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I am standing down as Chairman of Pōneke, and am very pleased to nominate Poneke stalwart Doug Jones for the role. Doug won his blazer for the Premiers, his son is in the pre-school Pōneke Pups, he created our haka, and he has been on the Board as Club Secretary over 2018. Doug has all the attributes of a great Chairman.

Our Rules require the Chairman to be appointed at an AGM, and this is from 6.00pm on Thursday 6 December at the Clubrooms.

Toby Robson is standing down as Club Captain, in favour of coaching. Toby has made a huge contribution to Pōneke. Not only did he shoulder the many Club Captain responsibilities, he stepped in to

coach the Premier Reserves, has been (and still is) hands on in running our 7s programme and much more. He has an astute rugby mind and will continue to contribute in the way that he loves – helping Pōneke to play winning rugby. His son Caleb will play for our Colts in 2019.

It’s a great pleasure to announce that Poneke stalwart Tom Anderson has put his hand up to take on the Club Captain’s role. He and our new Rugby Development Officer, Manu Samoa, Wellington and Pōneke legend Greg Foe, will be a formidable force and will ensure we play great rugby.

Nick Wealleans joined the wider Board in 2018 to focus on player registrations. He has agreed to step up as Club Secretary to replace Doug. There are no other changes proposed to the Board.

Pōneke, founded in 1883, is one of the world’s grand old rugby clubs. As Chairman, the responsibility of leading our great club is tangible, and it has been an honour to be part of a long tradition.

Players always come first, and a huge thanks to everyone I've watched who’s pulled the Pōneke jersey on over the 15 years I've belonged. For six years I've watched two to five Pōneke games every weekend. It’s been great fun and Pōneke has so many great players and great characters.

My family got involved in 2004 when our oldest son turned five, and he played in the Colts this year. All three of our kids played junior rugby for Pōneke, my wife Sylvia coached junior rugby, was a Junior Club Convenor, and ran two Gala Dinners. Various nieces and nephews play for Pōneke. I coached a junior team, and helped form and played for our veteran’s Pōneke Pies team. I owe Poneke a lot.

The Board has been working to a plan for the last few years. Our rugby is in good heart, we have great coaches in place for 2019 and our senior and junior player base is healthy. It’s tough though. Player numbers are dropping across senior grades and we have lost some teams. It’s also a relentless challenge attracting coaches and all the other volunteers a modern rugby club needs. The goal is to play winning rugby and from a wide player base.

Our business operations have been reinvented. Toitū Pōneke now looks after facilities management – we have by far the best clubrooms in Wellington - and provides us with much better services and secure revenue. Through Toitū Pōneke, we are now part of a wider community and sports community, and we will see the benefits from that in years to come. We have increased our annual recurring revenue from other sources by well over $100,000, all with the aim of better supporting our players, coaches and supporters. The goal is for Pōneke to ‘stand on its own feet’ financially, and we are close.

Engaging with our community is always challenging. We’ve launched lots of initiatives, but volunteers have struggled with the workload. There is a case for a paid official to manage our Supporters Club, supporters gear, our social programme, our social media and communications generally, and our taonga (photos, vintage gear etc for display). The goal is to demonstrate belonging by exciting events, seamless communication across the club, and other actions.

Thanks to each of you that have contributed so much over the last six years to make all this happen.

The Board proposed for 2019 is equipped for the challenges. They are all fine people with a proven commitment to Pōneke. They will bring a wide array of skills to match their energy, enthusiasm and leadership. We've been successful in establishing a Women’s team, but not in attracting many women to the Board. I’m sure the new Board will make better headway on this.

I am really looking forward to watching lots more Pōneke footy in 2019. See you on the sideline.

Cheers.

Kevin Jenkins

CHAIRMAN

Article added: Wednesday 28 November 2018