Committee Corner – Website Blog Week 15 – 2nd September 2012 Kay Searle Personally, I hate doing this kind of thing but it’s a task that’s been set for all of us on the committee and, as I work in a school and I’m writing this during the 6 week Summer holiday, there’s really no excuse for me not to get on with it! I’m a relative newbie on the Shrimpers’ Trust Committee, been there 3 years or so now, and I was fortunate to be tasked quite early on with a role that’s right up my street – looking after the Southend Junior Shrimpers. I think the thinking behind it was that, by virtue of my day job of working as an LSA in a Junior school, I was possibly the only one of us that was fully CRB checked and therefore a “safe” pair of hands where the SJS were involved! Seriously though, I’m confident in interacting with the young ‘uns and being able to guide them through the tricky business of presenting “Player of the Month” awards…and believe me, that can be tricky, you wouldn’t believe how treacherous that walk around the stadium can be! That’s without being heckled by friends in different parts of the stadium or having pupils at school calling out to me! My favourite part of being the SJS co-ordinator is producing the bi-monthly newsletter. That can involve preparing a set of questions from the members for players to respond to, reporting on anything our members have done that’s worthy of bringing to a wider audience and of course, making sure everyone knows what’s going on. I don’t think many of our members (or their families) know that as an SJS member, they’re entitled to have a free training session with the Centre of Excellence coaches, certainly very few of them take that up. I know though, that of those that do, they have a fabulous time down at Boots and Laces, and have got to meet the 1st team players and have lunch over there too! I wish more of our members would take the opportunity to do this. I know I’m slightly (ok, very) prejudiced, but I think at a one of fee of just £10, membership of the SJS is extremely good value. Please consider it as a fantastic birthday or Christmas present for any young members of your family that aren’t already signed up – forms downloadable here http://www.shrimperstrust.co.uk/n_images/client/membership/sjs-12.pdf I want to highlight as well, the fantastic achievements of one of our SJS members, Matthew Pointer. I know Paul Fitzgerald had mentioned it before in his foreword in a Trust newsletter, but this young man is completing a 5km run every month during 2012, to raise money for St Luke’s Hospice in Basildon. I was lucky enough to be over at Boots and Laces in April, when Matthew (and his dad, Nigel), completed their run, with the help of the 1st team squad, and wrote a feature on it in our last newsletter. If anyone would like to sponsor Matthew, please visit his “Just Giving” page at www.justgiving.com/matthewpointer5km In case you’re wondering, I think being a Southend United fan was in my bones from a very young age…I was born at home in Wenham Drive, just a stone’s throw from Roots Hall. My granddad was a good friend of both Frank Gill and Frank Walton, names that are synonymous with the growth of the club, and my dad, Rex Palmer, took me along to my first home game aged, from memory, about 10. I couldn’t tell you what the result was, or even who we played that day, but I know that Billy Best and Bill Garner were part of the team, so early 70s. I was hooked from that point on. My dad’s been a season card holder for 40 years+, through thick and thin and we still sit together in the West Stand. Like I said, I work in a Junior School, and it’s quite funny to see my car parked next to the head teacher’s as he is a Colchester United supporter, so our back windows both show our allegiances, I do it on purpose now! School has had a few connections with our football club, we’ve got a fab wind vane at school that was crafted by the dad of a family that have been through the school, and which bears the Southend United logo on the top. It was made in memory of one of our teachers, Paul Chidgey, himself a member of the Trust, and who was a massive Southend United devotee. Before his sudden death 3 years ago, we used to analyse the weekend’s game every Monday in class or the staff-room, he’s still greatly missed at school. Frankie Banks came into school for Paul’s memorial assembly, which I know Paul’s family really appreciated. We were also used to launch Rotary’s campaign to eradicate polio a few years back, when Adam Barrett came into school to have his photo taken with the school’s boys and girls football teams, and have been fortunate to have players come along to the school summer fete in recent years. I love that our club is still so involved in the community. On that theme, I hope everyone enjoyed “Meet the Blues” day at Boots and Laces this year, I thought it was a really good day – mind you, that may have been because I got the chance for a bit of a chat with Freddy Eastwood while he was waiting for the other players to arrive at the Trust’s tent for autograph signing! It was great to have the day back at the training ground which, in my opinion, is a much better venue than the last two have been, and it was a huge bonus to have decent weather on one day during what has seemed to be monsoon conditions so far for much of this summer! I think the group of players we have now seem very down to earth and are happy to go in the stocks to have wet sponges thrown at them, for instance, you wouldn’t have seen that a few years ago. So, I think that’s about it from me. I hope you’re all as excited as me about the new season, seeing a fit Freddy and hopefully a back to form Barry Corr. Along with Neil Harris and Gavin Tomlin, I reckon we’re going to have the most envied strike force in L2, although I have an extra reason to be excited as I’m getting married in October…and yes, the wedding will be football themed!!! C’mon you Blues!!! .