We all hear about Rovers footballers, but do we know about some of the men behind the teams. One of which is the Director of Administration, Rod Wesson. In this position Mr. Wesson deals with all the questions, concerns and complaints put forward to the club. But do we know how Rod Wesson and the rest of the club benefit us as the community?
We found out that, in his former lives, Rod Wesson was a professional goal keeper, and a teacher in two Bristol secondary schools. Now he is working as the Club Secretary which involves him being part of The Prince's Trust.
The Prince's Trust is an organization, founded by Prince Charles himself, which helps ‘change young lives’. As part of this, it offers financial, emotional and other kinds of support for the young people in need of it, aged 18 to 24.
But why would a Bristol football club be interested in the welfare and needs of young people? In an interview, Rod Wesson explained reasons why they were interested in working with The Prince's Trust. He tells us that Bristol Rovers is a family based club, and they are giving back to the community, as they feel the community has given them so much support over the years. Rod explains it like this, “unless we put something back, it becomes a one way process and eventually it will die, it couldn’t survive, football couldn’t survive without the support of the local community”.
You may be wondering now whether the footballers have anything to do with the Princes Trust? Rod Wesson says that footballers are positive role models for the young people involved in the Princes Trust, giving inspiration for their own lives.
One of the highlights of working with The Prince’s Trust is that Rod Wesson got asked by Prince Charles himself to go to Buckingham Palace. Sadly he wasn’t knighted, but he still got a nice cup of tea and some luxury cakes.
Reporters Georgia, Tiffany and Rajni
