Newly-appointed Chief Executive Officer Mike Palmer was officially introduced to the Southern Football Netball League community at yesterday's inaugural SFNL Club Conference at Atura Dandenong.
Palmer, who joins the League from Football Federal Tasmania, said he thoroughly enjoyed yesterday's event and saw it as a terrific opportunity to meet SFNL Clubs and stakeholders, with whom he is looking forward to working collaboratively throughout the season.
"Yesterday's event was a great initiative in preparation for the forthcoming season, and a fantastic opportunity for positive engagement and collaboration with SFNL Clubs," Palmer said.
"From a personal perspective, I am thrilled to be back in Victoria and back working in football, although this is my first experience with netball. But I am very excited to join the Southern Football Netball League and I look forward to working closely with the admin team and SFNL clubs to help create positive community engagement and enhanced participation."
In addition to the introduction of the League's new Chief Executive, the SFNL Club Conference also served as a valuable education session for Member Clubs.
The morning session saw clubs work collaboratively to address some of their key concerns, including volunteer management, junior to senior player transition and financial viability, and brainstorm strategies to mitigate them. Facilitated by Terry Dillon, the overall focus of the session was to provide clubs with the tools to ensure their long-term health and sustainability.
Clubs then heard from leading industry figures and League stakeholders on several key club development topics, including healthy club culture, facilities, governance and AFL Victoria's new FDM model. In addition, St Kilda Football Club CEO Matt Finnis took some time to provide an update on the Linton Street Redevelopment and what the new shared facility means for the SFNL and its clubs.
SFNL General Manager - Operations David Jennings said the Club Conference, which replaces the previous Presidents and Secretaries Meeting, was an important part of the SFNL's overall strategy to provide support and education to clubs to ensure their long-term growth and stability.
"The Club Conference is a new initiative of the League as we want to position ourselves as a facilitator of learning and to provide collaborative opportunities for Member Clubs to contribute to that," Jennings said.
"The Club Conference is the start of the conversation in which the League will look to continue throughout 2018 and beyond. Feedback received from Member Clubs has been incredibly positive.
"As part of our strategic plan, we are committed to delivering further working sessions with clubs this year."
