Hogan: A Reboot for the Argos Alumni Association

The former Toronto Argonaut linebacker looked around at what, or more accurately, who surrounded him. Old teammates, players he’d watched from afar, a crowd devouring every second of what was happening on the BMO Field playing surface. That’s when the lightbulb flashed; he needed to return to the fold.

Jason Pottinger’s epiphany came the night of October 6 of last year, the celebration of the Argos 150^th anniversary. He was standing amid familiar faces like Ricky Ray and Chad Owens, while seeing players from glory days gone by; “Rocket” Ismail, Condredge Holloway, and Terry Greer.

“I looked around and said this is a lot of fun and I’d like to have more fun like this,” he told Argonauts.ca. “I wanted to get more involved in the Alumni Association, so that’s when I reached out to Stacey Coray and indicated my interest in joining the Board.”

Coray was the group’s president and was looking for people exactly like Pottinger. With the Toronto Argonauts Alumni Association (TAAA) executive committee almost entirely north of 60 years old, an influx of youth was much needed. The 41-year-old Pottinger was the perfect fit; he was younger, enthusiastic, had a big personality, and was armed with an MBA in Business.

The president, along with vice-president Dan Ferrone, opened the door for Pottinger and former offensive lineman Sandy Annunziata to take over those positions and the pair happily accepted the offer. It was a seamless transition of power and the dawn of a new era in the TAAA.

Pottinger’s first objective is an obvious one.

“Sustainability,” he said matter-of-factly. “The association, as it stood, was not in a sustainable state where money was coming in to support all the initiatives we would like to do. We weren’t bleeding too much cash, but that’s because we weren’t doing anything to spend the cash. We need to create a harmonious revenue stream coupled with a dispersal stream of funds going to places that we deem to be important.”

Such as?

“Supporting local youth football,” said the Whitby native and McMaster product. “High-school coaches are struggling to get the equipment that they need for their programs. Helmet recertifications are so expensive, a friend of mine is a high-school coach, and he sent me an invoice showing his helmet recertification which was over $7,000. If we can help support local high-school programs and make sure the kids are in top-notch equipment for safety, I think that would be a great mission for the association.”

There’s a second immediate issue Pottinger wants to address.

“We’re going to keep the Alumni Support Fund. We will help anyone in need tap into what’s available there, but if we can have a fund that’s readily available for alumni that are in need, if we can help support them financially in any way then we should make sure we position ourselves to do so.”

Annunziata is a youthful 55 years old and will serve as Pottinger’s consigliare. He brings an even bigger personality and a background in business and politics.

“They reached out to me and they did the soft sell,” Annunziata told Argonauts.ca. “I have so much on the go that I didn’t think I could give it my 100-percent effort in an executive role. They said they’d really like me to join as V.P. and I said absolutely, I’d be more than happy to help plot the leadership and governance course of the association.”

The new regime is in its infancy, but Annunziata is happy with what he’s seeing.

“So far so good. We’ve gotten a lot of things done in the last month and that’s a testament to Jason because he’s on top of things. He has the vision, and I firmly support that vision as far as where we’re moving this alumni association.”

The Western product knows there’s some serious leg work ahead to get the Alumni Association humming they way they know it can.

“It’s about connecting with the alumni that have contributed to the fabric of the Toronto Argonauts and inviting them back into the fold. I know there’s a lot of guys out there that would love to come back but have a bad taste in their mouth because of some personal negative circumstances, like how they left the Argonauts. Those are the bridges we’re going to build. We’re going to let them know they’re a part of the history of this club and we’re going to need their support, we’re going to need their ideas, and as much as we value them, we want them to value the Argos Alumni Association.”

The trickle of younger players coming home to the Argos is increasing. For those living in the GTA there are some impressive perks to those who join the TAAA.

“The biggies are discounted ticket prices, 50% off and that includes playoffs,” said Pottinger. “I took advantage of that for the playoff game against Ottawa this year. There’s also the alumni suite that MLSE provides for us (for all home games), you get access to that. There’s a significant discount on Argo merchandise at Real Sports, and it will allow you to take part in other events that we have going on, the most obvious one being the annual reunion.”

Pottinger points out that there’s more than just financial benefits to joining the association.

“We all dedicated years of our lives to our football careers. Everyone played for different periods of time in the CFL, but we all played many, many years dating back to our youth and it’s a huge chunk of our lives. I wanted to continue to celebrate that period of my life that I put so much hard work and effort into; blood, sweat and tears, I sacrificed my body, we all sacrificed our body to play the game that we enjoyed. There’s no better way to continue to celebrate that period of your life than to get involved with the Alumni Association, attend events and stay connected with fellow alumni. It’s a way to feel more proud about what you accomplished with your career and share that with your family and friends.”

Pottinger isn’t the first player or former player to talk about the importance of the three Fs, football, friends, and family.

“I didn’t have kids until well after I was retired, so my kids are going to look at my career and not fully understand what it was all about. For me, to think about when they’re 10 years old, 15 years old, to think about bringing them to events like that 150^th celebration and share those moments with them so they can look around and see what I was a part of, and still am a part of, that’s really a big motivator for me to stay involved and help create a better alumni experience.”

If you’re a former Argo and are interested in helping Pottinger, Annunziata, and company achieve that, reach out to them or Bob Bronk on X, or reach out to your humble typist on X @MikeHoganArgos and I will connect you with a member of the board.