Words John Edwards Picture Wayne Ashall

He was born in Argentina, raised in California and went to university in Arizona, but Rickson Parmeggiani is Alty through and through.

When he relocated to the UK roughly seven years ago, the decision to set up home in the Altrincham area was solely down to a lifelong allegiance to Manchester United.

That he still lives here and has no intention of moving anywhere else, is entirely due to Alty taking over as his main sporting passion.

Rickson's Stateside accent, broad smile and ever-ready willingness to turn his hand to anything that needs doing have become regular features of day-to-day life at The J.Davidson Stadium since he suggested a quite remarkable working arrangement with Co-Chairman Lawrence Looney last summer.

In a nutshell, he was prepared to step away from his job for 12 months and put his business acumen and boundless energy at the club's disposal free of charge to see if he was worth keeping on at the end of it.

So far so good, judging by his nomination as the latest winner of our Blanchflower-sponsored volunteer-of-the-month award.

But why take such a risk, and why Alty?

"When I moved to England, I chose the Altrincham area because I was a United fan and had been since I was a little kid," he said. "But when I started playing Football Manager over here, I wanted a local team and went for Altrincham. Naturally, I found out more and more about the club and began to feel an attachment.

"Then, last summer, I watched the Welcome to Wrexham documentary and was surprised to see there were opportunities at that level to volunteer. I didn't know you could volunteer and get involved with a club.

"That really appealed. I work for myself as a business consultant and football has always meant so much to me, so I contacted Lawrence and asked if there was any chance of getting involved with Alty.

"It was at the start of August, and basically I said 'how about if I put my business on hold, work for you for nothing for a year and if you want to hire me after that, great?'

"I'm living off my savings while I'm following my dream, and I would love it if it ended with the club saying 'yeah, we're happy with you and we can take you on.'

"There are no guarantees. I went into it with my eyes open. It's high risk, but high rewards. That's the kind of guy I am - it makes it all the more exciting!"

Alty chief executive Sam Mackenzie summed up our award winner's impact by saying: "I first met Rickson on a zoom call as he sat in the sunshine halfway across the world in San Diego!

"The decision he made to come and volunteer with us is testimony to his passion and commitment for the football industry and to how much he wants to make his mark.

"He has certainly has done that. The energy he exudes is infectious, and Altrincham FC is a better place since his involvement.  From day one, Rickson has made a fantastic contribution, and he continues to work as part of a team with the people at the club.  It is an absolute pleasure to have him volunteering with us."

Rickson might have guessed he was destined for Alty when a blossoming playing career was brought to a halt by an injury to, wait for it, his ACL.

"I played at a competitive level in the States, but that all ended at 18 years old when I did my ACL," he said. "It was the second time I'd done the same knee, and this was worse than the first one.

"It looked like a balloon, and when Ethan Ross had the misfortune to do his recently, I commiserated with him but told him his was nothing like as bad as mine was.

"The problem for me was that it happened in Covid, and it took so long to get it seen to and sorted out that I was left with scar tissue and problems with my calf.

"But I've lost none of my enthusiasm for being involved in the game in some capacity, and Alty feels so right.

"I really have fallen in love with the club. Everyone is super cool, and I love the atmosphere about the place and on matchdays, whether it's home or away.

"I go to all the away matches, and I can feel the passion everyone has for the club. It comes across every time.

"There's nothing like being part of something where you are moving up through the ranks and heading towards your goal; in our case, the Football League. Maybe eventually the Premier League! Why not - that would be something else."

So, how would Rickson describe his input so far?

"My background is in business and football, but I'm happy to try my hand at anything," he said. "It's anything and everything, really, particularly on the operations and commercial side.

"I help organise volunteers on matchdays and deal with any issues that crop up regarding tickets, and I sometimes work on invoices if we have players on loan.

"I work quite closely with Sam Mackenzie and Wayne Ashall, and I have trained volunteers to run golden goal. If a turnstile volunteer is late or doesn't turn up for whatever reason, I'll jump in and operate it myself - as I say, anything that needs doing.

"I just love every day at the club, and my dream is to be working here until I reach retirement age. I'm only 27 at the moment, but you've got to shoot for the stars, haven't you?"

You certainly have, Rickson, and we hope everything pans out as you would like it to. In the meantime, enjoy your £30 voucher, kindly donated by our volunteer-of-the-month sponsor, the renowned town centre restaurant Blanchflower.