COBURG FC WELCOMES FOUR NEW BOARD MEMBERS AHEAD OF 2019 SEASON

BY BROOKE VARNEY.

The Coburg Football Club is pleased to welcome four new members to its board ahead of the 2019 season!
President of the Past Players Association Kerion Lawson is the first new addition to the Board, looking to add to his already 35+ years of service and contribution to the club.
“I want to give President Kevin Breen as much support as I can; that was one of the main reasons (of joining the board),” he said.
 
“I’m very excited, also to be learning and getting more involved in the running of the club.”
Lawson, a Coburg FC Hall of Famer, premiership player, and best & fairest winner, has been part of the club since 1970 and ultimately wants to see it survive.
“I’m very passionate about Coburg, so my whole aim will be to help get other people to the club, help with memberships, help with past and current players, and give Kevin as much support as possible.”
In terms of the upcoming season, he would like to see the Lions continue to improve, hopefully climbing up the ladder slowly with a few more wins under their belts, and also to try and hit the 1000-member mark.
The second new addition is Matt Price, owner of Coburg FC sponsor Saxon Lighting, who is very excited to be taking the next step in his involvement with the club.
“I have been involved with the club now for a couple of years, first as a spectator then to a sponsor, and having been involved in different sporting clubs knew I could bring something different to the table (as a board member),” he said.
“I think it will be really important to try and find a balance between the club as a business, while also giving back to the community.”
“As soon as you lose the community, you lose your identity so keeping that involvement is key.”
Price also hopes he will bring a different perspective on the club as a business, which will in turn create more income and attract new sponsors.
“We’ve got a great team and bunch of guys, but because a few experienced players have now left it will be trying to go out and attract some new key players,” he said.
“Regardless of the result on-field, I also want to make sure the atmosphere around the club stays positive.”
Megan Hustwaite, Herald Sun writer and freelance journalist, is the third newest board member, and is very excited to be further assisting Coburg FC as one of the few remaining standalone VFL clubs.
“I wanted to get involved and try and contribute something to where the club is continuing to grow,” she said.
Hustwaite was quite involved with North Ballarat Roosters, who lost their VFL licence after the 2017 season, and therefore has a great understanding of how tough it can be for standalone clubs.
“Some of the other new board additions come more from the business background, but Coburg has a great media team that do a great job so I hope with my skillset and experience (as a sports journalist) I can help further boost what the club is doing, so we can take it to the next level.”
In terms of the 2019 season, she most looks forward to seeing how the team continues to develop under Coach Leigh ‘Patch’ Adams, and is also excited to see what the club can continue to build on off field.
The fourth and final new addition is Luke Perilli of Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, who joins the Coburg FC board
looking to be further involved in a local sporting club.
“I knew about the history of Coburg, which is what really appealed to me in wanting to get involved in football at a local level in particular,” he said.
“I hope to bring another point of view and perspective to the board, and I suppose a different way of looking at things from a legal sense.”
Perilli, like many of the board members, is excited to see how the team performs in 2019, while continuing to go from strength to strength both on and off the field.
Please join us in making our four new board members feel welcome!
The club also wishes to advise all of our club members that the 2018 AGM will be held at 6.30pm on Monday 10th December 2018 at the Coburg Football Club, all 2018 members are welcome.
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