The Java Kings announced earlier today a replacement to Richard Cliffe’s job position a lot of candidates had their hands up but it was Tommy Roffey who received the nod, this is what Roffey had to say
“It's a great honor receiving this position as The King's newly appointed administrator. I only have a few points. Towards the end of the year people usually stop to look back at what has happened during the year and look at their distinct goals and their accomplishments. At this time the most motivating and imperative thing is to make a wish for the new coming year. As it's said, if your wish is strong and heartfelt, it will come true.
During 2007 at The Java Kings former admin Richard Cliffe released major upgrades for our main products, using new technologies and achieving new levels of superiority, and I have some great plans for some new interesting products and services for 2008. To align our planes to your expectations we are starting a contest for the best wish for the reach for a dream foundation. Please take 3 minutes of your time to think about what you would like to see in your King's page that would help us be more effective and successful. The best wishes may select to be put into practice and you will receive a special present from The Java Kings.
As always, we welcome your ideas and comments at our User Forum. Find out about King's projects and activities on our commercial Blog, or get fast support response to your requests at our website. It is a paradox, but every idea always has the potential to be changed and improved by other people. That is the main idea of the service provided by Samsung.”
Those of you who have been reading Java King's page for the last year may remember me talking about a program that we launched in 2006 called Cricket Wise, in association with the CC of SA, the Ground keepers' of SA, the Club Management Association of South Africa, Taylor & Jones and Operation Caliber. Cricket Wise has been a pilot project at the Park Facility in Parys where we have been working with six students over the last year training them in the basics of the game of cricket (how to play, the rules, etiquette, history and ethos) and ground keeping (pitch construction and maintenance). Four Java King players (Graham Barrett, Collin Cliffe, David Tolley and Zesh Halford) and four grounds man (David Quincy, Simon Harding, Fanie Le Roux, and Chris de Beer) very generously gave of their time, energy and knowledge throughout the year.
Three weeks ago we held a Certification Ceremony for the students that were on the program. It was a very moving day and began with a tour of the old Wolf Park to have a look at the work the six students had done during the year. You would not believe how many positive changes they had made within such a short time. After the ground visit, they took part in a fun Skills Challenge which showed off their bowling, batting and fielding skills. Their cricket abilities were really impressive and the competition was surprisingly close, with a tie for first place. During the more formal proceedings, Simon Harding, who is also the Chairman of the Ground man’s Association, congratulated the students on their work on the pitch and commended them on their enthusiasm and dedication throughout the year. Dennis Binns from CC expressed his admiration for their natural display of “grasping the ethos of the game” as we had all witnessed them encouraging, praising and helping each other during the Skills Challenge.
A very large part of the program is our commitment to placing these participants in jobs within the cricket industry once they have finished at the youth academy. We made the first placement announcement, which will be at the HP Pavilion, Bloemfontein in The Free State. Within the next four months we have another two students who will be joining and we will have jobs waiting for them. We will continue with the program at Park in 2008, taking on 12 students and mid-way through the year we will decide whether or not to expand the program into other clubs in the country. Immediate opportunities exist at Durban and Cape Town as they both have excellent cricket facilities on their properties, but it will have to depend on the success that we have with the guys that have already been placed in jobs.
This 2007 program would not have been possible with the enthusiastic support of our partners, most especially the CC and the Grounds man Association and of course the very generous support of our sponsors; Price Waterhouse Coopers, Vodacom, Pepsi, Jones, Mittal Steel and Adidas. We readily acknowledge that we have touched a very small segment of the underprivileged population through our program this year but the potential for great impact is certainly there, and for now, even if we are able to keep just these 18 people to have a better life, we will have done something.