'Focus and commitment' noted as Finn Valley AC holds AGM

Finn Valley AC held its annual general meeting on Monday night and the big crowd gathered in the Finn Valley Centre was a pointer for continued focus and commitment from those present.

Club Chair Patsy McGonagle reflected on another busy year for the club, on and off the track.

“It follows a routine now of cross country, track and field and schools and our routine is well established,” he said. “It works and it is as good a reaction to the development of the sport as you will get.”

McGonagle noted the continued contribution of Finn Valley AC to the local community and said the club was ‘blessed to have so many people with a positive attitude’.

“Keep being excited and keep being enthusiastic,” he urged members.

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“We are seriously represented among the elite,” he said. “We are acknowledged as one of the key clubs in the country, as shown recently by the visit of RTÉ Radio for a special programme about the club.”

Tributes were paid to Noreen Bonner, who stepped down as club secretary after 21 years. “We will be forever grateful for that contribution,” McGonagle said. “She was absolutely brilliant and totally on the ball. Her attention to detail was remarkable.”

Noreen was succeeded in the position by Grainne Campbell with several new faces elected to the club committee on a night that outlined a club that continues, after 51 years, to go from strength to strength.

Finn Valley AC Officer Board: Presidents - Patsy McGinley, Peadar McGranaghan; Chair - Patsy McGonagle; Vice Chair - Dermot McGranaghan; Secretary - Grainne Campbell; Treasurer - Bridgeen Doherty; Senior Competitions Officer - Barry Gallagher; Juvenile Competitions Officer - Dermot McGranaghan; Media Officer - Chris McNulty; Registrar - Ann Slevin; Records - Enda Doherty; Children’s Officer - Rosaleen McGonagle. Committee members: Patsy Doherty, Drew Doherty, Nicola Wallace, Conor McGonagle, Niall McGonagle, Catriona McGranaghan, Rosemary Finn, Caoimhe Brennan, Maggie Doherty, Martina Gallagher, Paul Doherty, Susan Doherty.

A minutes silence was observed to remember the bereaved during the last year.