Officers of the League

Dave is the founder of the Beacon League back in 1977 and was a huge influence in making it such a success that it is today.

From the outset he combined his role as League Secretary , with those of fixtures, referees and writing the press round up for the local newspapers. Hundreds of players, secretaries, match officials etc will have fond memories of a friendly, helpful voice at the end of the phone who was always on hand to give advice to new clubs starting out.

Still living in Tamworth, Dave continues to be an avid Wolves supporter and is now in charge of fixtures for the league as well as offering his wealth of knowledge to the other members clubs and committee members within the organisation.

Diane worked tirelessly to support husband Dave to contribute to making the league a huge success from its inception. Taking responsibility for the day to day administration, including dealing with correspondence, registering and sorting out queries for the hundreds of players passing through the system.

Diane was liked and respected by all who came into contact with her during three decades of first class service to the league.

Signed for Wolverhampton Wanderers at the age of 18 and made his debut on 26 November 1977 in a 0-0 home draw with Ipswich Town. Mel made 169 league appearances for the Wolves, scoring 44 goals and was part of the League Cup winning side at Wembley, beating Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest 1-0 in 1980.

Mel was called up to the England 'B' squad at the end of 1978 and was top scorer at Molineux for two consecutive seasons during the 1981/82 and 1982/83 campaigns. Financial problems at Molineux saw him leave the club, along with many other players, after relegation in May 1984 and further spells followed at Huddersfield Town, Sheffield United and Gillingham amongst others.

Upon leaving the game he became an independent financial adviser and following this a licensed FA agent in the mid 1990s. He also had a short spell as manager of Willenhall Town from March 2006 until November 2007, guiding them to Birmingham Senior Cup success.

Brian is one of the co-founders of the league when it was established back in 1977.

In 1973 he qualified as a referee as well as completing coaching badges which gained him various roles within South Staffordshire Coaching Association.

From 1979 he spent three summer's coaching the Detroit Express and Cleveland Soccer Schools in the USA. During the late Seventies and early Eighties he managed former league side Blandfordmere to various league and cup successes and was the league Birmingham County FA representative for over thirty years. 

Simon's first involvement with Beacon League was back in 1995 when he tasted success as a player with AFC Codsall, helping them to the second division title and Clinton Cup.

The start of the 1997/98 season saw him join Coven Colts, where he spent three seasons before joining Perton Village in March 2001, helping them to two Premier league titles, three Lester Charity Cup medals, two Premier Cup successes and the prestigious Birmingham FA Sunday Junior Cup in May 2005. Simon is also a qualified referee and is responsible for the league website.

It was during the spring of 1999 that he was approached by founder David Clinton to fill the vacancy created by the departure of former secretary Ian Hurley. Simon remained in post until the end of the 2014/15 season before being appointed Vice Chairman.

The start of the 2017/18 campaign will see him combine his role as vice chairman with the league secretary role for a second stint.

Phil joined the league committee in 2010 to take on the vacant referee's appointments officers role.

His early involvement with football saw him captain his Wolverhampton Schools representative side and in later years played league Snooker for 12 years.

He has been a referee for over 20 years and has officiated on the Midland Football League, West Midlands Regional League and the Beacon Football League along with the academy football at Wolves, Walsall and West Bromwich Albion.

Malcolm joined the league committee for the start of the 2012/13 season to take on the extremely busy role of registrations secretary.

His playing days saw him turn out for Concord United and Mitre Saints before taking on the role of player manager for Penn Albion. Following this he took charge of Penn Mitre.

Having been an avid Wolves supporter for many years, Malcolm spends much of his time now following non-league football along with his other interests, Speedway, Cricket and Rugby League when time permits.

He has travelled the globe watching football and has seen Honved and Ujpest play in Hungary, Porto and Viitoria Guimares in Portugal as well as taking in matches in Bosnia and a visit to the San Siro to watch Inter Milan.

Another stalwart of Beacon League is long serving Martyn Chell.

Martyn has been a member of the league committee since its formation in 1977 and carries out a stirling job. Initially he combined his duties as manager of one of the founder clubs - Windsor F.C. with the Match Report Form Secretary's role until the club finished in 1980. 

Another familiar face on the local Sunday football circuit, Martyn is responsible for checking the clubs match forms on a weekly basis and producing all the statistics for the league.

Dave retired in 2014 after a 36-year career as sports editor of the Staffordshire Newsletter for whom he produced a comprehensive weekly section.

He covered all sports throughout his time and also travelled the length and breadth of the country following the non-league fortunes of Stafford Rangers, including a successful trip to Wembley for the 1979 FA Trophy final.

Dave is an award-winning journalist having been voted Midland sports writer of the year (for weekly papers) in 1980. Prior to joining the Newsletter he was a football writer for the Wolverhampton Chronicle covering the Sunday, Amateur and Works leagues in the 70s.

It was during that early period that Dave, as the founder member, ran the relatively successful Saints Youth Club (later Mitre Saints) FC in the Wolverhampton Sunday League.

Dave took on his role as the league's Press officer for the start of the 2015/16 campaign.

Ian joined the team in 2010 and operates in a dual role as club representative and he is also responsible for the league trophies.

His earliest involvements with the league came in the mid eighties when he was part of the Dell Sports team who went on to achieve various successes during the following decade, notably Division Three champions in 1996 and the following year, winners of the First Division.

In 2002 he took over the reigns as manager of the Dell Sports Youth team and in 2005 guided the side, then playing under the title of Smethwick Heating, to Clinton Cup glory. The following campaign saw them win the First Division championship, reamaining unbeaten throughout the term. Ian guided the Dudley based outfit to their highest ever league position in 2008/9 - under the banner of Pensnett FC, they finished runners up in the league's top flight.

In almost four decades of playing football, Ian has never received a caution or dismissal from the field of play!

Kathie joined the league committee for the start of the 2009/10 season to fulfill the vacant Press & Results Secretary role which she undertook until 2015.

Her initial involvement with the league dates back to 2004, taking on the secretarial role for Smethwick Heating. In 2008 she also took on the additional post of Treasurer at the Dudley based outfit. Kathie was also the First Aider for the team as a result of her 'day job' and maintained the club's website. 

In May 2009, she was awarded Beacon League Secretary of the Year for season 2008/9. The club, under the title of Pensnett FC disbanded in 2010, leaving Kathie to concentrate solely on her good work with the Beacon League. 

Football runs in the family, Kathie's grandfather played professionally for Birmingham City many years ago and received an England U21 cap.

John has been part of the league's management committee since 2005.

John was secretary for Coven Colts, who joined the league for the start of the 1996/97 season and were one of the longest serving clubs until they folded in 2011

Initially, he acted as a link for clubs feeding information back to the league. John is also a big Shrewsbury Town fan and season ticket holder. He is also a qualified referee and F.A. coach.