It was a historic evening at Wednesday’s Goulburn Valley League annual general meeting.
On a night that the league announced an operating profit — the first in more than five years — it also elected three new members to its board.
Five nominees put their name forward for the three vacancies up for grabs which was followed by a vote of club members.
Stacey Cole, Nicole Miller and Andrea Pogue were voted on to the Goulburn Valley League board — marking the first time that more than 50 per cent of the board is comprised of females since the football and netball entities merged.
The three newly-elected officials replace the outgoing Freddo McMahon, Mick Williams and Anthony Putt — with the latter resigning during the season.
McMahon and Williams retired.
Cole, Pogue and Miller now join forces with league chair Jacqui Hudgson, deputy chair Peter Foott, Peter Cardamone and John Byrnes.
Hudgson thanked the departing trio’s contributions, while she welcomed Cole, Miller and Pogue.
“We welcome the incoming board members with each of them bringing a wealth of experience and a fantastic skill set to the board and, I, along with the rest of the board, look forward to working with them as we continue the great work of the GVL,” Hudgson said.
“Our vision for the GVL is significant and our goals are diverse. They allow us to navigate our collective short-term challenges while creating a foundation for long-term success.
“The new-look GVL board looks forward to working alongside our member clubs to ensure this long-term success.
“I’d like to thank Anthony, Mick and Freddo. Anthony was a great contributor to the board during his tenure. A special thank you to Freddo and Mick, who have been board members for many years and have contributed to the league for many more years.
“Their knowledge about the league is second to none and, while they are no longer board members, we know we will still be able to work with them in various capacities.
“The three outgoing board members’ contribution to the board and the league has been invaluable.”
Although the election of the three board members dominated the evening, the announcement of a profit for the 2022-23 season also headlined the AGM.
Hudgson announced a nett profit of $26,257 — a turnaround of $72,225 from last year’s $45,968 deficit.
The league attributed the profit to a variety of factors.
Its revenue increased by $54,081 — headlined by an increase in sponsorship ($9520) — interleague costs were down on the previous year due to not hosting and its finals catering rights amounted to $17,281 — which was not charged for the 2022 season.
However, the league’s revenue, which amounted to $655,043, was also beefed up by netball affiliation (up $24,000 on 2022) and club fines ($13,410) which was up from its $1780 figure in 2022.