Hi there happy Hawkers.
I trust you all had a wonderful long weekend and reflected on how lucky we are to be living in Australia and to be part of the Hawthorn Family.
A few very positive issues I wish to raise with you.
Firstly, and importantly Cyril Rioli is back with us and training. Cyril’s family have had a tough few months, but the good news is Cyril’s father is recovering well from surgery.
The rest of the players look to be in fine fettle and I remain very excited about the new recruits. I have no doubt many of them will be on the track for us once the season starts.
Of importance, I can inform you all that in reshuffling the leadership of the Board committees, more detail of which I will convey to you in the next letter, former captain of the club Richie Vandenberg has agreed to become chairman of our football subcommittee.
This is the role that Jason Dunstall occupied when I did my first stint as president of the club. With the resignations of Bruce Stevenson and Andy Gowers we are back to only one player on your Board, Richie.
We have a highly professional Board with many responsibilities, of which one is success on the field.
Richie is a very astute follower of the game and has been well trained in the challenges facing the whole football department. He has great personal values and is a very successful businessman. So, while chair of the football sub committee he also brings other important skills to the table.
For our younger members, Richie joined the club in 1997 being picked up at number 78 in that year.
He was an aggressive player who became captain of the club when Shane Crawford stepped down from that position at the end of the 2004 season.
I remember Richie’s playing career well, in particular the game against Essendon in 2004 which became known as the line in the sand game.
He retired as a player after 145 games when successive injuries had taken their toll on his body.
Richie has already started to make his presence felt in his new and important role at the club. I thank Richie’s wife, Jas and their children for allowing him the time to undertake this task.
Secondly, and I consider this a real coup for the club, I am happy to announce that Hawthorn has appointed Tim Shearer to our Board.
Tim is the Director of Development and Foundation Executive Director at Scotch College.
He leads one of the most successful primary and secondary education fundraising programs in Australia through his role as executive director of the Scotch College Foundation.
But that is not all. Tim was previously in the private sector managing some of the countries best known brands, he managed an alumni and extended family of 75,000 people at Scotch (about the same size as the Hawthorn Family), was a field umpire within the AFL and was Talent ID Manager for the AFL Umpiring Department. He presently coaches the Under 16 and Under 18 National Championships field umpires and is president of the Old Scotch Football Club.
Tim’s responsibility will be to collaboratively build the Hawthorn Football Club’s Foundation to be the best and most successful foundation in Australian sport. To achieve such end he will work closely with our staff and you.
While all directors terms are limited, my hope is that over the next 9 years Tim and our community will have well and truly built the Hawthorn Foundation to the best position for our club to confront its future.
We are very fortunate to have secured someone of Tim’s skills and all-round experiences. We are grateful to the Principal of Scotch College Tom Batty for allowing Tim to take on this role.
Tim, wife Christine and children Nick, Amanda and Eddie, members of the club, are all welcomed to this important role.
So, as you can see, we are conditioning your Board to be fit for purpose, for both short and long-term success, on and off the field.
As I indicated earlier in this message there will be more to be said later, suffice to say we are well and truly on our way into season 2018 and beyond.
To those members who have not yet renewed please do so as we are in for a great deal of fun. To any supporters how wish to join, now is the time, come on board.
As outlined in our new strategic plan we are strongly committed to the wellbeing and development of our people, which includes not only our players and staff, but you our members. For any of you who may be experiencing great hardship at the moment, please know that your Hawthorn family is here for you and don’t be afraid to reach out should we be able to support or assist in any way.
For now, onwards and upwards.
Twitter: @jeff_kennett
Email: jeffk@hawthornfc.com.au
