BUNGAY Town's secretary Mick Simpson received the coveted Bezant Cup as
sports personality of the year at the annual Civic Evening at the Riverside
Centre on Tuesday evening.
For some years now he has been the pivotal member of the committee which
keeps the club ticking administratively, and he also finds time to run the
club's two Sunday teams - and other teams on occasions.
The season just ended has been a particularly stressful one, with adverse
weather causing several postponements and other games having to be called
off for other reasons, but he has steered the club through.
Mick has been involved in local football for 33 years, and with Bungay Town
for 20 years, taking over as secretary 8 years ago, and has been the
manager of the men's Sunday morning team for all of that time.
His nomination said: "We are a big club, with 25 teams across age ranges
from Under 6 to Veterans. The organisation and administration of such a big
club is a huge task, and Mick takes on much of this work. This includes
supporting team managers, liaising with leagues over fixtures, and working
with our groundsman to ensure that as many matches as possible are able to
be played, despite the weather.
"The role is a seven day per week job, which Mick does diligently and
without fuss. He is much respected in the local football community, and the
club simply wouldn't be able to function as it does, giving opportunities
for 200+ children and 100+ adults to play sport every week, without his
level of commitment."
The Bezant Cup recognises those who have contributed most to sport in
Bungay, on or off the field, and Mr Simpson said he was "surprised but
pleased" to win the award. He became involved with Bungay Town when the club
merged with Ditchingham Rovers, and has become steadily more involved since
then.
"Sometimes the role of secretary can be a nightmare, and you wonder why you
are doing it but I get enjoyment out of it," he said. "You are putting
something into local football, and you get something back from the game.
Football has changed tremendously over the past 50 years but there is still
that certain thing about it - it is like a drug, and you get the adrenalin
rush, as the club did recently when playing at Portman Road in the Suffolk
Senior Cup final."
The awards were presented by the Mayor of Bungay, Mick Lincoln. Mr Simpson
was not there to receive the award as he was manging the Sunday first team
in their last game of the season, and it was handed over to him in the
dressing-room after the game later that evening. He is pictured with it and
the team.