It was with great sadness and disappointment that we have said goodbye to Riley Sohier after 17 years of dedicated service at the NSWTA. Riley has been a stalwart of this organisation. His dedication not just to the organisation and his roles, but more importantly to the affiliates and membership is unparalleled anywhere across Australia’s touch footballing employee network. His professionalism, willingness to assist and knuckle down to get the job done, his availability to all and his infectious personality will be extremely hard to replace. While we were sorry to see Riley leave, it is hard to begrudge a man who has given so much personally to the NSWTA and who has effectively been on the road for his entire career with the organisation. He has visited every portion of the state developing the game, helping our volunteers, liaising with LGA’s, running events and doing anything and everything asked of himself with 150% effort. Riley is taking on a leadership role with at the Alcohol & Drug Foundation. They are extremely lucky to be gaining such a professional employee and one who will aid in delivering their important message. General Manager Dean Russell reflected “while personally I am deeply saddened to see Riley leave, I am preferring to look at it from the perspective that it has been my privilege to not only work with Riley Sohier but also to be able to call him a friend. He is a great man who hopefully will not be lost to the sport entirely. He has given his all and more to us, to the Board, to the staff and importantly to the membership. His contributions throughout his time with the NSWTA have always far outweighed that of what he was required to do. Thank you my friend.” Earlier this year the NSWTA lost a stalwart of our game, Ron Hanson. Ron had been fighting Parkinson’s Disease for a number of years, but is now comfortably resting in peace. Ron was an original, a pioneer of the game. He began playing in the very first Touch Football competition at Pioneer Park in 1968 with his beloved Bronte mates. He was coming off his days as a leading 1st Grade footballer for the Eastern Suburbs Roosters. He wanted to continue with playing and Touch Football provided the perfect avenue. He was good at it too. Ron was named as the first NSW Captain when the team he led played Queensland at Erskineville Oval on 4th of August 1973. They defeated the old enemy 15-1. Three years later, in 1976, he was named the first Australian Captain of the team that successfully toured New Zealand. From all reports, Ron was an inspirational captain on the field and the life of the party off it. Ron however, was not content with just playing, he was involved in every aspect of the game. He coached at high levels, was a selector from park football through to national level, became an administrator of the sport and even refereed a few games here and there. Although if you talk to those who played with Ronnie, they will tell you he refereed most games in which he played. Whilst playing was his passion, he left an indelible mark on the sport through his time as an administrator and selector. As an administrator, he was Regional Director for the old Region 4 going back as far as 1994, and also took a stint at the helm of the Northern Eagles after the amalgamation of the three northern regions. As a selector, he selected club, regional, state and national teams. He didn’t just restrict himself to one region either, he made himself available to all. He would often assist other regions around the state where he could and also helped out at the Defence Force nationals for many years. In 2004, the NSWTA recognised Ron’s immense contribution to the game at many levels awarding him a Life Membership to the NSWTA. In 2010, Touch Football Australia bestowed on Ron a medal named in his honour. Each member of an Australian contingent to be honoured as the parties Flag Bearer is awarded the Ron Hanson medal. This is yet another testament to his standing in the game and the character of the man. He is a gentleman who will be missed but certainly not forgotten by the Touch Football family across Australia. vale RON HANSON 24TH SEPTEMBER 1941 - 13TH FEBRUARY 2017 Riley Sohier Keeping In Touch 2016 | 3 IMG002_NSWTouch_Dec17_v3_FILM_R.indd 3 28/11/17 4:21 pm