Dear Club Members,
We hope you’re all doing well and enjoying the latest season of rugby action across the club. Here is an update from the executive covering what’s been happening.
Special General Meeting (SGM) Update
On Monday 13th January we held our SGM to elect our new executive. Thank you to everyone came along and supported us. A detailed email has been sent out covering all key points discussed. If you haven’t received it, please let us know, and we’ll be happy to share the details. In short we elected:
Chairman – no nominations. The Exec formally co-opted Kevin Harman and Paul Eynon at the January Executive meeting to act as Co-Chairs until the AGM.
Vice Chairman – Steve Foreman, although we are looking for a shadow to help us grow our executive and plan for the future.
Hon Secretary – Ken Potter, Ken is working with Becky Brookes as a shadow. Becky was co-opted at the January Executive
Chair of Rugby – Kev Harman
Treasurer – No nominations, the Executive co-opted a Gordon Reid to act as a shadow to Tracey Wedd and slowly take on the Financial Controller/Treasurer role.
Executive Meeting Update
Our latest Executive Committee meeting focused on strengthening club operations, reviewing our financial position, and planning for upcoming initiatives. Key discussions included our membership structure, sponsorship opportunities, and refining our long-term vision.
We also Co-opted Matt Selway as an additional members representative and Nicola King who will take one some special projects such as lighting, promoting “easy fundraising” and membership growth.
There are a number of issues needing attention including repairing drainage, fixing floodlights which are being looked into.
We’ve started the treasurer transition process for our to ensure smooth financial management going forward. Thank you to both the Tracey Wedd and incoming Gordon Reid for their dedication and hard work.
Membership Working Group Kicked Off
We’re excited to announce the formation of our Membership Working Group! This group will focus on improving membership engagement, recruitment, and benefits. Key activities underway include reviewing membership tiers, streamlining the sign-up process, and enhancing member experience. We are considering a number of recommendations such as: (Please note these are draft at this time)
- Discounts (on 2025/26 membership) for those signing up before 1st October 2025
- Implementation of membership payments being taken September to April only (avoid cancellation of payments over the summer). To be offered alongside 12 equal monthly payments
- Enable tickets for events to be available to members a week before they go on sale to the general public members price lower than public price (members cost still to be priced at a profit.)
- Create a category of membership for Vets where you can play up to 6 games a year
- Create a new category of membership for younger minis (u10) reflecting they use the club once a week.
- Associate membership replaces social membership and should include volunteers who should be encouraged to sign up either on their own or through family membership
- Encourage no pay no play policies appreciating this is challenging for coaches to implement. Ask coaches what support they would need to implement this. Playing Chairs to support and enforce.
Thank you to Victoria Broad, Craig Armstrong, Connie Sosa, Nina Holmes, Tasha Stallman, Becky Brookes and Nicola King for their engagement with this group.
Commercial Working Group Success
Our Commercial Working Group is now fully operational and has already secured some valuable funding for the club. This support will go a long way in sustaining and expanding our activities. Huge thanks to those involved for their efforts in boosting our financial health!
Thank you to Ross Loveday, Jim Beavan, Graham Skinner, Jon Hewlett and Shaun Roberts for their support.
Recent Events & How You Can Help
We’ve had a fantastic month of events, perhaps our best January ever! With matches, socials, and community engagement. A big thank you to Hayley Adams, her team and everyone who participated and helped make these events successful.
You can help us with Sponsorship & Advertising, Become a member if you aren’t today and encouraging others to do so. Essentially be a Harlow Rugby Club Champion when you talk to friends, colleagues and family!
Please speak up when you see something that needs attention and help bring solutions.
If you can help donate to the club there are many ways to do so: Join the 300 club, help defer cost, fundraise, use easyfundraising for your online purchases.
If you’d like to get more involved—whether through volunteering, sponsorship, or organizing—please reach out! Every bit of support makes a difference.
Podcast Relaunch Initiative
We’re gearing up to relaunch our club podcast! Victoria Broad and I met with Dan Draper this month to discuss how we can kick off and relaunch our podcast. Taking advice from Dan who has been there and done it before gave us some wonderful insight into how we care increase our membership engagement. We are looking for a group of people who would be willing to host and edit this getting content from a variety of different areas. Older and Younger members very welcome to get involved.
Some of the ideas we are considering are anonymous stories from members, funny stories from behind the bar, interviews with coaches and players, pre and post-match reaction.
We are also looking at way we can monetise this to raise funds to buy equipment and raise funds for the club.
This will be a great platform to share club news, interview key figures, and bring our community closer together. If you have ideas or would like to get involved, we’d love to hear from you.
Constitution Review
Ken Potter, Kev Harman and I are working to review our constitution to ensure our club’s governance aligns with how we operate today, we are working on updating our constitution. We’ll be seeking input from members to ensure it reflects our values and future ambitions. Stay tuned for more details!
Sponsorship Strategy Refresh
Sponsorship is crucial for our club’s growth, and we’re reviewing our approach to make it more effective. We will be launching a Sponsorship Working Committee soon to focus on securing and managing sponsorships. If you have experience in this area or connections that might help, please reach out.
Thank you for being part of our rugby family. Your support and involvement are what make this club so special. If you have any questions, ideas, or would like to get more involved in any of the initiatives mentioned, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
See you on the field and at the clubhouse soon, meanwhile enjoy your rugby in whatever form that takes.
Kind regards,
Paul Eynon & Kev Harman
Co-Chairman
