Hi everyone
I am a member of the YCP Executive Committee and I write for and on behalf of the other Executive Committee members.
The Executive Committee is very surprised to see some of the comments on here. We just wanted to correct a few of the misconceptions as we think that it is unfair to make such comments without knowing the facts.
We would also like to thank the people who have made positive comments and who recognise the value of YCP for both its members and the Club.
Firstly, YCP isn’t a concept that the Club devised and the Club certainly had nothing to do with appointing the Executive. YCP is a concept that we all devised ourselves in mid-2012 – that is why we are the members of the Executive. We took the idea to the Club in late 2012, the Club thought that it was a great concept and therefore have supported YCP and assisted us to launch in 2013. We are all really proud of what we have built so far and we think that YCP has the potential to make a genuine impact in the years to come. The feedback that we have had from our members has been really positive and many people have commented that YCP is exactly what the Club needs – new ideas and a new generation of potential leaders.
It’s offensive to say that the Executive is a “joke” and “another example of a club so out of touch with reality”. We have worked really hard to get this initiative off the ground.
All of the members of the Executive Committee have entrenched connections to the football club. For example, Georgie’s dad played 220 games for Carlton and Georgie was therefore born into the Club. Both Jess’s dad and Amanda’s dad were past Vice President and President of the club respectively. Nick and Josh have grown up attending virtually every Carlton game played in Melbourne (and some interstate too!)
We are all passionate about seeing the Club return to its past strengths and build on its successes, and we want to be involved in that process. We all share the aim of bringing new ideas, thinking and entrepreneurship to the Club. We were not content with just being a member and supporting the Club – we wanted to try to offer something more. That is why we are part of a group that we think can make a genuine impact in terms of shaping the future of the Club.
YCP certainly isn’t an ‘exclusive’ club – as cecil89 pointed out, YCP has a membership criteria which is simply that you have to be a CFC Member, between 20 – 45, and either employed full time, own a business or be an entrepreneur. Many people meet that criteria. We have no interest in which school you went to, we have not had reason to ask any of our members that question as it is irrelevant and frankly, we couldn’t care less. What we are interested in is what our members are doing now professionally, what they can offer the Club, the ideas that they have for assisting the Club in the future and how they can connect with each other to create a meaningful network.
We started YCP to provide a forum for young professionals aged between 20 – 45 who want to engage with the Club. We saw that there was no such offering and therefore a gap that needed filling. In terms of what people get out of it, the purpose is twofold – we want YCP to be a meaningful network for its members so that they can meet like-minded young professionals (who also happen to share a love of the CFC) and can start to build important professional relationships at a stage in their career where such relationships are crucial. We also want to encourage people to keep business in the Carlton family where possible. Many of our members have generated new business as a result of YCP and that is of great benefit to them. The other purpose is to provide genuine value for the Club, focusing not simply on money but on harnessing the potential of our members to drive innovation, new technologies and ideas to the Club.
YCP certainly is not an excuse for the Club to “get the old money out of Carlton’s children and private school friends to hang out together” – again that comment is offensive and made without any factual basis. We are simply having a crack at making a difference to the Club rather than spreading negative comments which don’t help anyone. We all love Carlton and we want it to return to the powerhouse Club that it was. We know that people have great ideas as to how the Club can improve both on and off the field and we want to help to bring some of those ideas to the Club where they can be developed and hopefully rolled out – that is the point of the YCP ‘Think Tank’. To be able to brainstorm ideas with the CFC Vice-Presidents is an amazing opportunity for YCP Members and something that we are very excited to be able to offer in 2014.
We hope that this has helped to clarify what YCP is about, the value that it offers to both its members and the Club and to correct the misconceptions that have been published on this forum.
If anyone has questions about YCP or would like further information, please visit our website (
http://www.ycp-cfc.com.au/) or our LinkedIn page (
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostRece ... le-flipgrp)
Regards,
Georgie Austin, Jessica Newton, Nick Crema, Amanda Jolson (nee Smorgon) and Josh Kaplan
YCP Executive Committee
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