On Tuesday, 4th February, we had the pleasure of bringing together our Community Sponsorship Partners for a great discussion at our fantastic Principal Sponsor, Seagulls Club. This was the first of three meetings we’ve got lined up for the year, giving us a chance to chat about our community programs, explore ways we can support our sponsors, and open the floor to anything else that’s on their minds. The goal? To create a space where people feel comfortable discussing the tough conversations, sharing ideas, and working together for the greater good.

We were lucky to have some incredible people volunteer their time to support the conversation:

We were also joined by Superintendents Scott Tanner and Dave Roptell from the Tweed-Byron and Richmond Districts, along with members of their team.

A big welcome to our new Community Partners, Alison Morrisey from AON and Abigail Koch from Gold Coast Airport. Gold Coast Airport has stepped further into the community space this year, supporting our inaugural Female Indigenous Program and the pilot All-Abilities Program set to run later this year. This follows two years as the major sponsor of our BMD Premiership side.

We also had Jed Martin from HIWAY and Paul Coughlan from Eximm in the room, with HIWAY and Eximm both on board as inaugural Community Partners in 2024. Eximm is continuing its fantastic support of the Indigenous Round for the third year running, while HIWAY has increased its backing to become the major sponsor of our BMD Premiership side.

Unfortunately, Cool-a-bah Cooling & Refrigeration and SEE Civil couldn’t make it this time, but they’ll be playing an important role moving forward.

It was a productive meeting, with Nathan Peats and Shaun Davison sharing updates on their community work, including the NRL RISE Programs on the Gold Coast and Northern Rivers, as well as progress in the Male and Female Indigenous Programs. John “Hutcho” Hutchinson spoke about his experiences running successful programs like Trade Up and the NRL School to Work initiative during his time with the NRL.

Our CEO, Brendon Lindsay, reinforced our commitment to not just being a rugby league club, but giving back and supporting the communities that support us. He acknowledged that this aligns with our sponsors’ growing focus on corporate social responsibility.

The Police also shared some great success stories, including Tweed Seagulls RLFCsupporting programs at PCYC, an upcoming initiative at a local school. They also discussed the pilot Hometown Hero program in Casino, which has had a fantastic start with potential for expansion.

We also heard from Jed Martin, who updated us on the positive work Ken Hall is doing with the community in Tabulam. Tweed Seagulls connected Ken with the community early last year through the HIWAY link to our Community Programs.

The meeting sparked some valuable discussions and fresh ideas that we can build on—not just for our group, but for the wider community and our incredible network of sponsorship partners. Looking forward to what’s ahead!