WHEN John McIntyre stood on top of the dunk tank before plunging into icy water for a good cause at Anzac Park on Saturday it was a special moment for him.
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The now Horsham Saints secretary grew up playing football at the Warracknabeal Lions and was secretary of the club when it merged with the Brim Eagles ahead of the 2001 Wimmera league season.
“You’re always willing to put yourself out on a limb for a cause like the fight against MND,” he said.
“As ridiculous as it might have looked it was great to be able to tie in both of the clubs because it meant a lot to me and felt right.”
McIntyre played just under 200 games between the senior and reserves sides at Anzac Park and described himself as an ‘average footballer’.
After spending most of his career with the Warracknabeal Lions, he played one final season in the Warrack Eagles reserves side once Brim and Warracknabeal merged.
He found his way to the Saints in 2009 after moving with his family to Horsham from their farm.
“It was obvious to my wife Tanya and I that our kids – Jake, Georgie and Fraser – were going to continue playing sport so we needed a club,” he said.
“We spent a year at Kalkee before making our way to the Saints because we had wanted to move back into the Wimmera league.”
He said his family had been embraced by the club from the very start.
“On of my earliest memories was when the previous year’s president, Graeme Deleeuw, making us feel really welcome,” he said.
“Then there were blokes like Mark O’Beirne and Daryl Martyn who just wanted to get to know you – they half knew us as opposition already which was a little odd but it also really helped.”
Once at the club, McIntyre immediately embraced off-field roles.
He was a runner for the under-14s side when Jake was playing before stepping up to an assistant coaching role the following season.
He continued to act as a runner as Jake continued through under-17s, then took over team management roles and has been club secretary since 2015.
“I keep involved because of the children,” he said.
“You want to see the club you are at continue to thrive because you had your children and their friends all coming through.”
In 2014 he was awarded the Allan Knott Memorial Trophy for his dedication to junior football at the club.
“That was something special to receive,” he said.
“I’ve built a lot of good memories at the Saints in a relatively short period.
“Getting the new community centre at Coughlin Park was a massive achievement and on field success with the 2015 senior and reserves premierships almost went hand-in-hand with that at the time.”
He continues to be driven by a desire to help shape the club for future generations.
“It’s all for the kids,” he said.
“That might sound corny, but it’s all for the ones coming through and that’s how I’ve always viewed it.”