‘SHE’S ONE OF THE HARDEST WORKERS AT THE CLUB’
Profile of Jeanette Stratford
by Chris Knowles

That’s how Emley chairman John Moors described club volunteer Jeanette Stratford a few months ago. I managed to catch up with Jeannette for a chat about her involvement with the club and the recognition she justifiably received last season.

‘I used to watch Craig play and obviously ferry him around as was necessary!’, she explains, as I ask her how she became involved with Clarence. ‘It just grew from there really, especially when he started playing for the 2nd team and you took turns in doing the teas. You find yourself gradually getting much more involved and drawn into the set-up.

‘I’m much more involved now than I was at the start because before I was just another parent. I’m on the committee now and have been for three years or so and I’m also involved with the fundraising committee.’

Jeanette also explains that she is ‘loosely’ involved in the junior set-up in association with child welfare officer Sue Tedder and many others at the club. I asked Jeanette about her relationship with Sue and the role they play: ‘I’m meant to be her assistant actually! We’re supposed to be going on a course to be accredited in that line of work but they’re few and far between and we haven’t been available to take it yet.’

Currently, the Clubmark award is something which is a priority in the juniors’ calendar. Clubmark is an extremely important accreditation as it will pave the way for future sponsorship and funding. In order to achieve this status there is an awful lot of paperwork to be completed and so the whole process is one which consumes a great deal of time.

Last year, Jeanette was voted Emley’s ‘Club Person of the Year’, an annual award which is voted for by committee members in recognition for the effort put in by certain individuals. I asked Jeanette about this award and she admitted, ‘It was a total shock really! I just go about my committee job, getting involved and helping where I can, so it was very nice to be recognised for that.’ She continues: ‘I know my children have had hours of pleasure thanks to this club and you’ve got to put something back in so that the club can progress forward.’

Next season Emley need to capitalise on the progress they have made in the past few years and push on for the future. This view is something which Jeanette agrees with and she says: ‘I hope we can maintain what we’ve achieved so far. This season may prove to be more difficult with fundraising and we need to get on with it early to make the most of it.

‘Everyone at the club is wholeheartedly involved and wants to see the club doing well. I really hope the 1st team stay up and I would love to see the 2nds get promoted; obviously after what happened last year that would be great.’
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