Local Clubs Are There to Help Everyone in Times of Need

We regularly meet with local organisations and ensure we are best placed to know how to care for our community. We understand that clubs around the state are best placed to decide where funds should go and that’s why ClubGRANTS works so well.
It is very special to be able to say that I have been on both sides of experiencing the impact that clubs have on people and communities in need. I have been a club manager extending support to help others and I have also been on the receiving end in my own personal times of need.

We have received awards in both 2013 and 2024 for our Club’s work in the community following two separate tragedies and it is something that as the Secretary Manager of the Club I am extremely proud of. 

I wrote the award submissions for both 2013 and 2024 from the heart with the intent to convey that as a Club, we don’t just write somebody a cheque when they are in a time of need, we set out to provide for these people who are part of our community — people who we truly love and care for.

Both tragedies had a huge emotional impact on my staff, the Board and myself. We met with the families and assisted those who were coordinating fundraising to help the people affected. Helping people is what we are about and seeing improvement in people and their families is very humbling and rewarding.

Following a tragic accident in 2021 involving local teenager Hamish Cook, Crescent Head Country Club rallied the community, leading fundraising efforts that raised over $150,000 to support the Cook family. This spirit of solidarity continued with the unveiling of an inclusive mini-golf facility in 2023, with Hamish's involvement ensuring its status as Australia's best for disability access. This along with countless other community initiatives earnt us the Heart of the Community Award at the 2024 Clubs & Community Awards.

While the current Clubs & Community Awards structure only came into place in 2014, Crescent Head Country Club won the equivalent award in 2013 — which was then called Ambassador of the Year for Community Spirit. Our 2013 submission included how our Club responded after a tragic event where a gas bottle exploded at a camping ground injuring six people at Point Plomer near Crescent Head — leaving a six-year-old boy suffering horrific burns.

Throughout the years fundraising opportunities have been made possible through donations from not only our own local community but also the network of club suppliers showing their support, as well as football clubs donating autographed jerseys.

The love and support not only spans the community, it also bleeds into the team here at the Club — including myself.

I was unable to attend the 2013 awards presentation when we were victorious, as my wife and I suffered a life altering tragic loss prior to the evening — my Club supported me and ensured that I was able to put my family first.

In 2017, I was in a car accident where again I was completely taken care of by the staff and the Board who all helped me. Our Chairperson Pam Bryant was very understanding and compassionate as I had extensive leave to recover — which took a couple of years.

Winning Heart of the Community in 2024 with my wife by my side, as well as our Chairperson Pam there to accept the award with me, made me very emotional with events of the past 11 years flooding back to me.

The Crescent Head Country Club is very passionate about social inclusion, sustainability, education and helping others — these values shine through to the community. This award belongs to all of our staff, management, Board and members — Crescent Head Country Club the Heart of the Community!