Teresa and David Hales

Well – what a journey we have had since reforming as AFC R&D CBS in 2011, starting off at Kiln Park with an under-18 side then with a senior team at the Dog and Duck and now presently at Hayden Road, journeying afield as far as Moneyfields and Ashington.

Kit washes now totalling 650 after the Stourbridge game, approximately 10 washes per kit.

In the early days we were washing kits for the first team and under-18s at the same time.

We start getting the kit out the day before a game, especially in the winter so the kit is at room temperature, and checking we have it all ready before loading it on the day (oops – must remember to charge the subs board before departing). We then attempt to reach our destination around midday on a Saturday or 5:00 pm for a mid-week game.

After locating the changing rooms… (there are certainly a lot of different types of changing rooms to cope with – two come to mind with one being infested with flies, two cans of fly killer later and not being able to breathe for an hour before sweeping a floor completely covered with dead insects; the other had foliage growing through the walls on the inside of the changing room. There are other changing rooms that you would suggest as having character!)… the kit is set out for each player usually in numerical order. We attempt to set the kit colours before the start of the season – this means searching through websites and league literature and we adapt our colours for wherever we play – usually our White Kit at home and Second or Third Kit and sometimes our White Kit away. On the odd occasion we have mixed two kits so there is no colour clash, i.e. Yellow shirts with Royal blue shorts or all White.

After a game the kit is sorted into laundry bins before taking it all home for cleaning, a quick sweep and tidy up to the changing rooms before departing for home and hoping no road closures when away from home.

When at home the kit is sorted into shirts, socks, shorts, warm up tops, sweat shirts, bench tops/trousers and coats, then divided into piles of good-bad and OMG (usually more than one wash to get clean).

After drying the kit it is then aired before being folded and repacked ready for the next game.

Ah well – must dash, got a few match balls to retrieve from conifers…

Bruce Greenberg

Hi, Everyone! It’s your favourite Yank Diamonds supporter, Bruce Greenberg.
I have been a loyal Diamonds supporter ever since my lovely wife, Katherine, and I moved to Rushden, Northamptonshire, back in the fall of 2003. That’s right – I go back to the old Rushden & Diamonds at Nene Park!

I’ve been a sports junkie all my life. Basically, anything with a ball (or puck) is what I love – baseball, football (American), basketball, ice hockey. Then, once we moved to England, football (NOT s-o-c-c-e-r) became my new love. Sorry though, neither rugby nor cricket for me (although I do prefer rugby union over rugby league).

My first stint as a volunteer came about in the spring of 2006 when I was asked to join Radio Diamonds to do match commentary. Back then we were on 1503 AM medium wave, and soon followed our internet presence for Radio Diamonds. We had a great media team for match days including such broadcast stalwarts as Pete Clawson, Chris Gregory, Philip Jenkins, and Pete Kelly. Also, there were Susan Longstaff, Colin Knight, Adam Cockings, and Hayden Pott. Also again, Dean Johnson and Jamie Crampton.

With the assistance of Vice-Chairman Jon Ward, Radio Diamonds was back on the air for the 2012-13 season for the all-new AFC Rushden & Diamonds! We have continued to grow from strength to strength through the years, and have attained a high level of respectability and notoriety in the non-league media broadcast circles. Our current volunteer media team consists of 2 young lads who do a cracking job on match commentary – Joseph McCormack and Ollie Mortimer. And then, there’s us 3 old geezers who assist the best we can – Paul Judd, Doug Palmer, and myself. Check us out for Diamonds games, both home and away, on radiodiamondsafc.mixlr.com.

I also conduct post-match interviews for AFCRDTV which can be viewed on YouTube. Joseph and I, along with Scott Stapely, get the thoughts and reactions after games from the Gaffer and the Man of the Match. And now, this season, I’ve started doing the PA (public address/Tannoy) for home games. So, put any kind of microphone in front of me, and I’m ready to talk, talk, talk!

It’s been a bumpy ride through the years for yours truly with our beloved home side, Diamonds. I’ve been there with all of you for the highs, the lows. All the great celebrations, all the bitter disappointments. It’s been an exciting and intoxicating adventure, and I thank everyone for allowing me to be part of the Diamonds family. GO DIAMONDS!!!  COYW!!!

Tim Sams

By Alec McQuarrie

The first face you see walking into AFC Rushden & Diamonds’ Hayden Road is invariably Pitching In Volunteer of the Month Tim Sams.

The 69-year-old is the Diamonds’ recently-appointed Supporters’ Liaison Officer and has truly gone above and beyond to make both home and away fans feel welcome.

This has involved offering to pay for every hot drink sold on a freezing cold Tuesday night against Tamworth and handing out free roses to female supporters on the weekend before Valentine’s Day.

Last year Sams paid for and installed a remembrance bench to honour supporters that have passed away, including a plaque for vice-chairman Alex Raspin’s father, who died in August.

Raspin said: “We are having a really tough season for all sorts of reasons, but Tim’s selflessness and generosity is bringing a smile to faces all around our community club and he deserves a bit of recognition.”

Sams fell in love with Rushden & Diamonds shortly after moving to Rushden from London 20 years ago and has been volunteering for the phoenix club since its establishment in 2011.

Volunteers like Sams are the heartbeat of non-league clubs up and down the land and Southern League partners Pitching In have recently launched a Volunteer Hub to showcase opportunities across the country, with Sams among those rewarded with the monthly prize.

Sams said: “I do what I do because I love the Club.

But it’s not only me, there are lots of really good people at AFC that have got the Club at heart. All our volunteers are important.

I’m in a fortunate position that I’m retired now. I wouldn’t say I was a rich man or anything like that.

But my mother died a couple of years ago and she was a nice, Christian lady. I got some money and I don’t spend a lot but it just makes me feel happier thinking that someone else is happy.

We want everyone to go away with a good experience of our football club.”

The former postman hosts regular meetings of the new Volunteer Working Group at his home to brainstorm initiatives, and personally subsidised four player sponsorships to supporters at half-price.

Sams even met the Club halfway to purchase a new automatic pitch watering system, but all his generosity is recouped in spades with the gratitude of fans.

Sams said: “Even a couple of weeks later, some women came up to me saying they’ve still got the rose I gave out before Valentine’s Day.

They put it in water and it’s still good. I said that’s because it was given to you with love. But don’t tell my wife because I never bought her any!

We can’t do much about results on the pitch but at least now people can come up to a familiar face and ask me anything they like.”

Find volunteering opportunities at your local club by visiting https://pitchinginvolunteers.co.uk/

Kay Gillespie

I have been a volunteer with the Club virtually from the start, in 2011, when I was asked to be the Minutes Secretary for the Board meetings and also to continue as a member of the Fundraising Committee. I’ll try to give you a flavour of each.

My tasks for each Board meeting are to prepare the Agenda beforehand based on what the Board members want to be discussed. Sometimes the order of topics has to be changed if, for example, a non-Board member needs to be present for a particular part of the meeting. During the meeting my role is to take notes of the discussions in order to produce minutes afterwards.

Now don’t get the idea that Board meetings are dull and boring!  Board members have been known to stray from the matters in hand, sometimes to great amusement!  Cries of “Don’t minute that, Kay”, have also occasionally been heard.  However, over the several years I have been involved in the meetings I have been seriously impressed by the commitment and sheer hard work of individual Board members.  I sometimes wonder when they get time to sleep, bearing in mind most of them have day jobs and families.

The current Fundraising Committee is a small, dare I say ‘select’ band.  Our main fundraisers at present are the Quiz Nights and the match day raffles.  The Quiz Nights take place once a month at the Windmill Club in Rushden, and are very popular.  We have a different quiz-setter every time, each one bringing their own style to the evening.  This adds to the variety and, I think, it’s why people keep coming.  The pleasing thing is that people attend from the wider community, not just our own fans.

So what keeps me going as a volunteer?  I think everyone gets a good feeling when helping others, and to know that I’m playing a part in the life of the Club certainly does that.  I feel that I’m part of an AFC Rushden & Diamonds ‘family’, particularly on match days.  I’m amazed when I realise just how many names I know of the people who buy raffle tickets – and those who don’t as well!