WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2016 PARRAMATTAADVERTISER.COM.AU NEWS 13

V1 - PAGE01Z01MA PARRAMATTA ADVERTISER, Wednesday, December 7, 2016 13

PARRAMATTA

Eels aiming for an electric yearNew chief sparks things up at troubled club Melissa Yeo

THE battle is on to win backfans in the Eels heartlandand the NRL club is notbacking down.

With the horror season of2016 behind them, newly ap-pointed chief executive Ber-nie Gurr is determined tolead a unified front with in-tegrity, respect and excel-lence.

“My view is that we havethe most exciting prop-osition in the NRL,” he said.

“We are the number-onesporting franchise in west-ern Sydney and still top thekey metrics despite ourchallenges; it shows the po-tential for Parramatta if weget it right.”

Six weeks into his newrole, he is leading an over-haul of the club’s govern-ance, with interviews for anew independent board tobegin this week.

“By the end of Februarywe will have a brand newboard installed and recruit-

ed using a skills-based ma-trix – it’s a brick in the wallin reforming and rebuildingParramatta,” he said.

The glaring absence of amajor sponsor is the nexthurdle, with the front-of-jersey real estate left vacantafter court disputes withformer sponsor Dyldam.

Mr Gurr is optimisticstrong on-field perform-ance will drive nominationsfor prospective sponsors.

Western Sydney Univer-sity sports marketing aca-demic Keith Parrycompared the club’s tu-multuous season with that

of others in the league in thepast five years.

“Football fans forget eas-ily,” he said, citing exam-ples of scandals atMelbourne Storm and Cro-nulla Sharks.

“We forgive them, wemove on and it just becomespart of the club’s narrative.

“For those who staythrough the adversity – ithelps to strengthen theirloyalty.”

Financially, the club tooka hit of $11 million for the2016 financial year. Buoyedby the success of the Parra-matta Leagues Club Groupand redevelopments on thesite, the club intends tohalve that loss next year.

“We are going to be pro-fessional and ethical,” MrGurr said. “We’re not goingto play the games thatmaybe were played before.

“An anchoring partner-ship with Parramatta Coun-cil will ensure we remain avital part of the communitymoving forward.”

Bernie Gurr.SCOUTING OUT A TREE BARGAINNOTHING says Christmas quite like a fresh pine tree.

In the lead-up to Christmas, the 1st Carlingford Scouts division will be offering freshly chopped trees as part of its major fundraiser, a 15-year tradition for the club.

Scouts fundraising co-ordinator Susy Brown and her group of enthusiastic tree-sellers will have more than 150 New Zealand radiata pine trees for sale at two stalls in Carlingford.

“Nothing smells better than a fresh Christmas tree,” Ms Brown said.

“The 1st Carlingford Scouts (have been)

volunteering their time over the weekend to help with customers. They have even been tying them on roof racks.

“The Scouts love to let people know what the funds will go towards, like their many camps and adventures.”

Three different sizes will be available,costing between $60 to $70.

“The funds raised will help our Scoutsgroup to continue providing members with new skills and opportunities,” Ms Brown said.

The trees will be sold this Saturday andSunday from 8am until 4pm at the Scouts Hall on Boundary Rd and the Don Moore Community Centre in Carlingford.

Maryanne Taouk

Picture: Dave Swift

NEW FACILITY OPENED MAY 2016Vacancies Available For All Age Groups

& Before and After School Care Ages 0-2, 2-3, 3-5 years old & before and after school care and Vacation care.

www.garfieldchildcare.com.augarfieldpreschoolandoosh@outlook.com

ContactSam Sri 0423 244 242, 02 9631 4400GarfieldChildcare 02 9636 2244, 0423 052 500

ENROL NOW

Garfield Childcare, preschool and OOSH is a fully Accredited centre to the National Quality Framework. With excellent learning facilities to all age groups with fully trained staff. The OOSH facility is catering for before and after school care to Our Lady of Mt Carmel Primary School and Wentworthville Public School. The Vacation care is opened for all school age children. Our brand new facility will cater for 40 additional places. 20 places preschool and 20 places OOSH. Our existing facility caters for up to 45 places (0-5yrs).

We are currently enrolling children for the year 2017 and the enrollment will be finalised by December 2016.

We Offer • Catering for 3 to 12 years old • Fully qualified and caring staff • Warm, caring, clean and safe environment • Secure indoor and outdoor play areas

GarfieldChild Care

Preschool, OOSH & Vacation Care

PRESENTING PARTNER PRINCIPAL PARTNER GOVERNMENT PARTNER TECHNICAL PARTNER SUPPORTING PARTNER EVENT HOST AN AGB EVENT

Bring the whole family to enjoy the choirs then view the sound and

light projections on St Mary’s Cathedral featuring the

Fantasia style animations of the Christmas classic -

The Nutcracker Suite.

8th - 25th December 7.30pm to

midnightFREE

EXPERIENCE THE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS AT

lightsofchristmas.com.au