Its been a very busy but tremendously exciting year, and the overriding feeling is one of pride of our great club as it looks forward with enthusiasm not just for the forthcoming 140th season but well beyond into the future.

After many years of great difficulties both on and off the field we must pay tribute to the loyal members who stuck through the hard times when literally the Club's future was on the line.Indeed if you care to find time to have discussions with our Finance Director Alan Havard and President Ann Shorrock they will tell you of some of those dark days when everyone had to dig deep to keep the Club going....we must always remember and pay tribute to the hard core members who have given us the opportunity to learn and grow from those times.

There are many great features to the Club but without a shadow of the doubt the most striking and impressive which sets us apart is the voluntary work which goes on behind the scenes.I have had the pleasure of both playing and being part of many sports clubs but without question the spirit at Southport Rugby Club in this department is top of the class and we must appreciate those that provide their time and effort and at the same time challenge yourself to become part of that story - it is our greatest strength and core to our values.

As a result of the loyalty and hard work we have given ourselves a wonderful opportunity now to move the Club forward to a very bright future.We are growing in numbers in every section of the Club and I would like in particular to welcome the new Ladies Playing section and wish you well for the coming season - as I said at the recent AGM you are now very much part of the family and we will give you all our support.

In addition the Club has now turned a very important Financial corner and with the help and dedication of Alan and the Finance Committee we now have free cash in the bank and over the course of this Summer we will invest further in the floodlights,the main pitch and time permitting the car park.

As far as the big picture is concerned Mark Astwood and the team are drawing together development plans which we hope to present to you all in due course to continue to improve the facilities and experience at the Club.We are now actively engaged withe RFU regarding funding and also a number of other Sports Funding organisations to help us finance our plans.We are profitable,commercially debt free and have cash in the bank and there aren't too many clubs can say that so we are optimistic that we can achieve a sensible outcome that you will be pleased with.We are acutely aware of the need to balance the books and we have enough experience and common sense to ensure we do not overstretch ourselves particularly during a recession when disposable income is in limited supply.

On the communications side, which is one of my core objectives, we have launched the Club Website,Free Wifi and also both Facebook and Twitter Accounts and I must say thanks to Mike Sweeney,Dave Brown and Graeme Ellis for their support in helping to deliver these new features.As the club gets bigger there is a clear and obvious need to communicate effectively to you our members.......we have players,coaches,parents,sponsors,patrons to keep up to date on a daily,weekly and monthly basis so it is an always on theme......we hope you have noticed the improvements but as ever we would welcome any feedback or ideas !

On the County scene our Club is being noticed within the higher circles of Lancashire Rugby, both at the Schools and Club level, and the recent finals awarded to us is testimony to that and we are extremely hopeful of further recognition.

Next Saturday we have the Party on the Pitch to celebrate the Queens Jubilee and although not guaranteed yet, we have contacted the Red Arrows and they are going to do their best to perform a flyover so please pop down and enjoy a great afternoon.

We are also working hard behind the scenes at co-ordinating the forthcoming 140th Season and very shortly we will be publishing the programme of events on the website so please keep your eye on that.

Finally I would also like to thank on your behalf Mike,Mark,Sue Louise,Lynn,Ian,Peter,Shane and all the teams behind the scenes that make this all happen.....if you have a moment you should say thank you to them in person....that would make a difference....try it !

I hope everybody enjoys a well earned rest during the Summer especially our great players and coaches and we look forward to next season for another cracking year.

Good luck to you and your families.

Best Regards

Andrew Carney