At the Reach warehouse in Abbotsford on the evening of 9 September 2008, a gathering of around 200 people took important steps towards securing the future of a new group.

The occasion?  The launch of Mates of Melbourne, or MoM.  Designed to fill the role of a business networking group, working to support the Melbourne Football Club against the background of the game, and drawing on the Club’s range of supporter groups, the new entity was revealed to the world after months of planning and activity. 

MC and host for the night was past player and MoM committee member Paul Hopgood.  The main address was delivered by David Neitz, who outlined the advantages of involvement in MoM, and the means of being connected.  Paul Wilson, responsible for constructing the sophisticated business networking website, explained the benefits available to members, given the capacity to network with each other while aiming to assist the Club in its activities and well-being.

In his address, Club President Jim Stynes highlighted the importance of the group, stating that while the Debt Demolition campaign has been – and remains – vital to secure the Club’s stability,  Mates of Melbourne and its associated activities provide one of the major roads to the Club’s future. 

The involvement of a variety of individuals with mixed sporting and/or business backgrounds is a feature of MoM.  Nowhere is this more apparent than in the inclusion of the likes of  John Trotter – long-time supporter, Coterie member and Victorian Managing Partner of accounting and consulting firm Deloitte, as well as foundation treasurer of MoM – and Matthew Franceschini – Co-Chairman of MoM, CEO of Entity Solutions, and a finalist in Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year awards for 2008.

They, like the past players who are working alongside them on MoM’s committee, have diversity of business experience, a love of the Club through ongoing involvement, and a strong belief in the future of the group revealed to the world on 9 September.  Fittingly, it was left to Chris Connolly to put the seal on the evening.  As he conveyed to all in the room, MoM is still evolving, but in that evolution, is inclusive, and has opened its arms to all parts of the Club.  It, and the Melbourne Football Club, are both set for the future.

For further information:
www.matesofmelbourne.com.au
www.debtdemolition.com.au

Thanks to beer sponsor – Matilda Bay
Thanks to wine sponsor – Tyrrell’s