Holt Rugby Club were delighted when Norfolk County Rugby made a double award to Holt club stalwarts: former Holt and Norfolk captain Bruce van Poortvliet and lead first-aider John Butcher were both named ‘Indigo Recycling Services’ volunteers of the month at an awards ceremony held in February. Bruce’s award followed a special nomination from the Norfolk President and reflected not only his playing contribution for the County but his sustained efforts on player recruitment.
The award to John Butcher was a fitting testimony to one of the many individuals who make a critically important but less obvious contribution to our sporting clubs. The nomination, from Holt Chairman, Martyn Jackson, stated that John had taken on the first aid lead role for three seasons. In particular “he has made sure that all age groups have qualified first-aiders, and put together, checked and distributed all the equipment”. John has also introduced extensive programmes of first-aid training, which, amongst other aspects, ensured that there are always members on hand with operating knowledge of the on-site defibrillator.
John is a qualified and experienced nurse with practitioner experience in Accident and Emergency Departments and, more recently, in primary care. He is assisted at Holt by a small team of senior first-aiders who receive additional training and support – the club make an effort to ensure that one of the team is always present at big occasions. He has acted as a mentor for the youngest member of the team, Erin Chapman, and inspired her to explore new opportunities for her future career. Erin is now applying to Universities offering degree places in para-medicine. Her experience at Holt will provide an excellent background and the club should take pride in creating an off-the field development opportunity alongside the many it has created on the field.
A version of this feature has appeared in ‘Just Holt’ magazine
Text Martyn Sloman