Several copies of a classy and colourful event brochure were on each table at the club’s full-house Award Evening at the White Hart, Lydgate on Friday night, September 15. Included were pictures, adverts, a page for autographs, a page devoted to the big event’s main sponsor, RCE Civil Engineers of Widnes, a page on our 2023 player-awards — and articles by director Simon Winnard, managing director Mike Ford and Rugby Oldham (Supporters’ Trust) secretary Ian Wilson.
We’ll reproduce each in full, starting with Simon Winnard’s ‘Message from the directors’ which is given here:
“ON behalf of the board, I would like to welcome you all to tonight’s event.
“The board is working tirelessly behind the scenes to progress the club. However, the encouragement and support we’ve received from you all (along with our passion for Oldham RLFC) has genuinely
energised us to continue with what we’ve started. Thank-you for your support in 2023 –it’s massively appreciated.“As a board, we are committed to being transparent and continuing to engage in open dialogue. Conversations with key stakeholders, partners, sponsors and individual supporters, as well as formal events such as the fans’ forum and business breakfast, have proved invaluable. The energy in the room at both those well-attended events was palpable and it was great to have those open conversations with our fans and business partners. I’m sure there will be many more tonight as well.
“As we embark on the next exciting step of our journey, being back at Boundary Park is undoubtedly a huge step forward for the club. On behalf of the club, I would like to place on record our gratitude for the unbelievable support received from the Rothwell family and Darren Royle. We look forward to continuing to build on our great working relationship throughout 2024 and beyond.
“On a personal note, tonight we present the inaugural Brian Walker Trophy for the coach’s player of the year. I had the privilege of knowing and working closely with Brian during the early days of Rugby Oldham. He was a Roughyed through sand through and nobody would have been more delighted than him to see tonight’s celebrations. We raise a glass to you our old friend. Also, we’d like to thank our good friend Iain Taylor for his work in helping to organise tonight’s event and for the Taylor family sponsoring our ‘Unsung Hero’ award tonight.
“Finally, I’d like to say a personal thank you to our magnificent volunteers who selflessly give their own time to Oldham RLFC. There are too many to name, but you know who you are and we simply couldn’t do it without you. As Mike says, we are merely temporary custodians of this great club. It actually belongs to all of us, and we are stronger together.”
