A VOLUNTEER at Pershore Rugby Club was rewarded for his dedication with a two-day experience at Twickenham.
Robin Haines, volunteer manager of house and grounds at Pershore, was one of 12 ground staff selected by the RFU from hundreds of nominations by rugby clubs from across the UK.
Haines enjoyed a two-day experience at Twickenham as part of the Honda Volunteer Recognition Programme.
The programme recognised the dedication of volunteers like Haines who is an integral part of the team at Pershore.
Haines received a behind-the-scenes stadium tour and had a personal chat with RFU grounds and technical operations lead Jim Buttar.
He also had the chance to share the challenges he faced as Pershore’s ground manager with Buttar on-hand to provide advice on how best to deal with any problems.
Haines also had his meals, accommodation and travel taken care of as part of the experience.
He has played rugby at Pershore for 42 years since the age of 10-years-old.
Haines captained Pershore’s first team in the 1995/96 season.
He also acts as fixtures secretary, manages sponsorships and leads Pershore’s social team alongside his other duties.
Haines said: “Because I love the club, it is like my second home.
“And maintaining the pitches, marking the lines and mowing in preparation for matches, I can fit around my work at Vic Haines Transport.
“Because I am local, I can always pop to the club to do jobs or sort out a problem.”
Pershore Rugby Club chair, Bill Hurley added: “Volunteers are the backbone of our club, and they devote countless hours to keeping the club running so we are always looking to expand our volunteer team to spread the workload in a manageable way.
“We are currently running a campaign, called ‘Find Your Place on the Team’ to promote the variety of exciting volunteering opportunities we can offer.
“This includes bitesize, remote, on-site and occasional volunteering, as well as more challenging roles. There is something for everyone.”
