you don’t have the exposure to the corporate world, getting a group of friends together for an evening’s entertainment. Whilst I am just putting the finishing touches on the exact format of the evening with contracts being finalised, the hope is that we will have a top guest to entertain you and the format may be slightly different to previous years. As well as the main dinner on the Friday, we will have the Annual Summer Ball taking place on Saturday (30th June) and like the Dinner, I need your help to bring your friends along and make this an absolute belter of a night. As you know I’m one for setting goals, and my goal for this years functions is to have 200 people in attendance each night – but I can only do it with YOUR help, so please keep an eye on the website for further details and then let’s SELL, SELL, SELL!!!!

As I draw this message to a close, it was with great sadness that we learnt of the death of Dave Guest a few weeks ago. For those who weren’t aware of ‘Guesty’ he was a really colourful character around the Club from the late 70’s to the early 00’s and I had the pleasure of playing most of my cricket with Dave down in the 4th XI. Saturday’s were never dull with Dave in the team with his endless encouragement and as somebody who was pretty rubbish at cricket, he always made me feel like a superstar when I went out to bat. Despite not being around the club, he will be a sad loss but his memory will live with so many people having their favourite ‘Guesty’ story which I’m sure will occupy the conversations during the early parts of the season as we re-group.

And finally, at a time where we contemplate our resolutions for the new year, can I ask you make just one more please - that is to be the best member you possibly can be of this great club of ours.

Stay strong during these winter months – there’s only 15 more Saturday’s before the season starts!
Cheers