Aycliffe Monthly #2 | Page 28

28 | www.aycliffetoday.co.uk AycliffeToday SPORT SPECIAL FEATURE THE VOLUNTARY LOT Steve Cunliffe (Secretary) Not the type who sits at a desk flicking through gossip magazines and answering cold-callers, Steve’s role demands an attention-to-detail unrivalled by anyone at the club. Steve signs and registers players, liaises with match officials, organises fixtures, keeps all of the club’s administration in check, designs, writes and prints the matchday programme and manages the fundraising Predictor each week. Then he turns his attentions to matchday tasks, providing team sheets and communicating with the media two of the major tasks at any football club. Steve has been with the club for over 10 years, and has seen and been a pivotal figure as the Newtonians have gone from strength to strength. “I remember when I first started,” says Steve. “There was more subs on the sidelines than fans. To see the club today from where it has come from, is truly remarkable.” Dan Lewis (General Manager) Mr Football, Dan is the man responsible for Newton Aycliffe’s latest development ‘The Soccer Factory,’ a multi-purpose indoor football arena due to open its doors on Aycliffe Business Park later this year. Dan has been with the club for almost two years, and has used his experiences and skills of working at high-profile organisations such as Durham University and Hartlepool United, to oversee and implement various strategic decisions which has steered the club in a new direction as it looks to sustain its position at the top table of the Ebac Northern League. Paul McGeary (Historian) Statistic-mad Paul, a Maths teacher no less, has been with the club for five years, since its inception into the Northern League. Previously the club’s Programme Editor and Website Manager, Paul won an unprecedented three ‘Northern League Programme of the Year’ awards, between 201012. Paul’s role has evolved in recent seasons, and he now looks after the historical records of the team, keeping everyone informed of who’s who and what’s what, via the club’s website and social media outlets.