As 2023 comes to a close, TAAFC last night had our Annual General Meeting where some changes to club leadership were made official. After leading the club for 5 seasons, last night’s meeting saw Gerard Arangio step down as President of the club. As part of a succession plan outlined at last years AGM, the club sees Ryan Van Beek ascend to the role having served as Vice President throughout 2023.
“It was always the plan, to hand it over this year” Arangio said of the move. “Taking over from Andrew Edwards at the end of the 2018 season, really not knowing what I was saying yes to, I just wanted to leave the club in a better place for the next person to succeed with. I feel like I’ve done that.” The things he was most proud of in his time leading the club included:
- Bringing in a women’s team,
- The upgrade of the lights & first night games
- The upgrading of the goalposts
- Securing the services of Adam Pickering and seeing the A Grade side back up the top
“I’ve had a great time and for sure I’ll miss it. It’s no secret I wanted to win the Sandover Shield this season, it would have been a fairytale finish however it wasn’t to be. Hopefully it can be a fairytale start for Beeka!”
The man whom he hands the job over to – Ryan Van Beek – is no stranger to the club committee, having been Vice President this season and Treasurer for the two seasons prior to that. When asked how he felt about taking the role, Van Beek said “confident and excited, the club is in a really strong position thanks to Gerard’s leadership over the last 5 years. I’m really comfortable that the people involved with the club will make my job easy and ensure we continue on an upward trajectory”.
With lots to look forward to, Van Beek said was just wanting to continue the good work of those before him & help the club continue to grow. “The sky is the limit and we have so much scope to improve and build. I would love to see the expansion and growth of our women’s program”.
In addition to the change in President, it was also announced that club stalwart Jason Ogg will assume the role of Vice President after also being elected at last nights AGM.