Vote for Rob Lawford - Independent, Sport & Recreation

I have lived in Hawkinge with my wife and two children for 7 years and work in London as a senior transport manager.

Community Achievements:

Co founded Hawkinge Youth Football Club which now provides opportunities for over 230 local children and boasts over 40 volunteers. Played an integral part in securing over half a million pounds of ‘outside’ funding toward the new Community Sports Pavilion in Hawkinge.

Aims & Objectives:

·       To represent the new diverse community within Hawkinge.

·       To champion a fair, consistent and transparent approach to issues.

·       To be collaborative - working in partnership with local groups for the benefit of the community.

·       To be active - by ‘stepping up’ and making things happen.

·       To be accountable - taking personal responsibility for actions.

·       To be fair and consistent - being honest about decisions and consider other people’s viewpoint and needs.

·       To be direct - getting each task done as quickly as possible, by communicating clearly and not wasting time.

Steady progress is being made towards the building of the pavilion which is scheduled to be completed in April 2011. 

Here is a sneak preview of what is to come ...

Work on the new Pavilion has continued at great pace with the structure starting to take shape. The project continues to progress to target and we expect the building to be completed by May 2011.

The annual Kent FA Volunteer Workforce Awards ceremony took place at Princes Park in Dartford on Tuesday 5th October.

The awards, presented by McDonald's, honour volunteers from across Kent for the dedication they show in supporting grassroots football in the county.

Club Treasurer and former Secretary Jenny Davis received the prestigious award which was presented to her by former Chelsea defender and 2018 World Cup Bid Board member, Paul Elliott.

    click here to see full article on Kent FA website

The Pavilion took another giant step forward when contractor GSE started on site at the Parish Council Ground this week. To celebrate the milestone, HYFC players and coaches met with representatives from main sponsor, The De Haan Charitable Trust as well as Hawkinge Parish Council and GSE. The Football Foundation is also supporting the project, providing £250,000 of funding. The project is scheduled to run for 32 weeks and should be completed by the end of this season.

HAWKINGE YOUTH FC PRESENTATION DAY - 17TH JULY 2010

It is fast approaching HYFC's Annual Presentation day.  We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our players, coaches, managers, officials, volunteers, administrators, parents and supporters for their help during the season.

This year's Presentation Day is being held at the Hawkinge Community Centre, Heron Forstal Avenue, Hawkinge, CT18 7BP.

Players are to be awarded trophies ..........£2.00 on the door ......Doors open at 4.30pm, and the presentation is to begin at approximately 5.15pm. 

A Disco will follow the presentation ....with refreshments and a fully licensed bar.

We look forward to seeing you all there!

Kent FA Volunteer Work Force Award 2010

Congratulations to Jenny D!!...

HAWKINGE PAVILION PLANS APPROVED

Hawkinge Parish Council’s plan to build a new Football Pavilion for their site at the Parish Council Grounds took a significant step forward last week, when planning was unanimously approved by Shepway District Council’s Development Control Committee.

The Parish Council have been working in partnership with Hawkinge Youth Football Club, the Kent County FA and The Roger De Haan Charitable Trust, which has already committed significant funding towards the project.

The new changing facilities will provide footballers from the village and the surrounding area with a much needed amenity.

In a joint statement, David Callahan Chairman of Hawkinge Parish Council and Hawkinge Youth Football Club Chairman Rob Lawford said, ‘We are now in a position to progress our application to the Football Foundation for the final element of funding. This is an extremely exciting project which will bring huge value to the local community and benefit the players and members of Hawkinge Youth FC, which continue to grow in number. We would like to thank The Roger De Haan Charitable Trust for all their support and for what will be an extremely high quality facility’.

Trevor Minter of The Roger De Haan Charitable Trust said, “We are very pleased that The Roger De Haan Charitable Trust is able to help improve provision for football in Hawkinge. The Trust welcomes discussions with sports clubs across Shepway to identify appropriate opportunities to develop or update facilities for amateur sport.”

HYFC AGM 2009 - 20th August 2009 - Hawkinge Community Centre.  Members of the Club are more than welcome to attend.  Matters discussed will include items such as; the clubs accounts, the Chairman's Report, as well as an update regarding the Sports Pavilion project. 

HYFC Registration Day 2009 - 11th July 2009 - Hawkinge Community Centre.  Please refer to your coach for details and specific time slot for your team.

HYFC Presentation Day 2009 - 27th June - Churchill School (10am - 4pm).  With the 2008/9 season well and truly over it is now time for the HYFC's Annual Presentation day.  We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our players, coaches, managers, officials, volunteers, administrators, parents and supporters for their help during the season.   This years presentation will start at 10.00am, at the Churchill School and continue on through to 4.00pm.  There are lots of activities and fun planned for the day - so why not come along!

A working party has been established, including Hawkinge Youth Football Club and The Roger De Haan Charitable Trust, and discussions have been held with the Kent County Football Association and others about potential sources of funding.

Chairman of Hawkinge Parish Council Finance Committee Cllr Colin Tearle said: “We are working closely with our partners to develop these plans, and we are pleased with the significant progress that has been made.  The Roger De Haan Charitable Trust has been very supportive and we are grateful to them for help with the costs of developing our proposals so far.”   

Hawkinge Youth Football Club Chairman Rob Lawford said: “Demand for use of the sports ground has increased significantly in recent months following the rapid growth of Hawkinge Youth FC and local senior teams. We believe that improved changing facilities will add a high quality amenity that can be used by the whole community.”

The aim of the project is to bring permanent changing facilities to the sports ground which is in heavy demand following the rapid growth of Hawkinge Youth FC and local senior teams.

In a joint statement, Rob Lawford Chairman of Hawkinge Youth FC and Councillor Colin Tearle the Chairman of the Council's finance committee said, 'The meeting was extremely positive and all parties are working in partnership to bring the plans to fruition'.

Funding for the project is also being sought from other interested parties to support what will be a real benefit to the local community.

Top prize was a signed football from the Charlton Athletic first team, which was won by local lad Mason, who converted 9 shots through the target goal.  Chairman Rob Lawford said, "I'd like to thank everyone who volunteered to run the stall and of course all those who took part to raise money for this deserving cause".

With additional coaches 'on board' the task of recruiting children to join the Club went into full swing.   for the full report click here.

The recent HYFC Presentation Day was a tremendous success - The event which included stalls, side shows, a bouncy castle, barbeque and a disco either side of Presentations to the players for their efforts throughout the season was an enormous success with over 400 children and parents having great fun. 

The children were treated to a coaching session by Mike Delaney and his coaches from the 'Skills Academy', followed by an exhilarating demonstration of 'Freestyle' soccer skills from Mike himself.

Chairman Rob Lawford said, 'I would like to thank all the parents, coaches and volunteers whose hard work made the day a great success. In particular, I would like to single out Cllr George Hodgson for special praise for all the help he provided during the day as well as throughout the year.  The attendance of so many people on the day showed just how far the Club has come in such a short space of time.'

Club Development Officer Cyril Trice revealed that season '08/09 will be even more ambitious, with a further five teams including an Under 12's Girls team being added to the existing seven that competed this season. He said, 'The Club will increase its number of qualified coaches to 20 for the start of next season to meet the influx of new players being drawn to the Club.'

County Councillor Susan Carey who attended the event said 'It was great to see so many young and not so young people enjoying playing football. A lot of hard work went into the creation and coaching of the teams and I am very happy to add my support with a £1,000 grant from Kent County Council for more goalposts.'

Sports Changing Facilities - Further to the recent press report claiming that "... a deal has been reached over new changing room facilities..." the Club would like to confirm that this story is inaccurate and that no formal offer of a lease has been made by the Parish Council to the club.

HYFC Presentation Evening to be held on 26th April 2008  -  Further details to follow soon.

FA Charter Standard Status achieved -  Hawkinge Youth Football Club are proud to announce that the Football Association have awarded the Club Charter Standard Status. Achieving this Status demonstrates that our Club is well run and sustainable, meeting all criteria that sets us aside as a 'Quality' Club.  Rob Lawford, Chairman of the Club, said " Being recognised by the Football Association as achieving Charter Standard Status in just our second season is fantastic.  It will give a boost to the Clubs objectives to build new changing facilities with Football Foundation Funding.  I would like to thank everyone involved with the Club for their dedication and effort."

Newly Qualified Coaches - Congratulations to our newly qualified Level 1 Coaches:  Mark Button, Andy Simkins, Allan Hodgson, Derek Petts, John Maestri & Richard Wickham. They join the already qualified level 1 coaches Rob Lawford, Andy Parker & Alex Smith.  All qualified coaches have also undergone Emergency First Aid training, Child Protection and have had the necessary CRB checks.

Sports Changing Facility - Further to the report in the Herald this week, the Club would like to 'set the record straight' to all its members. The claim that 'costs have spiralled' for the provision of these facilities is inaccurate and in fact all costs have remained largely the same and have been provided by the architect employed by the Parish Council. The article implies that the Parish Council have been working toward an application to the Football Foundation, when in fact HYFC is the 'lead' on this project.The Club would like to make it clear that the Football Foundation could potentially fund up to 90% of the cost of this project and all indications are that the ongoing application will be successful. The Club are making every effort to work in partnership with the Parish Council to bring this project to fruition.

Sports Changing Facility - 'Thank You' to the many parents and children who attended the Parish Council meeting on the evening of 9th January to hear the Council discuss the proposal for a community / sports changing room facility. It was disappointing to hear that the councillors are not entirely supportive of this project, however HYFC feel that working in partnership and with a positive mindset all stakeholders will be convinced of the benefits to the football club and to the community as a whole.

Christmas Party - The Hawkinge Youth Football Club Annual Christmas Party took place at the Village Hall.  The event was well attended by parents and children alike.  Many Thanks to Cyril & Lorna for preparing the nibbles, Dave for the Disco and the Circus Magic team.  A great time was had by all!

Eythorne Tournament pictures - You can obtain a picture of the team or individual pictures of your son or daughter taken recently at the Eythorne Tournament. More information here

Club Development Plan - The plan was well received by the FA representatives.  Minor amendments to be made, with a view to submission after Easter.