In spite of the extremely hot sunny conditions with the temperature hovering around 37 degrees Celsius, 21 teams embarked on the Club's 2019 Charity Golf Day.
After registering their players and being assigned their handicaps, the teams were treated to a gourmet barbecue. The barbecue offered a variety of sausages, lamb rissoles and vegeburgers in bread, as well as accompanying coleslaw, fried onions and sauces.
The barbeque team, led by Alf Giesen and PP Mark Caulfield, included Russell Dunn, Eric Boon and PP Bruce Shaw.
One of the most popular features of the hot competition was the appearance of the "Drinks Buggy" around the course, where the demand for cool drinks was significant.
This service was managed by the dedicated team of Eric Boon and PP Gary Evans.
In a typical Melbourne manner, a thunderstorm struck at approximately 4:30 pm leading to a torrential downpour that left golfers and organisers soaked, and some of the greens flooded.
The evening presentation dinner began at 6:00 pm and it was very well attended.
A highlight of the dinner, was an interview conducted by PP Ricardo Balancy with guest speaker, Jade Rawlings, the Coach of the Casey Demons.Born in Devonport Tasmania in 1977, Jade was a successful AFL player with Hawthorn, Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne Football clubs. Standing at 196 cm tall, he played both as a defender and a forward, scoring a total of 148 goals.
He then served as a caretaker coach with the Richmond Football Club for 11 games in 2009. This was followed by the role as Assistant Coach with the Brisbane Lions and then the back line Coach for the Melbourne Football Club. Currently he coaches the Casey Demons.
Jade is also a passionate cricketer, playing for Burnley CYMS Cricket Club when his football commitments allow it.
When asked what he looks for from his players, he stated that as he is a passionate person, he wants players to be passionate about the game they play and to have a desire to get the best out of themselves.
David Nutter then conducted an auction of a diverse range of interesting items, thereby raising significant funds for the event.
Kay Morland was called upon to present the Mick Morland Perpetual Trophy to the best team, which was the St John of God Hospital Berwick team.
Congratulations to the Organising Committee, chaired by PP Jim Armstrong. Jim's report is provided below.
"We had another great golf day. We had the most teams since I have been involved, had the most Sponsors and supporters as well.
Despite the heat followed by the rain everyone had a great time and our feed back was very positive. Many thanks to the committee and also those who volunteered on the day. We had a great team and everything went like clockwork.
The preliminary figures look like showing a profit well in excess of recent years.
Many thanks to all those involved, especially the support I got from Bob Lay AM."
