Club History

MALVERN MARLINS HISTORY – THE FIRST DECADE (1990-1999)

The History of the Malvern Marlins (1.)

By John O’Dowd

The Malvern Marlins. What a terrific story, and it is my privilege to tell it to you. How did it begin? Patrick Galvin has told you about my introduction to swimming in early 1989. It was 4 laps of the outdoor pool at Harold Holt and collapse in the early stages, but improvement eventually came as I continued with stroke correction classes.

The first I heard about Masters Swimming, or AUSSI as it was commonly known, was from a lady who is present here tonight and I am thrilled that she is. Her name is Di Bockish. Di approached me with the idea of an AUSSI Club at Harold Holt where she worked at the Swim School. She knew someone else was also interested in an AUSSI Club, so we got together. He is here tonight. His name is Barry Thomas and I am thrilled that he is able to come along. We obtained the “how to make an AUSSI Club instruction box” yes, box and tried to absorb all about Aerobic points, Age Groups, Top Ten, National & State Championships and so on.

Being diligent people, we tossed the box aside and called a meeting. This took place in March 1990. The meeting was held at the Harold Holt Pool and was attended by Vera Guild, (now 89 years), Helen Jackson, (who did rush off and join Powerpoints but has seen the light and has returned to the fold), Ross Cochrane, the McNeill sisters, Barry Thomas and myself. Eventually, our first committee was formed comprising Ian Dear Secretary, Margot Smith Treasurer, Sue Dimmick Public Relations, Andrea McNeill Captain; and David Tolman Recorder with myself as President.

If I have left anyone off this Committee I apologise, as Club records were not a high priority in these early years. We registered with AUSSI Vic Branch and the paperwork started to flow. We registered members and the Name Malvern Marlins was agreed to, although we could have been the Glen Iris Gropers. With the cooperation of the pool management, lane space was agreed upon. Sessions were scheduled and we were off and swimming. Additional members joined and we started to hear things about competition – all this training had to lead to something.

The first competitive outing of the Marlins was at the Gippsland Flippers Interclub. A small group attended and it was on this occasion that we discovered we had a real swimmer, not just a lap swimmer like the majority of the members. I would like you to acknowledge Andrea McNeill as our first ever point scorer. We didn’t quite understand the procedures of nominated times so Andrea was entered into the slowest heat of the 100 backstroke. Her best efforts to have it changed were met with “don’t worry dear, you’ll be OK”.

As Andrea finished her race, the other swimmers were still to complete their first half of the race. In her following events the officials agreed to Andrea’s request to be reseeded. The Marlins had their first points on the board. Little did we know where it would lead to 10 years later. Our first State Title was at the State Swim Centre in August 1990 and our numbers had steadily grown with the addition of some quality swimmers. I remember walking in that day feeling nervous, apprehensive, not knowing what to do or where to go.

I recall Ross Cochrane telling me he was so nervous when he stood on those rather elevated starting blocks, his legs were shaking so much he almost fell in. Andrea had been doing some recruiting and we had signed up a young fellow called Guy Farrow. She made comment that he could swim a bit! Guy set World Records in his first swims for the Marlins. His 50m Breaststroke time of 28.81 still stands (2.) and his 100 IM record of 57.70 stood for many years. It’s not very often you see everyone standing and applauding but it happened then. Although we finished 11th on the day we had certainly made our mark.

We finished the year with a total of 28 members. From those original 28 members, I am pleased to say six of them were at the dinner. Barry Thomas and his younger brother Brian, Andrea and myself, plus two other people I would like to mention. Ian Dear and Julie Johnson have occupied various committee positions in the formative years of the Club and have been instrumental in putting the club in the strong position it is in today. The 1990/91 year saw a substantial growth in our membership and new sessions were added. Our late start time at Harold Holt meant a late finish.

We always had to wait for the triathletes to finish. After all, we were only swimmers – they were triathletes suitably kitted out with ponytails and heart rate monitors. We moved to other nights and they retired from the pool every winter. I must point out that nearly all of the coaching was undertaken by Barry Thomas. On cold winter nights the job of pulling on the pool covers with freezing hands was done week in, week out by Barry. All coaching was voluntary as it still is today, following the precedence set by Barry.

In the 1990/91 year, we registered 77 members, our largest ever intake and this put our membership to exactly 100. We have retained 14 members from the 90/91 year. We improved to 9th place at our first Long Course Champs and 3rd in the Short Course – our first ever top 3 finish. The after party was held at Leggett’s in Prahran and it was party time. I recall that we had some very attractive young ladies in our Club at the time and they certainly attracted plenty of attention from some of the Powerpoint Males – Could we recruit a few of these people? But nothing eventuated.

The 1991/92 year saw our membership increase to an incredible 130 members of which 70 were new. The Nationals were here in March 92 where we came 3rd and also 3rd in the State Championships. For many this was the first taste of competition, which has continued to the present day. In April 1992 we started the Korowa morning sessions and that year we also changed our club logo. We held our inaugural Inter-Club in November 92 which attracted 128 competitors.

It is interesting to note that the club only had 35% female membership, compared to 55% today. 1992/93 year was different as the Long Course Championships were held outside the metropolitan area at Warnambool. Forty-four Marlins participated. We were pushed back to 4 th position overall as Warnambool Whales fields an extremely large team. We gained some revenge at the Short Course with our best result ever – second.

By now our squad of swimmers were coming away from each event with substantial state and national records. An encouraging sign and a measure of the standard of coaching within the club: Our Annual Dinner Dance and Presentation Nights continued to be well attended by Club Members. These nights were well organised at a variety of venues under the guidance of our hardworking social committee, in recent years Glenda Kerridge & Sue Murray have worked hard in this area. This year our membership climbed again to 152 members.

1993/94 year saw the membership peak at 159 members, so it was no surprise to have 82 competitors enter for the Long Course. Having set our sights at perhaps attaining No. 1 spot we were disappointed to finish third. On the plus side we had a substantial number of first time competitors. The Long Course championships were held on Saturday and Sunday giving competitors 5 swims plus a full complement of relay events. In recent years this has now been reduced to one day, which gives most of us more family time! Peter Rainey headed off to Canada for the Masters Swimming Championships in Montreal, where there was a total of 4000 entries.

Peter came home sporting 2 medals from this meet. This was also the year that we added aqua to our Club Colours. Over the next two years the Club reduced in size to the point that at the end of 1997 we were back to 91 members. However, we were still a force to be reckoned with both in the pool and at the many open water swims during the summer, with Pt. Lonsdale and Lorne being the most popular with the club members. We also continued to assist the management of Harold Holt with the running of the 1km Swim.

The Short Course championships in 1997 was held for the first time at the Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre, a vast improvement on the old State Swim Centre. In 1998/99 our re-registrations from the previous years jumped to 91% and 80% respectively. Was this a sign of good things to come? Our membership was on the up to the point that 1998 saw us with 107 members. The word must have been out that the Malvern Marlins was the club to swim with because in 1999, 11 AUSSI members transferred to the Marlins, predominantly from interstate.

The numbers attending training sessions had increased dramatically and we certainly had a lot of depth amongst our swimmers. The 1999 Long Course saw the culmination of many years of hard work. Finally we attained our first ever first place at the State Championships. We followed this up with another success at the Short Course and again in 2000 at the Long Course. We certainly have come a long way since our first competition at the Gippsland Flippers to the point that the Club now has one World Record, 17 National and 100 individual state records plus 6 state and 2 national relay records.

Of these records, Patrick Devine holds 23, Pat Galvin 14, Gerry Tucker 14, Jan Jeffery 12, Peter Rainey 6, Vera Guild 4 and Steve Selig 6. Our participation in the Aerobic Competition (3.) has grown steadily. Last year we finished 10th Nationally & 2nd in Victoria behind Doncaster. This has been driven in recent years by Gerry Tucker and before him Peter Niere and has become a significant aspect of our Club. There are so many characters I could talk about. I’ve lost track of the number of babies born over the years (there must be something in the water at Harry’s because there is nearly always someone pregnant), the number of romances, weddings and so it goes on. However, the Club is made up of swimmers of all capabilities.

We have serious competitors, not so serious competitors, fitness swimmers and casual swimmers. We have always had strong leadership and willing committee members. We also have people who are happy to help when asked. Such a mixture of abilities, personalities, egos and just nice people to be with has made us the Malvern Marlins, the successful Club we are today. And that is our story! * Source: Laptalk May 2000 – its publishing presumably followed a speech given at the 10th Anniversary dinner. Rob Wilson (Historian) 1. RW – the first decade. 2. RW – Guy’s 50m breaststroke record was broken in October 1999 3. RW – now Endurance 1000 MALVERN

MARLINS HISTORY - THE SECOND DECADE (2000-2009)

By Beth Ashwood

When I joined the Marlins in 1999, Megan Klemm and Wayne Woods were Captains, Deryn Thomas was President and we swam on Wednesday nights in the balmy environs of Korowa’s indoor pool with frequent visits to the Venezia Pizza Bar afterwards. The Marlins were about to enter a “golden” era (no thanks to me!) in AUSSI Masters Victoria. The first competition I attended (time keeping only) we won. I don’t think I really appreciated the significance of that win, being so new to Masters Swimming. I had previously been quite unaware that such competitions even existed (you mean these old blokes actually race?).

Our continued success has been well documented and it wasn’t until 2008 that a rejuvenated Powerpoints, who recruited well credentialed swimmers, were able to knock us off our pedestal in either Long or Short Course competitions. The Marlins had the strength of very high rates of participation in competitions thanks to the hard work of captains and coaches. We may not have all been super-fast but we were able to swamp the opposition with the sheer weight of numbers. We did of course have many winners and record breakers but on any day, anyone could do a ’Steven Bradbury’.

In 2001, Victoria hosted the National Swim and the Marlins were the first placed club overall— our only victory at the National Swim. We were second in 2008 (also in Melbourne) and fifth in Perth in 2003. Club performance at the National Swim is of course very dependent on the number of swimmers able to attend. The Marlins won relay trophies in the 80 -119 and 120 -159 age groups in 2001 and then in the 240-279 age group in 2007 and 2008.

In 2007 Jan Jeffrey was named female swimmer of the meet at the National Swim in Darwin. In 2008, Patrick Galvin was awarded The National Heart Foundation Trophy. This is awarded by the host branch to a National Swim participant who has shown significant progress over the past 12 months, diligent attendance at training sessions and a willingness to help others improve their fitness. In 2002 Melbourne hosted the World Masters Games, a huge multi-sport event complete with Opening and Closing Ceremonies and free public transport (wow!) and a chance to compete on a world stage.

Plenty of Marlins partook of what might be a once in a lifetime opportunity to get a world ranking! Small contingents of Marlins have also competed at the FINA Masters World Championships in New Zealand, Italy, USA and Perth, Australia. Pat Galvin has won one gold medal in FINA World Competition (the first Marlin to win at this level) and several minor medals. Jan Jeffrey has also won minor medals. When I started out with the Marlins, competitions days were run by all the clubs on a rotating basis. Now it seems there is a small group of tireless volunteers that do most of the work (some of them don’t even swim!).

Many of the officials on deck at every meet are Marlins and without them, competitions couldn’t be held. Julie Johnson was awarded Victorian Official of the year in 2006 and Deryn Thomas in 2007 and 2009. The Marlins has perhaps uniquely, a whole team of volunteer coaches, organised by a Session Director. Many of these coaches have attained their Level 1M qualification in the past few years and in 2004 Andrea McNeil was awarded Victorian coach of the year. Patrick Devine won this same award in 2008 and Jan Jeffrey in 2009.

In 2008 Pat Devine was also named National Coach of the year—an honour he felt should be shared with his entire coaching team! Three Marlins have also served as State Director of Coaching: Grant Watson in 2000 and 2001, Ian Dear, resplendent in all white, in 2002-2003 and Bruce Allender (a quiet achiever!) from 2007 to the present time. LapTalk used to be a simple black and white newsletter that arrived by snail mail. During the Presidency of Catherine Curry Hyde we went electronic and now can access each bumper issue, complete with colour photos on our website. Some of us may have kicked and struggled a bit but we were dragged into the 21st century, at least electronically!

Roger Hogg first developed the website in 1999 and Frank Braun completely redeveloped it in 2004, giving us what we have today. Frank also generously donated his skills and lots of his time to develop the National AUSSI website. As I mentioned in my opening sentence, Megan Klemm was Club Captain when I first joined the club. Sadly, she passed away in 2002 from cancer. Megan was a highly intelligent lady, a wonderful swimmer and a great team member. She would have turned 50 this year. A Relay named in her honour is swum at our Interclub each year.

Another sad loss occurred in March 2009 when Pat Wuchatsch died. Pat had been a regular swimmer for many years until her health prevented it. She and her husband George, a proud ‘Hooked Marlin’, gave much to the club and Pat is sadly missed, whilst George keeps in touch at morning coffee occasionally. There is much more to the Marlins than just swimming and I believe one of the many strengths of the club lay in its wonderful friendly and social atmosphere, its nurturing of swimmers of all abilities and its encouragement of the principles of AUSSI (now Masters Swimming Australia) - fun, fitness and friendship.

We are a group of people from all many walks in life with a common interest in swimming. Other parts of life may be busy or downright messy but the Marlins can provide an escape and someone to talk to when you need it. There is a whole social history that could be written (but should it be?). Maybe we could do that for the 30 year anniversary, if we can remember any of it! I would like to thank all those people that helped me with my research. There is so much information out there one could produce an Encyclopaedia but I think its commercial value would be limited!

MALVERN MARLINS HISTORY - THE THIRD DECADE (2010-2019)

By Daphne Briggs

INTRODUCTION

In making notes for the ‘third decade of Marlins history’, it was a relief to find that John O’Dowd and Beth Ashwood had already produced summaries of the first twenty years, and that spreadsheets (recorded by Andrea McNeil and Rob Wilson) were comprehensive. Thanks to you all. The 2010s, on reflection, were a period of unprecedented change, growth and success for the club, not to mention a time of numerous cakes and suppers.

There is much to revisit, so please, make yourself comfortable and read on. HHSC The decade started with the outdoor pool at Harold Holt Swim Centre (HHSC) remaining closed for redevelopment works. (The anticipated eight week project, commenced in August 2009, ultimately kept us away for 68 weeks). Although grateful to have our sessions relocated to Prahran Aquatic Centre, attendances fell and membership numbers dropped to 125. Once back at HHSC however, the club rebounded and membership increased to a peak of 177 in 2017.

The club maintained its healthy relationship with HHSC staff throughout the decade; enjoying support re lane allocation requirements, and discounted centre products for members. The centre’s community event, ‘Take the Plunge’ (that the Marlins had long supported), was discontinued in 2014. COMMITTEE AND MEMBERS Presidents during the ten years were John Stanton, Rob Wilson, Katie Mee, John Cocks, Dan Wallace and Kathy Selig. All imparted great wisdom and care in steering the club, as well as skilfully chairing the monthly meetings (held at the homes of committee members).

In 2010, and again 2017-19, the committee successfully warded off potentially detrimental Lane Hire fees proposed by Stonnington Council, thus maintaining our long-held agreement of members paying their own pool entry fee. Volunteers remained the life-blood of the club. Committee, Sub-committee, Tin Duty, Coach and Official roles were all voluntary. This enabled the cost per coached session to remain at $3.00/$2.00 concession. In recognition of the value provided by our dedicated and hardy coaches, a more quantifiable system of compensation was implemented in 2012.

By 2013, the number of swims per year had risen well above 5000, and our lanes were often overcrowded. A second coached session was introduced at 7a.m. on Sunday mornings. ‘Marlins 10 Swim Passes’ also came into being, to reduce the related increase in coins handled by the Banking Officer. These blue paper cards included a free swim and could be paid for via EFT. Attendances continued growing and, in 2016, a further session was added, at 7a.m. on Saturday mornings, for a total of seven coached and one ‘Endurance’ session per week.

Free Birthday Swims were also introduced, adding new joy to getting older. In recognition of the changing times, the early part of the decade saw Club Policies and Procedures formalised and a club ‘Dropbox’ account set up to store important documents. Social Media platforms also rose in popularity, and the Marlins Facebook Group, started in 2009, became more widely used for communication. A club Instagram account was set up in 2016, and our website updated. ‘Laptalk’ (edited 2011-2018 by Ian Simpson and at the time receivable via email), was converted to a blog-style format that could be scrolled through on a smart phone.

Most members now competent on-line, the last printed edition of our monthly newsletter was sent out by Sue Boekel in 2019. Ian’s advertising background was also exploited to refresh our club logo in 2013, modernise the look of our Annual Report, update the club’s information brochure, and produce many social flyers. In addition, Ian designed the club’s Noticeboard at HHSC and our teardrop banner (promoting the club and providing a meeting spot for Marlins on the beach at Open Water events).

AGMs were held live at the Camberwell Uniting Church Hall, and included presentation of 10, 20 and 30 year service awards to members, and supper. Life Memberships during the club’s third decade, were awarded to Julie Johnson (2010), Patrick Devine and Joan Simpson (2013), Jan Jeffrey (2014), John Marshall and Susie Kempson (2015) and Beth Ashwood (2018). Patrick Devine, despite ill-health, continued offering CPR updates to coaches and members. Sadly, long term members Henry Ritterman (2010), Helen Jackson (2013) Tom Currie (2015), Serry Wolf (2017), Margaret Bell (2017) and Di Reidie (2019) all died.

CHARITY

The club’s commitment to charity however did continue, and our interclub raffle and fundraising swims each year resulted in generous donations to the Ardoch Youth Foundation and Swim Against Malaria. Marlins also supported the annual MS 24 Hour Megaswim in Fitzroy, our teams facilitated by Catherine Curry-Hyde, Mark Barry and later Allison Rochow.

COMPETITION

Advances in technology led to an on-line system replacing paper forms for competition entry, and ‘Clubs on Line’ replacing the previous membership registration system. MSV’s Dolphin semi-automated timing system was used for the first time at our Interclub in 2016. Race-suits became commonplace and strict rules evolved around what constituted a legal suit (no zips, clasps or full-length suits, and one suit only to be worn). Swimming Victoria and MSV established a closer working relationship, and a few members attended the first ‘combined meet’ in Echuca (2016). From 2017, MSV offered Backstroke Ledges for swimmers attempting records at State Meets.

WORLD RECORDS

On the world stage, the club’s third decade in Masters competition, commenced with the excitement of a World Record (WR), set by Patrick Devine, John Stanton, Gerry Tucker and Shane Hausler in the 240+ Mens 4x100m Medley Relay. Kirsten Cameron (a New Zealander swimming as a Marlin) followed in 2012, claiming two WRs in distance freestyle events, and in 2013 George Corones (a second claim Marlin from Queensland), set five. Jan Jeffrey and Patrick Galvin were on fire in the breaststroke events; Jan breaking seven WRs in two years (2015-16), and Pat setting five between 2013 and 2018. John Cocks broke the 80-84 Mens LC 400 IM WR in 2016.

Spectacularly, the decade was bookended with another Marlins Relay WR in 2019. This time the women triumphed; Pam Kempson, Leigh Rodgers, Pat Paker and Jan Jeffrey rewriting the record books in the 280+ Womens 4x200 Freestyle. Jan Jeffrey, Leigh Rodgers, Peter Couttie, Patrick Galvin, John Cocks and Gerry Tucker all claimed individual gold medals at FINA Masters World Championships in the 2010s. 

MSA NATIONALS 

Masters Swimming Australia (MSA) Nationals were in a different State each year; twenty to twenty-five Marlins regularly attending these multi-day meets. Having maintained a strangle hold on the 240+ Relay Trophy throughout the decade, the club capped off a stellar performance in Adelaide (2019), winning the 200+, 240+, 280+ and 320+ trophies. And, after being runners-up in 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016, Marlins that year also brought home the Founders Trophy (Highest Overall Point Score), for the first time since 2001. Leigh Rodgers was Female Swimmer of the Meet at Perth Nationals (2018).

MSV COMPETITION AND INTERCLUBS

Marlins competed successfully, both individually and as a club, at MSV Long and Short Course meets, and were encouraged to enter the State Relay Meet each year. With excellent participation rates, and Nicky Kerr masterminding relay team combinations, Marlins won the MSV State Relay Championships nine out of the ten years and showed just what the strength of numbers can do. The club continued hosting a Marlins Interclub annually (even in 2010, when it was held indoors at Monash Aquatic and Recreation Centre). Known for being a well-run meet with a substantial meal and great raffle prizes, our interclub attracted upwards of 100 swimmers most years.

Marlins also supported meets run by other clubs. In 2014, a trophy to mark the 50th anniversary of Patrick Devine’s 220 yard Individual Medley National Record was introduced, awarded to the swimmer at the Marlins Interclub whose LC 200m IM time comes closest to the National Record. NB. National and State records broken by club members over the ten years are too numerous to mention here, so if you’re interested in specifics, please go to the MSA/MSV ‘Results and Records’ tab via: www.mastersswimming.org.au

MSA REPRESENTATIVES

Gerry Tucker (2010-2019), Andrea McNeil (2017-2019+), and Susie Kempson (2014-2016) all served as Directors on the MSA National Board. Gerry was President (2017-19). Bruce Allender and John Marshall both had roles on National Committees. Bruce, having joined the Coaching Committee in 2010, went on to head it 2011-2019, and John served five years on the Technical Committee (2011-2012 as head). Gerry was awarded a very well-deserved MSA Life Membership in 2016, while Bruce received a 5 years Meritorious Service Award in 2015. Bruce was also MSA Volunteer of the Year in 2017.

MSV ACCOLADES

Susie Kempson was President of the MSV Board in 2017 and Katie Mee Vice President. Gerry Tucker (2011), Elana McNeil (2013) and Steve Bottomley (2014) were all MSV Coaches of the Year Jeff Green (2012), John Marshall (2015), and Kath Rogers (2017) were all MSV Officials of the Year. OTHER AWARDS AND MILESTONES Vorgee ‘Million Metre Awards’ went to Gerry Tucker (10 million in 2018), John Marshall (3 million in 2011, 4 million in 2019), and Peter Duggan (1 million metres in 2019). MSA’s Swim Series, instigated in 2015, encouraged members to compete interstate.

Pat Galvin, John Cocks (x3), Gerry Tucker, Mark Huggins, Pat Baker (x2), Jan Jeffrey, Leigh Rodgers, Sue Boekel (x2), Daphne Briggs (x2) and Nicky Kerr all racked up frequent flyer points and won their age-groups in this competition. Rod Watkins, after swimming the English Channel in 2018, went on to complete the 20 Bridges Manhattan Swim and Catalina Channel Swim in 2019 to achieve the prestigious ‘Triple Crown’ in Open Water Swimming. Cousins Travel’s ‘Great Victorian Swim Series’ was popular with members and many achieved podium finishes in open-water events; Jan Jeffrey in particular the standout here.

Anne Cresswell won the 2010 COTA (Council on the Aging) Award, Jan Jeffrey and Gerry Tucker finalists the same year. Jan Jeffrey was Masters Athlete of the Year at the 2011 Vicsport Awards, and Pat Galvin a Finalist in 2013. John Cocks won the 2016 Masters Sport Award. The club was a short-listed Finalist for Community Sporting Club of the Year at the 2015 Victorian Government Sport and Recreation Awards. Joan Simpson won the Vorgee Champion Volunteer Award in 2012, and Andrea McNeil, Daphne Briggs and Mark Huggins all received Higgins Community Service Awards Elana McNeil celebrated 20 years of weekly coaching for the club in 2013.

SOCIAL

Social activities remained an important feature of club operations, with Joan Simpson the mainstay in this department. As well as organising events, Joan produced countless sandwiches, muffins and birthday cakes for regulars. Any mention of cake after morning sessions would guarantee a crowd stayed on ‘for coffee and a chat’? The evening swimmers enjoyed regular pub nights at the Malvernvale Hotel, and honoured Elana’s coaching anniversary every year; Viki and Lauren Newton the cake master-chefs for these nights.

Annual presentation dinners were held at Georges’ Restaurant, Riversdale Golf Club and the Rosstown Hotel. The club’s 20 year Anniversary was celebrated at the Melbourne Rowing Club, and 25 Year Anniversary at Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club. The club’s annual ‘Pole-to-Pole’ swim and BBQ hosted by Ros and Patrick Devine continued at Bonbeach until 2013, and Sue and Peter Boekel established a Marlins’ Footy Tipping Competition in 2016. Recurring social activities included movies, bike rides, BBQs, Cup Day festivities and trivia nights.

Additional offerings came in the form of barefoot bowls, zoo-twilight concerts, stand-up paddle boarding, a retro fancy dress night, a karaoke night and a bushwalk in the Dandenongs. And from time to time, on Sunday mornings, Caroline Giles ran yoga sessions to help us recover after training. No matter what the occasion, John Stanton and/or Ian Simpson were on hand as our talented and trusted photographers. The decade concluded with the club looking forward to 2020 and a big year celebrating the club’s 30th Anniversary! ****