Dear Hawkers,

I trust this note finds you all well.

We have just completed our 119^th Annual General Meeting.

Again, sadly by electronic means, which is the norm for our many interstate members, but not so for those in Victoria who are normally able to attend at the old Hawthorn Town Hall.

Let’s hope next year we can return to the traditional method of conducting such meetings.

The Annual Meeting is a requirement of all clubs and corporations.

We report on finances, any elections that are held in the lead up to the AGM, receive an update from, in our case, me as President, our CEO Justin Reeves on the progress of the redevelopment of the Kennedy Community Centre, and importantly our Coach Sam Mitchell.

I was happy to report our finances are in good shape, in surplus on our football operations and our consolidated activities.

It has been for all of us a challenging two years but hopefully if life returns to anything near normal over the next few years our financial position will continue to improve. We need that to happen so we can remain a non-assisted club using the definition of the AFL. That means financially strong enough not to receive large subsidies from the AFL to keep trading.

We wear our financial strength as a badge of honour.

Re the election for the Board, we had a number of candidates initially indicate their preparedness to stand for election. We thank them all for their commitment to the club. In the end, three contested the two vacancies and I am pleased to announce that Tim Shearer was re-elected and Ian Silk elected. The third candidate Jennifer Holdstock ran a good race.

I also want to thank Radek Sali who did not recontest his position on the Board as he and his family have moved interstate.

The Board will now work on delivering an overall strategy that assists Sam Mitchell and our football department in returning Hawthorn to the winner’s circle in the not-too-distant future.

The Football Department and players finish for the year on Friday. In the training that has taken place over the last few weeks, there have been some very encouraging signs. Our new draftees are a particularly strong group who we feel confident will play a big role at the club over the next few years.

Importantly, almost all of our players are fit and healthy, and are looking forward to our first game against North Melbourne next year.

We will use the festive break to give all our staff a good break. They have worked under difficult circumstances over the last two years and even recently incidents of COVID within our administrative staff have put further inconveniences on their ability to work at our office.

The Board thanks all our team under CEO Justin Reeves. They have kept the machinery running, and deserve their break.

Finally, to all members and sponsors, thank you very much for your continuing support. Your commitment to the mighty Hawthorn Football Club has without a doubt helped us navigate the last two years.

I now see clearing skies ahead, and a great deal of excitement. I will report back in more detail by the end of January with more plans for next year and beyond.

So, if no more from me before then, have a great festive season. Stay safe and healthy and get ready to sound your trumpets in 2022.

Cheers

  

Jeff Kennett
President
Hawthorn Football Club