Over 100 Wimbledon supporters attended the annual Volunteers’ Away Day on Saturday in an event that summed up what the club is all about.
Match day stewards, programme sellers, turnstile operators, Golden Goal sellers, and stadium clean-up volunteers were among those in attendance for the trip to Oxford United.
Thanks to generous sponsorship by Cherry Red Records, volunteers were treated to a pre-match meal at The Oxfordshire in Thame, free coach travel, and free tickets to the game at the Kassam Stadium.
Erik Samuelson, who recently retired as Chief Executive, was given a warm welcome by volunteers and was thanked for all his efforts over the years by Mark Davis, Chair of the Dons Trust.
Club Vice President Iain McNay, who is founder of Cherry Red Records, also gave a speech and he spoke passionately about the special feeling that volunteers help to create on match days.
“I don’t do it for business reasons as it doesn’t necessarily sell more records, but I love the fact that we are connected with AFC Wimbledon," said Iain. As I said in my speech, I bring guests along to matches and they all get it: this club is something different because it’s owned by the fans and there are so many volunteers. There is a different mindset. When you go to the majority of football grounds it’s mostly people paid to do jobs and that’s the limitation. Here it is without limitation and the feel that volunteers have for the club is reflected on a match day.”
Look out in the Wycombe match day programme for a more extensive article and pictures from the day.
Pic credit: Dennis Goodwin, Pro Sports Images.