Fantastic members day at Tapestry Wines.

[Jessesdad]

Adelaide United members were today treated to a fantastic meal and event at club owner Rob Gerard's Tapestry Winery in the McLaren vale.

A members only event, it did look like Melbourne-style weather (rain, hail and bright sunshine all in the matter of a few minutes) would put a dampener on the afternoon but the fantastic staff at the venue quickly moved everything undercover and Reds members were treated royally.

Tapestry Wines - a beautiful place in itself - was closed for the afternoon while loyal Reds fans enjoyed the company of the entire playing squad, coaches and owners. Not just your standard beer and barbie, Rob Gerard provided a sit down feast of fantastic food accompanied by free tapestry wines, Coopers beer and soft drinks. The Red Army table even managed to get a bottle of Tapestry 'sticky'. Well deserved too. Top that with amazing cheeses and dessert to make a group of Adelaide faithful feel truly appreciated after what has been a tough year for fans so far.

Rob gave one of the finest, funniest and most honest speeches you could hope for from an owner, admitting his recent addiction to the game came at the request of good friend Frank Lowy, and proceeding to roast a few players - especially poor Bruce Djite for his recent misses. It was done in such a good natured way no-one could take offence and as he went on to describe how annoyed his AFL mates were about his support of "soccer" he raised a cheer from the crowd.

Members got to chat with the players who roamed from table to table. It was also a great chance to catch up with fellow fans and 442 forum members. My six year old took the ball thrown to him by Paul Reid last year and got it signed by every single player. He may be one of the few six-year-old members of the club but this event will live long in his memory, having met all his heroes and especially having players like Cassio and Sergio treat him with real respect and interest. He ended his afternoon playing with Cassio and Greg Griffen's kids.

All up it was a wonderful day and a genuinely generous gesture by Rob Gerard. The event was free to members and there was room for more than came. Basically, if anyone had any doubts about the value of membership they were answered today. If we'd had to pay for an event like that it would have cost more than our memberships did.

But that wasn't the point. The afternoon was a real sign that the owners are prepared to reach out to the members and are trying to build a culture of openness. It's one thing to sit in the stands shouting encouragement or abuse at your beloved team but it changes when you've had the chance to meet them and understand that they're human beings trying the best they can.

One event won't turn a season around but - as a fan and member - it's made a difference to the way I'm thinking about the club.

And the best thing? It was announced that it'll be happening again next year. If you're not a member now - join!

So thanks to Rob, Greg and the other owners for the incredible generosity. Thanks to Kossie and the team for making the fans feel important. It's been a good day to be a REDS supporter.

Posted on 442 as well. I think the club deserves kudos for this one.

[ZANZIBAR]

wish i was there for it, thanks for putting this up. Awesome from the club owners to do it

[Stuckey]

Thanks for the post. Sounds like a cracker of a day!
Well in AUFC!

[robshan]

Thank you Jessesdad for the great post, it was a great day. A big thanks to Rob & Faye Gerard for putting on the day and Glenn Cooper for supplying the amber fluid.

While the great outdoors would have been good, this was still a great day. http://tiny.cc/1vj7r

[sevengoals]

Super day!

Thanks for the post Jessesdad!

[General Ashnak]

Was great to meet everyone I did and the day proved the value of the membership in one go. Hopefully next year will be bigger!

[ganas]

was upset i couldn't make it but am looking forward to attend next year!

[Futbol_Crazy21]

Well, I'm gonna go next year.

[blahblah]

It sounds like a superb day out and I dearly wish I could have been there (have the membership after all however couldn't get out of work earlier enough to make the flight to Australia ).

Well done to the Gerards, well done indeed.

[Abdul]

How were we supposed to find out about this member's day? I just read about it, but as a member never knew about it. In fact I'm quite pissed off about the membership in general.

[ganas]

i was notified as a member via email from the club

[Abdul]

i was notified as a member via email from the club

Thanks for the info; I didn't get any such e-mail.

[Jessesdad]

You're not alone. For some reason a number of members have discovered that their emails are 'inactive' with the club. Contact Matt Rossi and ask that you are included in future. I know that it's not good enough but you can get it changed quickly. They don't have enough staff - full stop!

[Abdul]

You're not alone. For some reason a number of members have discovered that their emails are 'inactive' with the club. Contact Matt Rossi and ask that you are included in future. I know that it's not good enough but you can get it changed quickly. They don't have enough staff - full stop!

Yes it was Matt who I had to contact about missing member package in the first place. Thanks for the info.