OUR club chairman Bill Quinn thoroughly enjoyed his first experience as a networking adviser and said he would happily do it again if he could use his experience in business to help anyone.
Bill was guest speaker at the latest Oldham RLFC invitation to local and national companies and spoke of his experiences in setting up and running several business ranging from demolition to sportswear, writes ROGER HALSTEAD.
“I talked of both the highs and the lows, “ said Bill.
“I think everyone enjoyed it . It was very quiet, even in the bar area, while I was talking and that’s always a good sign. I was talking, in the main, to business people and the whole idea of networking sessions is to put like-minded people in touch for their mutual benefit. If Oldham Rugby happens to gain something so much the better, but the object of the exercise is to help others in a sporting environment and with that in mind, I was delighted afterwards to be approached separately by two people who wanted my advice on setting up new businesses. One of them was from Rochdale FC. I was delighted to assist.
“l’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – We are all in this in this together. Initially, it’s all about talking to each other and that’s at the very essence of what these monthly networking sessions are all about.
“I had a lot to say and because of the time factor I didn’t get it all in. There may have to be ‘Bill Quinn, part two.’ “
This was the fifth Oldham RLFC networking group, attended mainly by sponsors, potential sponsors and other interested parties. It’s all part of the club’s strategy to welcome all into the Roughyeds fold. Previous speakers were George Ford, Paul Sculthorpe, Terry Flanagan and Robert Hicks—Oldhamers all, proud of it and very successful Oldhamers too.
Might I suggest that Mike Ford himself would be an interesting speaker in future – another Oldhamer, served this club as captain, coach, player-coach and now managing director, and a former coach too in Rugby Union at the highest level, having stepped out of his comfort zone in the sport in which he was brought up to go on tour with the British and Irish Lions. He didn’t know what he was starting when, for the first time, he picked up a rugby ball – and ran—or later in life went to Dukinfield to educate himself of this strange phenomenon called Rugby Union.
Not bad for the lad from Lovers Lane whose two sisters played netball to a high standard, and who vowed on leaving football behind that one day he would play Rugby League for Oldham and for Great Britain ! His son George wasn’t even born back then, and in any case Fordy had hardly ever heard of Union.
ITS A FUNNY OLD WORLD, ISN’T IT?
