NEWLY elected Kerang Turf Club president Darren Connelly is living up to his nickname, “Dasher”.
With less than two weeks until his first big event – the Boxing Day race meeting at Alexandra Park – Connelly has his sights firmly set on the future.
Connelly, previously the club’s vice-president, said he had a long list of changes he wanted to make to ease the workload on volunteers, boost member and volunteer numbers, and attract even bigger crowds to race days.
Former president Colleen Shay was elected vice-president at last month’s annual general meeting.
Connelly said the first step was to invest in money counting machines and introduce EFTPOS facilities.
The club received a grant earlier in the year to install a large permanent shade structure that would make it more pleasant for racegoers on very hot days, which have been common on Boxing Day.
The shade structure was due to be installed after the Easter race meeting.
“Down the track I’m hoping to get spray irrigation for the track and replace the toilet block behind the jockeys’ room,” he said.
“But we’ll only do that if we can afford to do it.”
Connelly was following in the steps of his late father Noel, a committee member for about 60 years who was awarded life membership.
“I’d been going over there with Dad since I was about six years old,” he said.
“And it was my Dad who got Colleen on the committee.
“My nickname’s Dasher. Everyone calls me Dasher and they’re starting to find out why. I like to get it done and get on to the next thing. I’ve never been one to sit around.
“Without Colleen now I’d be in a pickle. I come up with the ideas and she tries to implement it all. We’re a really good team.”
Connelly said he would be seeking feedback from racegoers at the Boxing Day meeting to see what further improvements could be made.
“It’s a learning curve but you’ve got to ask questions and find out what people think,” he said.
“I’m trying to make the committee’s lives easier, build an asset for the town and hopefully be able to give people a good experience.”
Shay’s 26 years of service to the club was recognised at the Country Racing Victoria Awards night in August, when she was presented with the Tony Shanahan award for services to country racing.
The December 26 race meeting will be the 20th sponsored by Autopro Kerang owners Bruce and Nola Wright.
