Pre-Season Newsletter from the Chairman

Please read the attached Newsletter from Drew, save the dates mentioned and help where help is needed!

Link : Pre Season Newsletter 2020

The full transcript is here:

Dear Members!

2020 is a particularly special year for our club, marking our 150th anniversary. On the playing field, the club is in excellent health. Last season, the first eleven achieved a fourth successive promotion, reaching the giddy heights of Division One in the Surrey Championship. Our colts section also had much to celebrate across the various age groups, with a good number of juniors playing representative cricket at county level.

Stoke 150 Celebrations.
We have three events planned to mark our 150th anniversary.
• A BBQ after the first senior league matches on Saturday 9th May.
• A repeat of last year’s very successful ‘Stoke Smash’ on Friday 12th June, hosted by our former colt and current 1s player, Toby Tarrant, from Radio X.
• A re-union lunch at the club on Sunday July 26th for retired and current senior players before which David Willis and members of the Willis family will scatter some of Bob’s ashes on the outfield. We will also re-name the clubhouse ‘The Bob Willis Pavilion’

Fundraiser
In 2015 we completed the extension and refurbishment of our clubhouse. We raised £250,000 to do this, through a combination of grants, fundraising events and generous donations from members. We will be launching a new project in May to raise funds that will enable us to put bifolding doors at the front of the clubhouse and install an electronic scoreboard in the roof above the entrance. Detailed costings are currently being calculated.

Sponsorship & Donations
The cost of running an amateur cricket club is higher than any other popular outdoor sport. Our square and specialist machinery cost £20,000 a year to maintain. Subscriptions and bar profits cover part of the cost of running our club, but we need to raise another £10,000 each year through sponsorship and grants to ensure that we break even. I ask you all to consider these facts and to offer financial help if you are able to do so. Donations can be made via the Donate button on the first page on our website.

Click here : https://www.justgiving.com/sdacc/donate/

Volunteers
Kevin Morgan is looking for volunteers to help with the U9 and U8 age groups. He will also be arranging a managers workshop with Tim Handel by way of pre-season preparation.

Subscriptions & Shirts
Membership forms will be emailed in a couple of weeks. We have made small increases to the annual cost for every category and we have introduced a new Family membership that covers a playing parent and two or more colts. Senior players and colts will receive an e-voucher for a free “Stoke 150” white cricket shirt, on receipt of individual subscriptions.

Thank you for your support.

Drew