Once again they’re here – a loyal band of volunteers, perched high in the MFC offices above Brunton Avenue, reaching out to red and blue connections, continuing the steady effort to bring members into the fold.
Given the trials of the season, it’s an ongoing battle to secure memberships, yet in the couple of months they’ve been undertaking this project, the volunteers have signed up over 500 who might otherwise have slipped through the net. As Geoff Sowden, one of the leaders of the group, says, ‘Out of the adversity of early 2013 has arisen a group of volunteers who have decided ‘now is the hour’ to put effort into the club.’
In so doing, the current crop of volunteers are following a long line of committed groups and individuals who have contributed to gathering memberships over decades past, from manual collating moving on to the old ‘green screen’ computers, and progressing to the concerted efforts of the late 1990s and early 2000s. The current crop took shape in 2004, and has been growing steadily ever since.
Last night was an extra special evening for the group, with an unannounced visit from Club legend, Robert Flower. Talking before the calls started for the evening, Flower mentioned how important the activity being undertaken by the volunteers is, and how ‘nobody knows the work that goes on in the background, and I’m really in awe of what you’re doing.’
Flower, like the volunteers, is looking forward to an improved on ground future, as ‘that’s how we get our reward, from what happens out there.’ It is that belief that keeps most committed through tough times, and it is with justification that Membership Manager, Fiona Trewhitt, calls the band of volunteers ‘resilient and giving’. Not only do they have an immediate impact with their calls – the follow up messages and returned calls result in an ongoing ripple of activity after each run of volunteer calling.
Flower’s visit came on the back of a similar call in from past player Stephen Powell, and the player connections are also cemented by the ongoing contribution of Steve Grimes, father of co-captain Jack. It’s a shared mission, and a calling in more senses than one for all those involved.
