Above: Our 2024/25 Committee Members, voted in at this year's AGM.
We had a solid membership turnout for the club’s AGM last week, which is further evidence the club is in a healthy position. It is the one meeting a year we encourage all members to come along to, to have a say in the leadership and direction of the club.
To view this year's AGM President's Report please see the end of this week's President's Note below.
The members have once again selected a really strong committee, with a cross-section of representation. Ann Bomers (Treasurer) and Andrew Legge (Vice President) were returned to the executive, with David Barr elected as our new Secretary. Welcome and congratulations to David (whose wife is expecting a new delivery in the coming week).
A huge thank you to outgoing Secretary Alfie Warner for all his time and valuable contributions over the last 12 months – Alfie’s input to the club and support of me personally, have been invaluable contributions.
The wonderful Yani Cornthwaite returns to the committee after her year abroad, and new committee member Ash Dugan steps up for his first year. We welcome and congratulate both of them.
Last year’s general committee members were all re-elected, which is fantastic, giving the club stability and consistency, strengthening the experience and leadership governance we have build over the last few years. In total, we have 19 members on the committee, represented by 8 women and 11 men.
I thank the members in attendance for returning me to the position of President for my sixth term in the role, and appreciate the support and buy-in from everyone at the AGM, for the vision and energy I have for the club.
The next 12 months will see general committee member Giuseppe Marino, who has been on committee for the last 3 years, shadowing me and learning the role, with the view to stepping into the President’s chair in 2025. Sep has already started taking on some responsibilities, and has a fantastic energy and enthusiasm for the club. This will again give consistency for the club going forward.
Those who were not in attendance at the AGM can read the annual report in this newsletter.
I again thank all those who contributed to a productive and positive past year, and all committee members who added value to the club with their contributions of time, skills, energy and ideas. All members play a vital role in the health and functionality of the club, and being on committee is an opportunity to help to make the club the best it can be for all members.
Being on Harriers committee is rewarding, fun, and helps to ensure a good representation of members, ideas and a sharing of the work-load. The demands are not too heavy when shared, and we’ve seen some fantastic inputs from our current members, especially those relatively new to the club.
Mid-year Presentation Night quickly approaches, and will be held at Morwell Bowls Club on Saturday July 20th. The night will include presentations for the summer 2023/24 season, drinks, food and some fun games. Harriers events are not to be missed and all members are encouraged to come and enjoy the social evening, whilst rewarding members who have shown improvements and consistency.
The Wirilda Run is on 28th July. RD Desley Gray will need a few hands on the day, so please volunteer. This is another free run for club members, but also open to the public.
On the note of Race Directors; it’s important to share the load and not leave it to the same people to organise our events. I’d love to see some new people stepping up to a smaller club level event, and rest assured you’ll be supported.
It’s brilliant to see the club’s AV Team doing so well again this year, with solid representation and some really good results. Gaining some respect in the community by getting regular articles in the local newspaper is also excellent. Great work to the media team for all the work they do to promote the club.
We all love reading about member’s running adventures, which are interesting, entraining and inspirational, so please take the time to write and get your articles into the newsletter. The club newsletter is an important communication medium, and most members use it as a place to get updates, information and share stories. Our NL editors work hard to ensure its engaging, informative and relevant. Members enjoy reading of other member’s inspirational journeys, so don’t be shy to share. Shoot your articles, thoughts and running snippets through to Glenn Crawford at [email protected]
IMPORTANT Harriers Dates
20 July Presentation Night for summer 2023/24 season
28 July Harriers Wirilda Run
22 Sept Vic Teacher’s Games Cross Country
Reminder – If you haven’t renewed you annual subs, please jump on this week if you haven’t renewed as yet, otherwise expect a tap on the shoulder. Go to the club website and click the button which takes you directly to AV’s Revolutionise Sport site.
Thought for the fortnight: “Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” Buddha
Phill Mayer – President
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Welcome everyone, and thank you for showing support of the club by attending the AGM.
The general input of members either makes or breaks any club or community organisation, and Traralgon Harriers can be justifiably proud of the vested interest our members take in their club.
This year we adopted a slogan, “not just a running club”, because although our core activity is running, there is so much more to the Traralgon Harriers.
We are a unique organisation, filled with talented, dedicated, enthusiastic and idiosyncratic people, from various backgrounds and vocations, who join together, for varying levels of participation, to share in our collective enjoyment of running and social interaction.
We all run for different reasons and to achieve different goals, but whatever our individual reasons, becoming a member of the Harriers provides us a social outlet, a welcoming community, and valuable group support.
This has been my fifth year as President, and I’d again like to reiterate my appreciation for the amount of encouragement, endorsement and positive feedback I’ve received over the last 12 months. Hopefully it’s an indication that the committee is doing good work, and that the club is a valued place for all members.
I’ve said it before, because it’s true, that in any leadership position, it’s important to assess, improve, prepare, react and listen. We need to be open to ideas and constructive suggestions, but we must also remember that the club is run by volunteers, who, in my experience, always do their best. The committee might not get everything right, but I think we overwhelmingly do positive things.
The club is what we all make it, and that’s reflected in the time and energy that is injected by the committee and our members. We give value to members, and make sure that the energy, dedication, time, and work people put in, is acknowledged.
Of course the last 12 months has had its hurdles and challenges, but we’ve continued to thrive and grow, not only through our Thursday night runs, but also our weekend events, social activities, and the club’s AV Team.
Over a period of time, we’ve developed wonderful relationships with businesses and community organisations. We have many wonderful long-term sponsors and supporters, who help us to operate, especially with the cost of larger events. DFP Recruitment, First National Real Estate, Win Network, Aussie Broadband, Gold 1242, Latrobe City and Athlete’s Foot Traralgon need special mention, but there are many others that help enhance the club.
As a club, we continue to support our AV representatives more than any other club in the state.
I am proud that our club goes over and beyond to support our AV team, as well as making sure we give great value back to all members, recreational and social.
It’s fantastic that we have so many levels and individual reasons for participation. Whether its Thursday runs, coaching, training groups, the social and recreational aspect, our club weekend events or AV level participation, this club has dedicated members who support each other, and many great friendships are formed.
Add to that, those members who volunteer their time to sit on committee, race direct, do media reports, contribute to the newsletter, mark courses, help out with events or the myriad of other small jobs that make the club run smoothly.
As an organisation, we’ve developed a family-friendly aspect, and we’ve continued to build the club to almost gender parity, with a current 46% female membership, which is a figure we’ve maintained or exceeded over the last five years.
I think we can also claim the title of “family club”, with 22 families represented, having multiple members in the club.
We continue to build our foundations of inclusiveness. As a committee, we are not afraid of healthy, robust conversations or debates, and with such a solid representation across demographics, most perspectives are expressed.
We continue to follow the State Government’s Fair Play Code, which sets out standards of behaviour in sport and recreation. The core of this code is five principles of Integrity, Respect, Responsibility, Safety and Fairness. These principles apply to everyone involved in sport in Victoria, and our club is one of the original signatories to the code.
The Harrier’s Mission and Vision document states that we operate “to provide a family-friendly club for athletes of all ages and abilities, to reach full potential, to promote and develop wellbeing and fitness within the community”.
It goes on to say that “we will promote regular events for participation of people of all abilities and ages, encourage the younger generation to participate, develop fitness and wellbeing by encouraging members to achieve their goals, encourage competitive members to participate in the highest level possible, and that we’ll run regular social events and create a welcoming and supportive environment, where people are eager to volunteer and participate”.
I believe we’re more than fulfilling these objectives.
Athletics Victoria continues to use the Traralgon Harriers as a state-level model for how a club should be run. This is further recognition of our leadership around inclusiveness.
An example of our social-mindedness over the last 12 months, was the club’s event for International Women’s Day, which was greatly supported by members, with a majority turning up in the event’s theme colour, purple.
IWD is a global day to celebrate the achievements of women. It’s a call to action for accelerating gender parity, and an acknowledgement of how far we’ve come, but also of how much work there still is to do. Gender equality benefits everyone.
Traralgon Harriers is first and foremost a running club, but that doesn’t mean we can’t stand up, fly the flag, and acknowledge things which affect our community and our members, and try to do our bit to change perceptions and realities, within our sphere, to make the world a better place.
The IWD initiative was led by committee member Kate Mayer and supported by Molly Irvine and Marieka Reilly.
I strongly believe that we have an inclusive, socially aware and proactive membership, and that these sorts of events are about showing the outside community what we stand for.
In the last 12 months the club did an audit with Gippsport to assess our engagement of women in the club, and we rated the highest level in Gippsland. But, it’s really important to continue to develop our engagement and inclusion processes. It is an ongoing mission.
This again showed our club to be a leader in this area, progressive, thoughtful and inclusive.
Some may think it’s unnecessary for a sports club to be doing this sort of work, hosting events, that it’s not our core business, but let me say this; these sorts of events make for a better society, community and world. It’s what all organisations should be about.
Whether we’re championing gender equality, the prevention of violence against women, awareness about important community issues, inclusivity, or mental health, a progressive club should create conversations. Talking about difficult topics like suicide, or cancer, or anything else deemed taboo or controversial, at our small club, isn’t going to change the world overnight, but being a part of the conversation is essential in creating waves of change.
A quick snap-shot of some of the things the club has achieved in the last 12 months includes;
-The weekly lucky-member draws continued, managed by Kaye Livingstone (with support from Ann Bomers and Molly Irvine), bringing the club together and providing a fun activity after our Thursday runs
- The 2023/24 season saw the club reach a record 187 financial members, which included 66 first-timers (*An interesting fact, the average age of a member is 43, bought down by our increase in junior members)
-We have a healthy membership for this time of year, currently sitting at 136
-We donated another $2700 to Rotary Centenary House, taking club donations to the organisation to over $30,000 since 2017
-The club was engaged to run the Victorian Teacher’s Games cross country event, which was voted by the participants as one of the best events of the games, and I was humbled to be presented with VTG’s Convenor of the Year (we’ll be organising this event again in September 2024)
-The club has made great improvements technologically, led by Andrew Broberg and David Barr; this will continue over the next 12 months
-We instigated a succession plan as part of responsible forward thinking by the executive, identifying future leaders of the club, and introducing several new Race Directors
-The club was invited to and attended The Latrobe City Sports Expo, with a stall run by members
-Attendance numbers at our two major social events were up over the last 12 months. (Note that our Mid-year Presentation is on the 20th July, and it’s only 5 months until the Christmas Party)
-Our AV Team continues to build in competitive strength led by Captains Greg Semmler, Miles Verschuur and Callie Cook
-The club’s trivia night again saw a strong turnout for some healthy competition
-We had a successful King & Queen of the Mountain, with first-time RD Ron Verschuur
-The 26th Community Fun Run saw new joint-RDs Trent Kooyman and Clinton Jolly organise a fantastic showcase event
-The club ran a successful Marathon & Running Festival which sold out 4 weeks prior, and marked our 57th continuous running of the event, along with blooding another new RD in Desley Gray
-We had many great individual achievements by club members including but not limited to Corey Milner, Molly Irvine, Depsey Podmore, Ian Cornthwaite, Ann Bomers, Denise Twite, and Sally Theobald
-We raised over $2000 for Gippsland Lifeline via our Memorial Run, raising awareness for suicide prevention
-The Club Person of the Year Award was presented to Kaye Livingstone for her incredible work over many years
-Glenn Crawford was appointed as the club’s Newsletter Editor, after the role was held for well over a decade by stalwart and “glute” aficionado Ian Twite (the newsletter was also given a design facelift by Kylie Warner, Sep Marino and David Barr)
-We changed the Newsletter to a fortnightly publication in a move towards efficiency, which seems to have been embraced by members
-We continued to build strong relationships with sponsors, supporters and the community, welcoming another new sponsor in Momentum Physio and Recovery
-We were successful in Grant submissions totalling over $10,000 thanks to Sep Marino, Marieka Reilly and Desley Gray
-Our monthly dinners continue to be well-attended, averaging over 60 members
-We made several purchases of new club assets including a new trailer, club gazebo, reflective vests and multiple other items which benefit the club now and for the future
-And we have many new runners attending and becoming financial members. There’s always a natural attrition in membership, but the club is retaining members, I believe in large part, because we ensure new runners are welcomed, introduced and valued.
A successful club gives back to members, whilst ensuring fiscal responsibility. As you’ll hear from Ann, we are in a solid financial position, and we continue to give value to members. Although on paper we spent a lot this year, that money went towards club assets to be used for the long-term benefit of future members, and to provide positive events and social opportunities for current members.
My belief is that we should use funds raised to make the club stronger, and a better place for all. We give to community organisations and charity, but first and foremost, a healthy club creates positive moments and memories for its members.
I trust all members agree that this committee has been open to feedback, conversations and ideas, and we hold the interests of the club at the heart of all decisions. I believe we acknowledge and respect the history of the club, and that the committee represents members and operate the club for the benefit of everyone.
This is a club for everyone, elite, social, recreational, fun or otherwise, and inclusiveness is key to helping a community organisation flourish. Things don’t just happen without members making them happen, and everyone contributing to the vision.
A few thank yous and acknowledgments. Firstly, to I’d like to thank the outgoing committee for their efforts over the last 12 months. On behalf of all members, thank you for putting your hands up to ensure that the club operates at a basic level, but in reality, exceeds expectations and continues to strengthen and build.
We had many new faces, talents and energies join committee this year, including Trent Kooyman, Toby Grzmil, Kate Mayer Marieka Reilly, Desley Gray and Ron Verschuur who joined sitting members Clinton Jolly, David Barr, Andrew Broberg, Danelle Wright, Giuseppe Marino, Kaye Livingstone, Molly Irvine and Greg Semmler.
Appreciation to all, and thanks for a great 12 months of support, input, your time, talents and energy - I believe we should be proud of the work we’ve done collectively, and I thank you all for your support personally, and for making the time to enhance our club with your ideas and skills.
To the Executive - Thank you to Alfie Warner for his work, humour and support as Club Secretary. Alfie has worked in various capacities to make the club run smoothly. You are a valued member and your work is greatly appreciated.
Thanks to Treasurer Ann Bomers for another year of amazing work and support, not only in her official capacity, but generally around the club. Ann is first to put up her hand, no matter the job. Ann makes doing my job much easier, she is genuinely appreciated, and I know all members thank you.
A Harriers thank-you list would be incomplete without acknowledging Vice President Andrew Legge. Legge’s ideas, tireless work, positive vision, and selfless input towards making the club a better place for everyone, is an absolute asset.
The many small things Ann, Legge, Alfie and the general committee do for the club, for members, add up to a massive amount of positive work, and this is a big reason why the club is so healthy.
I believe as a committee we have continued to invigorate the Harriers over the last 12 months. We should continue to invite all members to share their ideas, but we must remember, ideas only become reality, when someone does the work to make them happen.
In closing, a club does not operate without its members. A vibrant and successful club is what we all want. We have dedicated, talented, friendly, supportive people in this organisation, and if we all work together, the Harriers will continue to grow and prosper, despite any adversity.
We may just be a country running club, but we add to the recreational and social fabric of our community. We add to the quality-of-life of our members, and reflect a commitment to our club values.
Over four decades of neuro-scientific research into intrinsic human motivation, has produced some very clear messages. The most motivating forces we respond to, are support, encouragement, empowerment, and celebration. These are factors that are not easy to self-generate as an individual. But a club like the Traralgon Harriers provides these elements in abundance.
Finally, thank you to all members for your vote of support, and the privilege, in electing me President of the club for the past 12 months. It is humbling. Last year I stated that it would be a transition year, and that we must identify the next leaders, so they can be mentored, guided and encouraged.
For the club to remain healthy and positive, we need to make sure there is a supported succession. I believe we have those next leaders on our committee, and that the next 12 months will be a time of fostering and guiding them, to lead our wonderful club for the benefit of all members into the future.
Thank you.
Phill Mayer – President, Traralgon Harriers
