Following last week’s Annual General Meeting, the SUANFC Executive and Committee has undergone some significant changes moving into 2018.
With long serving President Chas Wilkinson standing down, Vice-President Sam Power has taken over at the helm of the club. Sam has been involved as a VP for the past five years, on top of both playing and coaching during that time and has the support of both the previous Committee and incoming Board.
Both the Treasurer and Secretary from 2017, Andrew Holmes and Life Member and longstanding Secretary, Michael Murray respectively, have been returned in the new Board.
With Sam stepping up from his role as VP of Sydney AFL, a new role was created to encompass both the Sydney AFL and NEAFL components of the club. This role, VP Senior Football, will be filled by Rich Hawtin, who has extensive experience in organising community sport and has been involved in an informal capacity for a number of years working with the Premier Division and Division 1 teams.
The VP Junior Football role, so ably filled in 2017 by Jan Ramus, is being entrusted to Jon Dyster who has previously been the President of the Newtown Swans JAFC. His links to both Newtown and our other junior clubs will no doubt prove to be invaluable as we look to expand our Colts program in 2018.
Long-time Committee member, club sponsor, player, coach and newly minted Life Member Gus Stephenson will be filling the VP Commercial and Major Events position. Gus runs Funkified, a hugely successful entertainment business, and has been a trusted source of advice for a number of years regarding event planning.
Life Member, past President, Chairman, Patron and University Gold, (amongst other accolades!) Roger Down will be formally involved with the club once again, taking over the Alumni portfolio and will aim to build on the work done in previous years in re-engaging with past players. He adds a wealth of business and management experience to the Board.
The newly created Regulatory & Legal portfolio will be filled by another past President, Peter Hastings QC. Despite his long lasting ties to the club, Peter might be better known by some more recently as the NSW Crime Commissioner, and as the Chairman of the AFL/NSW Appeals Board for the last 24 years. Peter’s experience will be of great benefit to the club, and we heartily welcome him back into a hands on role!
Jason McLennan, the most recent Past President, is also re-joining the Board as Chairman in 2018. Having been involved in coaching following the end of his tenure as President, as well as an advisory Chairman to the Committee in recent years, Jason brings a wealth of knowledge and club leadership experience to the Board.
Importantly, even as we add a great deal of experience and acumen to the Board to reflect the size and complexity of the Club’s programs, we continue to ensure current players have plenty of seats at the table. Player representatives in 2018 are – Tom Ayton, an experienced NEAFL player starting his first year of work as a Doctor after graduating from USYD, Alex Hawtin, a current SUANFC Premier Division squad member and business marketing graduate from Sydney University, and Josh Cutrupi, who has overseen our very successful club event schedule for the past three seasons. Each are well known and respected across the club and will be able to provide feedback and perspective from the playing group, as well as organise social events and oversee things such as match day volunteers.
SUANFC also wish to advise that General Manager, Chris Goodrope has recently resigned to pursue new opportunities. The Club wishes Chris all the best in his new endeavours. The advertisement for a new Club GM will be made available in the coming days.
For any further information regarding any of the above, please contact secretary@suanfc