Clubhouse Development Update June 2015

Dear Old Wimbledonians,

I was pleased to announce at our recent AGM that the fund-raising for our planned development of the OWA Clubhouse in Coombe Lane is now under way. We have successfully launched our “Buy a Brick” campaign and the first of our fundraising events took place in May. I am delighted to say that this was organised and supported by ALL the sporting sections, junior and senior, and augurs well for the future.

What has not been so successful, however, has been the response to my regular appeals for people to come forward and direct significant parts of our overall development project. While I am immensely grateful for the various offers of support in ancillary roles, I am still some way away from filling those major organisational posts which I believe to be fundamental to the overall success of the project.

I have in mind the following structure which, in this or a modified form, I would like to put in place in order to ensure further progress in this hugely important venture. Please note that this by no means a definitive structure and will be flexible to change according to our particular needs.

I would now like to elaborate further on the above.

  • SPONSORThe whole development project has been sponsored by the OWA through its agreement to proceed by the membership at the last 2 AGMs and at a well-attended project announcement meeting. The Chairman and OWA Committee have already considered the desirability and feasibility of the project and will continue to carry out its due diligence and governance functions. The Chairman will act as figurehead for the duration of the project.
  • PROJECT DIRECTORThe role of the Project Director (which could be a shared role) is to take responsibility for achieving the project’s overall objectives and leading the project team. From the Project Director(s) we could expect a detailed plan of action, plus the ability to motivate, communicate and monitor the project’s progress.
  • KEY TEAM LEADERSEach of the sub-sections outlined above will need a team leader to identify key tasks and key personnel. These people will provide the breadth of knowledge needed, add technical expertise when required and will make a major contribution to the overall planning of the project.
  • TEAM MEMBERSThese will be asked to fulfil specific roles in specific parts of the overall project. The amount of time and expertise required in fulfilling these roles will vary significantly and can also be job-shared.
  • STAKEHOLDERSAny person or group (eg Sports Section/School/Social Group/Neighbour) who is going to be affected by the outcome of this project. Consultation is essential with such individuals / groups to achieve the most desirable outcome for the project.

As you can see from the above brief outline, there are plenty of areas to be filled, with varying degrees of responsibility, time and commitment. In an ideal world all of these places would be filled with unpaid volunteers, who would be representative of all the groups currently using the Clubhouse. Thankfully, a number of people have already come forward to offer help in a variety of ways but, this being the real world, some form of professional help may well be required to ultimately fulfil our objectives.

As Chairman, my first objective is to fill the senior positions of Project Director and Key Team Leaders. If you feel you are capable of filling (or sharing) one of these positions please contact me on giving me some details on who you are and what you have to offer. I will be pleased to get back to you and discuss further.

Having assembled this senior team, I would then like to hold a structured project definitionsession with them on either Saturday 11th or Saturday 18th July. I have arranged to take a room at Wimbledon College for the whole afternoon and, with the senior team, thrash out such things as our project purpose and objectives, identification of key tasks, personnel, activities and resources.

So, to be absolutely clear, I am looking for volunteers to fulfil the roles of Project Director and Key Team Leaders for the Finance, Planning & Construction, Marketing & Communications and Fund-Raising sub-committees.

Please give some serious thought to what you can offer the OWA and feel free to contact me to discuss whatever key role you hope to play.

My very best wishes,

Graham Turner

Chairman, OWA