Farewell and thank you to Brian Vandervilt, Hanna Newton and John Waddelow.
Brian Vandervilt, long-serving Chairman of Corinthian-Casuals Football Club, has stepped down from his role after 15 years at the helm, along with our Club Secretary, Hanna Newton, and Project Manager, John Waddelow.
All three figures have been hugely influential in a key period of our history and we owe them an enormous debt of gratitude for their service, their expertise and their passion for this historic club.
Brian Adamson will step up to the role of Chairman and will confirm his fellow directors in the coming days. David Moss also offered his resignation but has now agreed to remain as Treasurer and will be crucial in assuring a smooth transition.
Vandervilt had been Club Secretary before he became Chairman in January 2008, taking on the role from Peter Howarth. Since then, he has overseen some hugely significant moments for the club, beginning with a game against AFC Wimbledon at the new Wembley Stadium during his first year in the chair.
In 2011, we lifted domestic silverware in the Surrey Senior Cup, and then there was the momentous return to Brazil in 2015, when we played an historic match against the first team of our ‘brothers in football’, Sport Club Corinthians Paulista.
Later that same year, he appointed James Bracken as first-team manager and the team went from strength to strength in the years that followed, earning promotion to the Isthmian League Premier Division in 2018. In June 2019, we travelled to Budapest for the inaugural Egri Erbstein Tournament. Vandervilt was there as the team won the Corinthian Cup and brought silverware back to Tolworth.
A run to the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup followed in 2021/22, when we missed out on a place in the first round proper by a matter of seconds due to a late St Albans equaliser at King George’s Arena, then lost the replay on penalties. The agonising nature of the defeat was softened by pride at how far the team had come in the previous decade, and we finished that season in 14th place, our highest position since promotion.
Last season was a tough one for all concerned with Corinthian-Casuals, but this summer saw the rebirth of Corinthian-Casuals Women.
There is much to look back on with pride for a fiercely committed chairman who has been a constant supportive presence, at home and away, throughout his time in charge. In times of financial trouble, he ensured that the club was able to continue and we will forever be grateful to him for his immense contribution.
Newton joined the club as community officer in the summer of 2014 and became Club Secretary when Gary Weir departed in September of the same year. She held the position for almost a decade, alongside a number of other roles at the club, and was a go-to figure here throughout her time, full of knowledge and advice. She was instrumental in forming a partnership with mental health charity CALM and became a familiar face in the clubhouse in recent years, preparing food for the players and officials on matchdays.
Waddelow has been a key committee member for many years, spending hours at the ground working on club matters. His input and drive as Project Manager have been crucial to some of the recent ground improvements, and his organising skills were crucial to our matchday operation, both at home and away.
Our sincere thanks go to all three of them, and their great work for Corinthian-Casuals will always be greatly appreciated.