Dear valued Member,
I hope this letter finds you well during this most unhospitable weather. I think we can all agree we’ve had enough of the wet stuff.
As the year draws to a close, on behalf of the Board I’m excited to inform you that we are nearing the final stages of our contract negotiations with the City of Greater Geelong to transfer the Club into Community ownership. This move has been a long, drawn-out process but the eventual outcome will ensure BPSC remains an amazing sports and recreation destination, and the volunteers that step up each year to oversee the operations will not be burdened with the onerous duties that those that have come before have endured. Ground maintenance that has “burnt out” many volunteers will now be looked after by Council. We no longer will bear the responsibility of raising funds to build major infrastructure to accommodate the increasing number of participants. The task of managing the Club remains but we hope that with the focus now more on looking after our members and improving our soccer program we will see some renewed interest from volunteers that historically, and across the community, is a challenge for most clubs.
In recent weeks we have seen dramatic changes at the club with new light towers erected on the main ground. This improved lighting will be appreciated by all players and spectators as we look to schedule night games in season 2023. Construction will begin on the long awaited female friendly changerooms late next year and will be an impressive and welcome addition to our Club. I suspect perhaps mixed emotions for some of our older and especially foundation members when the Club’s original Club House turned changerooms will be demolished to make way for the new changerooms. If the walls of the old tin shed could talk wouldn’t that make for a fascinating podcast! Personally, I love the old black and white photos capturing the past events, many being fundraisers and working bees, that enabled our foundation members to plan and get on with the task of developing the Bell Park Sports Club. We now look forward to the next generation taking up the baton!
Christmas is fast approaching, and the Club is hosting an exciting event on Saturday 3rd December. If you are interested in attending, please contact Rose for details. The food and entertainment at the Golden Christmas celebration will be spectacular. It is a fundraiser, so you’ll be helping the club to raise dollars to enable us to secure funding for an electronic scoreboard. Might seem ludicrous or unnecessary to some, but as a Board we know that future sponsors will benefit (and pay) to have their business displayed on the Scoreboard throughout games and this will only benefit the Club. At the end of the night, we will be drawing the winner of our JB Dreamline Caravan. That would be one incredible Christmas present so make sure you spread the word to family and friends to buy a ticket.
On business matters, notice is hereby given that the 63rd Annual General Meeting of the Bell Park Sports Club will be held at the Clubrooms on Friday 16th December 2022; doors open at 6.30pm for a 7:30pm start. It would be great to see as many members as possible at the meeting. We would be excited to see some new faces on the Committee so let me know if you are interested or have a nomination, alternatively feel free to check out our website for the relevant forms.
Please check the link below if you’re interested in a ticket in our amazing JB Dreamline Caravan Raffle which is limited to 2000 tickets, or call David on Mob: 0403 169246
https://www.raffletix.com.au/bellparkcaravanraffle
We welcome you also to check our website for Tickets to the Golden Christmas Event on 3rd December 2022 or call Rose on Mob: 0408 304480
https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing?eid=953111&
Kind regards,
David Secen
Secretary
Bell Park Sports Club
Mob: 0403 169246