Meeting John Rutherford.
Although he probably wouldn’t admit it, John Rutherford has been the driving force behind the vital refurbishment work of St Paul’s Boxing Academy from its inception.
And despite the project undoubtedly being a team effort, it was John who handpicked the members of that team and persuaded them to get involved.
“They are all people I knew,” John said.
“From the start, I took the view refurbishing St Paul’s was a huge undertaking and I needed a team of people with different skills such as accountancy, property knowledge, construction, legal, education, and promotions to get it done.
“So, that is what I set about building.”
John’s introduction to St Paul’s and the good work it does had come several years earlier, however.
A lifelong and generous patron of his local community, John used to run a Boys Brigade group in a particularly disadvantaged area of Hull, helping guide those in his care towards productive and happy lives.
“They could be quite a handful,” recalls John.
“So, I put a lot of work into it because I realised just how much help they needed.
“But one boy, Kevin Waller, started going to St Paul’s and I saw real change in him. That’s when I knew it was a club doing very positive things.”
Fast forward to 2012 when Luke Campbell MBE won gold at the London Olympics in spectacular style.
Luke started his career at the North Church Side gym under head coach Mike Bromby and is now a patron.
Terry Moore, a well-known solicitor in Hull, had an office whip-round for St Paul’s in the light of the victory, but when he took the money along to donate, he was shocked by the state the gym was in.
Wanting to help, Terry arranged for Mike Bromby to speak at a meeting of the Rotary Club to see if anything could be done, and it was there John heard the story of St Paul’s.
“I was very impressed with Mike,” John said.
“Instead of talking about his achievements with Luke Campbell, he spoke humbly about his worries over gangs and knife crime. His concern was for the young members and what would happen to them if the club closed.”
Shortly after this, John and partner Shelagh Devereux visited St Paul’s to be equally astonished at the state of the gym which had recently produced an Olympic champion.
So, the duo decided to do something about it themselves, and it is then they started to assemble the team that would ultimately save St Paul’s.
“Mike was convinced the club would close due to lack of money or simply becoming unfit for purpose,” John said.
“So, we organised a social gathering and got people to come along. That seemed to go well and there was some interest.
“The second time we did this, Tony Horncastle came along, as did Mark Coates from Alan Wood & Partners. Mark brought along a drawing of what the gym could look like which was where the initial vision came from.
“Tony donated £5,000 from his charitable trust to get us started and said he would give us one pound for every three we raised up to £25,000, which would get us to our first £100,000.
“It felt amazing to see things actual start to happen.”
In 2017, Tony’s son Andrew got involved and things took another leap forward.
With hard work from John, Shelagh and club member and volunteer Barrie May, grant money started to materialise, including a £105,000 award from Sport England.
This, along with donations from the business community, Hull City Council, charity funding organisations and individuals raising money, meant the full refurbishment work could finally get underway in May 2020.
John readily admits he put together a formidable team.
“If you look at the trustees, there isn’t a passenger among them. We all put in the full twelve rounds and I believe something fantastic has been achieved,” he said.
“But it wasn’t just about getting the refurbishment done. We wanted to put together a team that would support St Paul’s in the future to ensure this fantastic resource goes from strength to strength.”
But forever thinking of others, John said one moment above all others will make all the effort worthwhile.
“The biggest thing for me will be when I see the coaches in the new facility,” he said.
“Because they are there week in, week out. They are the real heroes. They make the difference to young lives.”