Mark Gauci — our new President
Life Member and inaugural Hall of Fame inductee Mark Gauci has been elected President of the Moonee Valley Cricket Club.
Mark was elected unopposed to the highest office of our club at our annual general meeting on July 20, held at the Moonee Ponds Club.
He replaces Graeme “Charlie” Walker, who had been President for the past 18 years.
Mark had been Vice President since 2018/19.
Charlie did not seek re-election as President but instead nominated himself for the Secretary position — and was elected unopposed.
Our youngest Life Member, Jack Newman was elected Vice President. Tom Janetzki was elected Treasurer.
Allan Cumming, who had been Treasurer for three years, did not seek re-election to that role. He instead nominated as Assistant Secretary, and was elected unopposed.
Sarah Fenn, our Secretary for the past two years, stepped down from that role due to work commitments, and was elected to the general committee.
The Gauch, who is Moonee Valley’s games record-holder with 440 and is also second on our list for all-time most runs, is one of our Club’s most decorated players. He is a two-time premiership captain, including our First Eleven premiership year in 2009/10. He was Club Champion in 2005/06 and won the Lindsay Jones Best Clubman award in 2018/19.
Mark Gauci has also coached our club and is regarded as one of the most influential and respected people around our organisation.
After his election as President, Mark wrote a touching tribute to his predecessor:
Tonight we celebrate a man whose contribution to the Moonee Valley Cricket Club is simply impossible to measure.
Charlie Walker has dedicated the last 25 years to this club — 7 years as Junior Coordinator and 18 years as Senior President. When you stop and think about it, that’s more than one-third of our club’s entire history spent leading, building and caring for Moonee Valley Cricket Club.
Titles like President and Junior Coordinator only tell part of the story.
The real story is everything that happened behind the scenes that most people never saw.
Charlie was the first one here and often the last one to leave. He made the afternoon teas, attended association meetings, marked the outfields, prepared the main wicket, put out the witches’ hats on both ovals, helped with team selections, supported our coaches, assisted our women’s team, hosted countless events, cleaned the clubrooms, dealt with the football and soccer clubs, and took care of a thousand other jobs that never appeared on an agenda and rarely attracted any recognition.
The truth is, if something needed doing around this club, Charlie just did it.
He never looked for praise. He never asked for recognition. He simply cared about this club and the people in it.
Because of Charlie’s dedication, generations of players — juniors, seniors, women, volunteers and supporters — have enjoyed a stronger, more welcoming and better-run cricket club.
On a personal note, I feel incredibly honoured to have been entrusted with the role of President. Following someone like Charlie is no easy task, and I know I have very big shoes to fill.
The good news for me — and for the club — is that Charlie isn’t going anywhere. He has stepped into the role of Secretary, and I know he’ll do an outstanding job there, just as he has in every role he’s ever taken on. I’ll certainly be leaning on his experience, knowledge and advice, and I’m grateful that he’ll still be such an important part of our leadership team.
Charlie, on behalf of everyone who has ever worn the black and white of the Moonee Valley Cricket Club, thank you.
Thank you for your leadership.
Thank you for your selflessness.
Thank you for your countless hours of volunteer work.
Thank you for putting this club before yourself, year after year.
You are more than a past President. You are more than a volunteer.
You are a true legend of the Moonee Valley Cricket Club, and your legacy will be felt here for many years to come.
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