Vale - Flo Lang
Andrew Thomson
Flo Lang was a long standing servant of the Sherwood Districts Australian Football Club from the 1970s to the 1990s. Flo was Sherwood‘s second female Life Member after Maureen Stewart when she was awarded Life Membership in 1994, one year after husband Ray was also awarded Life Membership in 1993.
Flo and her husband Ray were a partnership and their joint passion was the Sherwood Football club. Flo was a long serving committee member of the Sherwood Social Club and was involved in fundraising and organising social events from the 1970s through to the 1990s. She served for a total of 14 years on the Social Club’ s Board of Management from 1982 to 1995, serving as Secretary in 1987.
Her husband Ray served for many years as Social Club President and Secretary so it was somewhat of a team effort for the Lang’s at Sherwood.
Ray and Flo would often host club functions at their home and many a player celebration ended up at the Lang home. Flo was generous with her time and guided many a young player with timely and motherly advice over many years.
She recently attended the club’s Inaugural Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction as the then club’s oldest surviving Life Member at 93 years of age.
Flo was a major contributor in Sherwood surviving a possible takeover from the QAFL in 1991 which would have seen the club either fold or revert to a junior club only. At that time Sherwood found themselves in debt to the QAFL who were preparing to take over the Sherwood club premises.
Sherwood fought a rearguard action to raise funds and one of the leading proponents and fundraiser was Flo, who with Dick Jakavicius and Bob and Denise Morris sold lotto tickets and held multiple raffles with all funds to go to paying down the debt to the QAFL. Flo also took on catering responsibilities at the Social Club to keep the costs down and raise funds so the club could survive.
Ray and Flo had four sons and a daughter namely, Wayne, Robert, Paul, Colin and Karen. Robert, Paul and Colin all played football for the Sherwood Football Club and Karen married Steve Mitchell, a long-term player, coach and committeemen of Sherwood. The legacy continues with Karen and Steve’s sons and Flo and Ray’s grandsons in former club captain and Bill Peirce Medallist Drew Mitchell and current senior vice-captain Luke Mitchell both making significant contributions on and off the field for the Magpies.
Flo and her husband Ray embody what is good about the Sherwood football club – a sense of family and community and a love of the club. The legacy of countless hours of voluntary service is not only the survival of the club but to ensure it continues to flourish so that their grandsons and great grandsons and now great grand-daughters and countless others can continue to enjoy playing our great game at Sherwood.
