The Club’s 4th annual Trivia Night is on tonight!
If past events have been anything to go by, the competition will be hot. I know Miles Verschuur and his team, who are the defending champions, and David Hood’s team, who won the year prior, are looking forward to it and are set to go head to head. Will one of them come up trumps, or will a new contender take the honours?
Thank you again to De Grandi’s Winery for hosting and putting on a great meal deal and atmosphere. Remember, tables / teams of 8. Guests and friends welcome. Members get 2 drink tickets. After the run, order your meal, find your team, get ready for some fun and brain stimulation.
Last week’s Committee meeting had lots to discuss, and some wonderful contributions by committee members to take the club forward.
The committee decided to move the club newsletter to a fortnightly publication, which will take effect from this week. Many members suggested this, as it not only saves time for the editors, but it will lessen the clog in our emails, and hopefully mean that more members will read it. As always, we’re open to feedback, but the main intention is to produce a quality publication, that’s informative, interesting, and above all, is engaging with all the information members need. I again thank all who contribute to the newsletter, in particular our editors, for producing this essential communication for members.
Remember to get your articles into the newsletter about your running adventures and events you participate in. The club newsletter is an important communication medium, and most members use it as a place to get updates, information and share stories. Our editors work hard to ensure it’s interesting, informative and relevant. Members enjoy reading of other member’s inspirational journeys, so don’t be shy to share. Get your articles, thoughts and running snippets through to Glen Crawford at [email protected]
On Thursday March 7th we’ll be running to acknowledge International Women’s Day (which is actually on March 8th). Our talented, intelligent, strong female members from the committee will be leading this, led by Kate Mayer with Molly Irvine and supported by Desley Grey, Marika Reilly, Danelle Wright, Kaye Livingstone and Ann Bomers. We’re asking everyone to wear purple if you can (the official colours of IWD).
The club recently did an audit with Gippsport to access our engagement of women in the club, and as was hoped and expected, we came out with flying colours. It is really important to continue to develop our engagement and inclusion processes, and this is an ongoing mission. Raising awareness in the community for all the issues involving half our population, is essential. As President I’ve worked to make sure this is a torch the club carries, but it must be led by our female members, and supported by all.
The main focus of our Committee Meeting was the upcoming Latrobe Community Fun Run (Sunday March 24th at Kernot Hall). Race Directors Trent Kooyman and Clinton Jolly are doing a fantastic job organising. Entry is open via Harriers website. We ask all members to support the event, by promoting, entering early, and if you have any contacts for spot prizes, please let Trent know.
Hopefully you’ve all been handing out fliers and promoting. We’re also looking for a team to do some promotions at schools, sports clubs and businesses, to build the team entries. None of these jobs are difficult, just take a little time, and they help to share the load and ensure the club runs a fantastic event. If you have any ideas to contribute, Trent and Clinton would love to hear from you.
Legge and our RDs are working at putting together the Winter Season run schedule. We’ll be looking for course markers and RDs for weekend events. If you’re interested in helping out marking a course, or think you could manage a small event (with support), please have a chat to a committee member.
As all should know, the club is in a great position of strength at the moment, with healthy membership numbers, bank balance, solid attendance at Thursday runs and weekend events, and a continuing new energy taking the club forward with ideas and skills. The committee continues to invest in structures, processes and assets which will benefit members now and into the future.
IMPORTANT Harriers Dates
15 Feb 2024 The 4th Annual Trivia Night at DeGrandi’s Winery TONIGHT
7 March International Women’s Day Run (wear purple)
14 March Committee Meeting
24 March 2024 The 26th Community Fun Run Morwell
2 June 2024 The 57th Traralgon Marathon
If you run a business, we want to know about it. The club is filled with multi-skilled and talented people from so many backgrounds, and sharing what you do with fellow members is a great way to get to know each other, and maybe even help each other out. It doesn’t matter if you’re a tradie, builder, mechanic, run a coffee shop or whatever it may be, you never know who is looking for your skills. This is about connecting members with other members who have the skills they may be looking for.
On a sad note, the news that marathon world record-holder Kelvin Kiptum died in a road accident on Sunday at the age of 24, hit and resonated with quite a few. Absolutely tragic, not only because he was a champion and we loved watching him run, but because of his age, gone far too young, his inspiration, his work ethic and by all accounts, he seemed like a humble genuine person. It reminds us to be careful on the road, especially when running or riding. The club encourages road safety, and to run on paths where you can, but if you’re on the road, run on the right hand side, facing traffic, so they can see you and you can see them. The amount of accidents with runners where they have been hit from behind is actually staggering.
Thought for the week:
"Positions are temporary, ranks and titles are limited, but the way you treat others will always be remembered."
Phill Mayer – President
