GERRY SLADE 1984-2007

HONORARY LIFE MEMBER 2007

Soon after the club was incepted in 1983 a promising young sprinter and long jumper, Garry Slade,  joined the club. Along with that athlete came a parent , Gerry Slade.

As all good parents should, Gerry was very supportive of his sons athletic endeavours and eventually became involved with supporting the club in its activities, qualifying as a Field Official and helping with competitions.

In 1995 he took over the Mens Midland League team manager role from Mike Smith. Over 13 seasons athletes came and went, providing relegations and promotions along the way, but Gerry steadfastly continued to coerce athletes into competition , only leaving when the team had reached its highest ever position in the league.

Gerry also managed the Mens National Junior league team between 1997 and 2004 which included one year in the top Southern Premier League.

On the inaugural track meeting in 1989 Gerry organised the Festival Games and then continued organising the May Day Trophy meetings annually until 1997. Anyone with any experience of co-ordinating and managing all the various aspects of a large athletic meeting will understand the hard work that goes into that process.

In an effort to produce strong senior track & field teams Gerry suggested that a merger with Westbury Harriers should be investigated . The initial meetings hammered out the Partnership agreement that both clubs currently enjoy and the resulting structures for both clubs have increased the potential and opportunities for the athletics fraternity in the area.