At a Special General Meeting on Friday evening, Jim Rosenthal was confirmed as Club President by members. Unfortunately Jim could not attend in person but he prepared a statement which was read out by his wife Chrissy and can be seen below:
Thank you for asking me to stand for election as President of the Club.
I consider it an honour and a privilege. I first walked into the club
in 1988 when I moved with my wife and our then six month old son to
live in Cookham Dean, having decided it looked just the sort of place to
give our boy Tom the best possible start in life. How right we were.
It was a number of years before he actually got to play here - 9 to be
precise - at the time my job took me around the world and away from
Cookham - particularly at weekends - so my sporting appearances were few
and far between. I have watched with interest the growth of the club
- and can only admire the dedication and commitment which has led it to
its current success. On and off the pitch it is a huge credit to its
members. As President I would be fully committed to maintaining the
high standard set by my predecessor - and acknowledge the work and
dedication shown by Tony Austin - I like all of you was deeply saddened
by his death. We owe it to Tony to keep his cricketing spirit alive and
well.
I will also add that I feel we should not lose sight of the fact that we
are a village club - albeit a very ambitious one - and that we should
play a full part in our local community. We should welcome local
players of all standards, and work towards inviting local spectators to
come and enjoy an afternoons cricket in these wonderful surroundings.
If I have a mission statement it would be to safeguard the future by
acknowledging the past - hold on to the traditions of our sport - but
embrace the world we live in. We must develop the women's game, accept
technology where available, push forward with our development plans, and
maintain the standards already set. A tall order - but one I would
hope to be able to help you all achieve.