Dear members,
I hope you are all staying home, staying connected and keeping well during these times.
Like all of you, the club is beginning to adjust to this new way of living while we fight the battle against COVID-19. It is quite a relief to hear many of Australia’s leaders confirming the positive impact our change in lifestyle is having with regards to the virus.
As a business we have quickly learnt to adapt to working remotely and digitally. We have been embracing the face-to-face connection of Zoom meetings and ensuring our staff remain supported and connected during this time.
As you may have seen, I have also up-skilled myself in the world of social media and am loving the weekly opportunity to engage with you all via Facebook Live. I am relishing this opportunity to connect with you all, answer your questions and provide you with as much honesty and transparency as I can. Having passed the Facebook Live baton to our GM – Football Graham Wright this week, I will be back again next Wednesday at 1.30pm to answer all your questions. I look forward to seeing you all then.
With no confirmed date for a return to footy, our key focus as a club remains keeping you, our members, informed, connected and healthy. Our team are working overtime to provide you with as much content as possible to provide insight into our player’s lives along with opportunities to connect your families with them. For those of you with children, I highly recommend Tuesday night Story Time, or if you need some motivation to get moving our Physical Performance Manager, Luke Boyd, is providing us with an at home workout every Friday. Clinics for the kids, cooking demonstrations, podcasts and crosswords are just a small list of some of the many other ways we are looking to keep you entertained and engaged over the coming weeks.
Speaking of podcasts, we will be launching a new podcast in the coming days, with a focus on ensuring the leaders of our club are providing you with regular factual information. There is so much talk in the media and among friends regarding the future of the AFL season and we want to ensure our members have a regular avenue to hear news directly from the club. Passionate Hawthorn man, Mark ‘Howie’ Howard has very kindly agreed to host the podcast and will be joined by myself, your President Jeff Kennett and Senior Coach Alastair Clarkson to chat all things Hawthorn during these unprecedented times. We will ensure you are all the first to hear it, so keep an eye on your inbox in coming days!
As I have said so often, we are incredibly blessed to have such loyal and committed members. Equal to that, we are very lucky to have such loyal and committed partners. So many industries and businesses are hurting at the present time, our partners included. We continue to work with our partners to support one another and ensure we come out the other side of these challenges. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our partners for their unwavering support.
If any of you are in the market for a product that falls within one of our partner’s remits, I urge you to consider purchasing from them where you can. I have listed them all at the end of this email in case you are unaware of any of them.
Hawthorn is in the privileged position of having some of the very best doctors in the country looking after our players and people. Our Head Doctor Michael Makdissi has been sensational in keeping us all informed and well looked after over the past few weeks.
As I am sure is the same with many of you, our staff and players have had many questions for Michael, particularly around where best to seek information and advice during these times. He has suggested the following two Government websites as our best source of accurate information regarding current COVID-19 statistics and advice on keeping ourselves safe during these times:
https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-frequently-asked-questions
With so much information out there, I thought it worthwhile sharing Michael’s suggestions with all of you to assist our Hawthorn family in getting the right information where possible. He has also asked me to stress to you all that we continue to abide by the measures the Government are putting in place. Maintaining social distancing and good hand hygiene are the most critical things we can be doing, to not only combat COVID-19 but to help get us back to playing footy as soon as possible!
As I said earlier, the support from our partners as this situation has unfolded has been incredible and we owe a big thank you to them all, Tasmania, iiNet, Nissan, adidas, United Petroleum, Bingo Bins, Azep Nasal Spray, Bank Vic, Carlton & United Breweries, Mortimer Petroleum, Thomson Geer Lawyers, Vandenberg Wines, Elite Property Care, Van Heusen, Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, McDonalds, PFD Foods, Chemist Warehouse, Fitness First, Transport Accident Commission, Mirvac and The Glenferrie Hotel.
Lastly, I would like to reaffirm to you our commitment to keeping you updated during this period. As is the way in footy, speculation and rumours are always rife, and these will no doubt continue swirling until we have a confirmed return date. Rest assured that as soon as we have confirmation of any further details regarding the 2020 season, or anything else of significance to our industry or Hawthorn, we will be sure to let you all know.
Stay safe.
Justin Reeves
CEO
It is understandable that some people are experiencing feelings of anxiety, uncertainty and concern during this time. For mental health and wellbeing information, visit Beyond Blue.
