History of Colony Park Football Club
Dod Reid MBE Profile
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Club Formation
The Club was formed in 1978 by the present Honorary President, George Reid MBE (Dod), with the help
of another three interested parents. This all came about when the teachers began their work
to rule on after school activities in the late seventies.
By the mid eighties, Dod, confined to a wheel chair following an
accident in the seventies, had enlisted the help of Paul Douglas. Paul originated from the Dunfermline
area but was now working in the Finance Department at the Local Council Offices. His organisational skill
added a further dimension to the Club, pushing it forward and introducing more teams at different ages.
Another big influence was the introduction of Jim Ingram who had recently retired from the game and
was very influential in local amateur football. He brought many friends to the Club, who went on to become
team managers, coaches and committee members.
A committee was formed in 1988 with a view to raising funds for the increasing membership.
This would help with the running costs and possibly enable trips to be organised for the boys.
This soon took on the roll of a Management Committee, with a second Committee of Managers and Coaches
forming what is still referred to today as the Football Committee. Despite some minor difficulties
between the two committees, they soon started to work in close harmony and went on to build a solid
management and financial base to the Club.
The Management Committee consisted of group of unique friends with very similar interests and a
determination to build a successful Club. Their main fund raising event has been a Celebrity Dinner,
which is now held in high regard by many of the countries top after dinner speakers. These have included
Craig Brown, Jim Leishman and Murdo McLeod (football management), Dougie Donnelly, Chic Young and George
Duffus (broadcasting and entertainment) and past players Joe Harper, Gordon Smith, Jackie Charlton and
Duncan McKenzie to name but a few.
The successful fund raising over the last 10 years has enabled the Club to run biennial trips to such places
as Shetland, Holland, Norwich, Manchester, Newcastle and Largs. Colony Park Boys Club was in the forefront
of club fund raising towards the Garioch Sports Centre and now uses many of the facilities on offer at this
tremendous complex. The funds raised also help Sandy Bremner to maintain the strips and equipment in first
class condition.
The Club Today
The Club comprises over 400 boys and girls from 8 to 19 years of age, playing competitively from
12 years onwards in the Aberdeen and District Juvenile Leagues. Adult helpers attend S.F.A.
Coaching courses and First Aid courses.
Colony Park is proud of its achievements to date with Barry Robson going to Glasgow Rangers before
moving on to Inverness Caley Thistle, and now an established player with Dundee Utd. More recently,
Darren Mackie and Scott Morrison signed for Aberdeen. Both Darren and Scott have already been
recognised at national level playing for Scotland in Junior Internationals. Many more players have
developed into Highland League for example Jim Findlay, Michael Smart, Darren Nicol, Ian Alexander,
George Reid (son of founder), Michael Whyte, Cohn Yule, Raymond Watt, Chris Baxter (son of Past Chairman
Graham), Steven Park (son of 'can't do without him' Secretary Gordon), Russell Shinnie, Martin McKay,
Craig Ross, Richard Davidson. Within the current Inverurie Locos squad, Stuart McKay and Neil McLean
are both included in this years squad which is due to play in the four nations tournament in Cork,
Ireland in May - a semi-professional football tournament. Stuart represented Scotland in last years
tournament which was held in Scotland and featured in all three matches against England, Ireland and Wales.
The Club's philosophy is to give as many of the members a game of football as possible. Winning
trophies and league titles are a bonus. A trophy awarded annually is to the Club-man of the year. This
is to a person from the under 19 squad who has been a good servant, a good ambassador and contributed
something to the Club from an early age. The trophy is a memorial to Stephen Welsh, a member of the Club
who tragically died from Meningitis in 1996. The first recipient was Steven Park in 1997 followed by David
Barrie in '98 and Roy Stuart in 1999.
Past Chairman, Sandy Anderson fulfilled another Colony Park dream in the late spring of 1999 when the
Club acquired its own location at Colony Park. In 2000, under the chairmanship of Roger Langtree and in
keeping with the modern age, Colony Park marked the millennium by changing the name of the club to Colony
Park Football Club.
At the beginning of season 2004-05, a ladies team was formed for the first time playing at the 15 age level.
Despite the changes, the Club's philosophy remains the same with the Management Committee committed to the
future, continually on the look out for adults to join the committees, who can bring skills, expertise and
influence, to sustain a healthy and financially sound Club. At the same time maintain the standard of coaching
and the number of teams to give all members, what Dod set out to do 27 years ago, a game of football.
Roger J Langtree
p.p. Colony Park Football Club
Revised 12/4/05
