Commercial Director Jon Graham was delighted with the success of Worcestershire CCC's 150th Anniversary Gala Night-Awards Evening and is keen to repeat a similar sort of venture at the end of next season.
Nearly 500 people celebrated the combination of a milestone year in the County's proud history with the more traditional handing out of the annual awards to players and officials in a special Marquee on the New Road outfield.
It was the first time that Worcestershire members were able to attend in substantial numbers alongside players, coaches, staff and sponsors and there has been positive feedback from all quarters.
Graham said: "It was always going to be the main event of the year and, with it being the 150th Anniversary Year, we wanted to do something a little bit different to what we've done before.
"We are used to hosting 100-150 people in the Graeme Hick Pavilion or The Marquee and we like to think we are very good at doing that and always get really good feedback.
"I guess the challenge when you go to an event which is more than double that amount of people…..that comes with its own pressures because we didn't want to drop off the high standards we always deliver.
"We wanted to showcase that we can do things more than we normally do and demonstrate to people that putting on an event for 400-500 people is not a problem and they will still get the same quality of service and food and everything else they would normally get.
"I thought the presentations went really well. Really chuffed to see a lot of the young players being recognised for some very good performances in the summer. I thought Matt Teale was brilliant as far as hosting the event was concerned and the catering guys did a fantastic job.
"The former players were excellent. I don't really want to single anyone out but I thought Pridge (Paul Pridgeon) and TC (Tim Curtis) were absolutely superb.
"If I take my working hat off, from a supporters point of view, the insight into some of the previous glories was a nice touch and we should always been mindful there have been some fantastic players who have played for the club before and always good to hear those stories.
"It couldn't really have gone better and the feedback we have had has been resoundingly positive. For me, I'd like to do something similar every year."
Graham added: "It is important the fans, members, local businesses get the opportunity to actually celebrate the awards night with the players and the club.
"In the past we've sort of kept it to select sponsors, staff, players just because of numbers. When you take the staff and the players and a few sponsors, you are looking at 160-170 people before you have even started.
"Whether we do the huge Marquee on the outfield, who knows? There might be a different way of doing it and we are working on plans to do it in a different way but still keep the same quality and fee and make it a real Gala event.
"Like lots of things, a lot of the really successful events we've had in 2015 will form part of what we hold in 2016 because it it vital that the club's profile remains where it is now and probably goes beyond that.
"We are really happy and it is a credit to everyone involved."
