2022-23 Message from
Club President Joel Peterson
EVERGREENS CLUB PRESIDENT JOEL PETERSON
Evergreens Rugby Club
State of the Onion Address
Evergreens and friends,
News update:
We are excited to announce that the Evergreens are going to Japan in 2024! Wait, wait, let the crowds calm down! It is true, the Evergreens loved the last tour so much we decided to plan another post-haste and the basic overall plan of the tour is being put together. While we do not have an itinerary or pricing yet, an estimate of $3600 gets you a seat on the thrill of your life! We have people signed up already, so if you are interested, contact the club hastily!
I am encouraged by the growth of our rugby club in the last couple of years. Wednesday night attendance continues to grow and we’ve used this regular game of touch to bring in new members. There are actually very few Old Boys rugby clubs that run as consistently as we do, never missing a week. This year we ran during rain, ice, and even snow plus mud and occasionally even sunshine! Kudos to this hearty bunch of guys. In fact, one of our largest touch rugby turnouts this year was on Valentine’s Day, which may be more a statement about our relationship with our wives or girlfriends (or wives and girlfriends) but that’s a story for another day.
We just returned from a very successful tour of Spain and Portugal in October 2022:
The club took a very excited group of 33 people and about 25 players to the Iberian region. This tour would not have been possible without the hard work of many people chief among them tour manager Barry Magrill. He put together an awesome itinerary and booked us into the most excellent hotels, bars, pubs, shows, royal palaces, and more. Many thanks also to Brett Hay for his role as tour captain and providing valuable seasoned advice to Barry. For 14 days we ate nothing but meat, seafood, cheese, and tapas! We played 2 games of rugby and drank the countries out of booze which makes that an pretty awesome tour. Fundraising by a host of club members helped the club immensely and gave us a float of cash to provide some unique experiences. At last count over $6000 was raised by the club towards the tour. That’s pretty impressive. This was only possible because of our dedicated club members turning up regularly and participating in the fundraising. Due to the wild success of the tour plans are underway for our next tour already. Stay tuned and start preparing your liver!
We continue to grapple with numbers for some games on some Sundays, but this year we filled in for other clubs more often than ever before. This has really improved the unity of our league, broke down the clan mentalities out there, and has given us the opportunity to learn from players and clubs other than our own. We are always looking for new members and welcome anyone who enjoys the game of rugby to come and see what we have to offer. If you can actually play the game it is a bonus!
We held some great events this year including our world famous chili contest and as of my writing this message, preparations are underway for our annual Christmas dinner prepared by a flotilla of members lovingly assembling and cooking a delicious array of holiday treats!
None of these events would be possible without stellar volunteers, to which I owe a debt of gratitude. Brett "B2" Smith as club captain. Steve Quinn as quartermaster with assistance from Tere Blake. Tony Gillis as Pioneer Representative and procurer of odds and sods. Brett Hay as Scheduler and CMRU Rep. Damien Pym as Social Coordinator. Paddy O'Gorman as Director of Player Development. Tom O'Sullivan and Julie O'Conner as Social Media Coordinators. Plus all the other volunteers that cook, clean up, and prepare the field and any other job that is required. It truly takes a team to make an effort! I thank everyone who steps forward to help the club in this manner!
The organization of the club would not be possible without a fantastic executive the includes Scott Suffolk (VP and secretary) and Chris Mant (Treasurer). Special thanks to my past president Barry Magrill whose knowledge of the club and its history has been a great source of guidance for me.
Evergreens Rugby is a great club. Open, welcoming, and fun. The social side of our club outshines our considerable skill on the field. I look forward to building this club with you. Going forward there’s an effort to improve our field play which is really exciting.
We are here and we are thriving. See you on the field!
Joel
November 2022
State of the Onion Address
Evergreens and friends,
News update:
We are excited to announce that the Evergreens are going to Japan in 2024! Wait, wait, let the crowds calm down! It is true, the Evergreens loved the last tour so much we decided to plan another post-haste and the basic overall plan of the tour is being put together. While we do not have an itinerary or pricing yet, an estimate of $3600 gets you a seat on the thrill of your life! We have people signed up already, so if you are interested, contact the club hastily!
I am encouraged by the growth of our rugby club in the last couple of years. Wednesday night attendance continues to grow and we’ve used this regular game of touch to bring in new members. There are actually very few Old Boys rugby clubs that run as consistently as we do, never missing a week. This year we ran during rain, ice, and even snow plus mud and occasionally even sunshine! Kudos to this hearty bunch of guys. In fact, one of our largest touch rugby turnouts this year was on Valentine’s Day, which may be more a statement about our relationship with our wives or girlfriends (or wives and girlfriends) but that’s a story for another day.
We just returned from a very successful tour of Spain and Portugal in October 2022:
The club took a very excited group of 33 people and about 25 players to the Iberian region. This tour would not have been possible without the hard work of many people chief among them tour manager Barry Magrill. He put together an awesome itinerary and booked us into the most excellent hotels, bars, pubs, shows, royal palaces, and more. Many thanks also to Brett Hay for his role as tour captain and providing valuable seasoned advice to Barry. For 14 days we ate nothing but meat, seafood, cheese, and tapas! We played 2 games of rugby and drank the countries out of booze which makes that an pretty awesome tour. Fundraising by a host of club members helped the club immensely and gave us a float of cash to provide some unique experiences. At last count over $6000 was raised by the club towards the tour. That’s pretty impressive. This was only possible because of our dedicated club members turning up regularly and participating in the fundraising. Due to the wild success of the tour plans are underway for our next tour already. Stay tuned and start preparing your liver!
We continue to grapple with numbers for some games on some Sundays, but this year we filled in for other clubs more often than ever before. This has really improved the unity of our league, broke down the clan mentalities out there, and has given us the opportunity to learn from players and clubs other than our own. We are always looking for new members and welcome anyone who enjoys the game of rugby to come and see what we have to offer. If you can actually play the game it is a bonus!
We held some great events this year including our world famous chili contest and as of my writing this message, preparations are underway for our annual Christmas dinner prepared by a flotilla of members lovingly assembling and cooking a delicious array of holiday treats!
None of these events would be possible without stellar volunteers, to which I owe a debt of gratitude. Brett "B2" Smith as club captain. Steve Quinn as quartermaster with assistance from Tere Blake. Tony Gillis as Pioneer Representative and procurer of odds and sods. Brett Hay as Scheduler and CMRU Rep. Damien Pym as Social Coordinator. Paddy O'Gorman as Director of Player Development. Tom O'Sullivan and Julie O'Conner as Social Media Coordinators. Plus all the other volunteers that cook, clean up, and prepare the field and any other job that is required. It truly takes a team to make an effort! I thank everyone who steps forward to help the club in this manner!
The organization of the club would not be possible without a fantastic executive the includes Scott Suffolk (VP and secretary) and Chris Mant (Treasurer). Special thanks to my past president Barry Magrill whose knowledge of the club and its history has been a great source of guidance for me.
Evergreens Rugby is a great club. Open, welcoming, and fun. The social side of our club outshines our considerable skill on the field. I look forward to building this club with you. Going forward there’s an effort to improve our field play which is really exciting.
We are here and we are thriving. See you on the field!
Joel
November 2022
