First of all I would like to pay tribute to my predecessor Phil Mooney and his 2 main cohorts Bob Bracey and Andrew Morten , who together founded GXFFC and gave it such a strong start in life by the time I took on the Chairmanship in November 2005. Secondly I would like to thank and pay tribute to the members of the Club’s Executive Committee without whose effort, enthusiasm, hard work and invaluable support the Club’s excellent start could not have been consolidated.

The past 18 months has seen continued progress on and off the field. We now have 11 squads from age 6 to age 18, a floodlit Training Area, a new website and playing pitches at both Fulmer and Gerrards Cross. The excellent Pavilion at Fulmer sees – more often than not – a Tea and Coffee Bar operating on Sunday mornings during the Season together with a number of Social Events throughout the year.

We have registered as a Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) for charitable purposes and our first claim for Tax Relief on Gift Aid donations has been recently despatched to the Tax Office.

Our teams are becoming increasingly successful on the Field and the current Under 15’s have narrowly missed out on silverware in successive seasons. The current Under 14’s have the distinction of bringing home the first ever trophy to the Club – winning their league this year. We also have boys playing representative football.

However I think the biggest tribute to the efforts made by everyone concerned with the Club – players, parents, supporters and Committee Members is the award by the Football Association of their F.A.Charter Standard in 2006 which was presented to us just 10 days or so ago at the Reading v. Fulham Premier League Game at the Majedski Stadium. Fittingly Mark Hughes, our Treasurer, was present with other representatives of the Club to receive the award as he had done so much to co-ordinate all that was involved in the achievement.

We look forward to the future with confidence. We have excellent facilities, a flourishing membership base, very sound finances and the support of the local Community – especially Fulmer Parish Council, the Fulmer Sports and Community Association and Gerrards Cross Parish Council. We have a fantastic Committee and enthusiastic Team Representatives for every age group.
We have the prospect of additional car parking facilities and the possibility of an artificial all-weather Training surface on the current Tennis Courts.

I believe all those involved in the Club should be very proud of the achievements to date and our task now is to take it forward from strength to strength. I believe we need help to do this as in common with so many amateur clubs we are dependent on the industry of a relatively small volunteer base. We particularly need a Press Officer to join our Committee and over time we will need fresh faces in other roles too.

We cannot expect this Committee to go on forever – others have to step forward not only to prevent burn out in the current team but also to bring in new and fresh thinking. The Committee is already charged with finding their own successor before they eventually step down and I really believe this is essential to ensure the orderly and continued running of the Club in a manner befitting its current position.

Thank you again for your support and I am delighted to say that all the current officers of the Club have agreed to put their names forward for re-election which I heartily endorse.

Tony Davidson

Chairman

26/4/07