Presidents Report
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my pleasure to give this my second annual report and I will begin by offering my sincere condolences to the Families and Friends of the members who have passed away this year, we will miss every single one "we will remember them".
This year we have been busy consolidating on the start we made last year, even though trading conditions and unprecedented commodity rises have made the year very challenging I can report that in all aspects the club is moving forward and continues to be one of the leading clubs in the country, the platform being put into place now and over the next couple of years will see us in a good position to capitalise when the upturn come.
I will speak of the Club first and it always starts with the Executive Committee and we owe these members a vote of thanks for the hard work put in on your behalf over the past year, to those not standing for re-election thank you for your service and to those offering themselves to serve again or for the first time thank you and welcome.
As mentioned at the last AGM I will be asking for a change to Rule 24 of the Constitution from one to two Vice Presidents the reason for this is that with the increased demands on the President some easing of the load needs to be implemented or in the future we will have difficulties attracting members to this role. This change will be presented at the meeting.
Anzac Day this year despite the bad weather was very successful and thanks for this must go to the organisation put in prior to the day by the club management and staff, well done and thank you
Another big thanks on your behalf must go to Veronica Egan, her helpers and of course all those collectors.
This year's collection was down a bit on last year; but we believe that with all the Relief Appeals that occurred in the same period we felt effect of these, still we thank all those that gave and it was still a good amount that aid our Welfare services very ably managed by Athol Feek, thank you once again to all involved.
Management and Staff always play a huge part in every successful club and ours is no different, I have been fortunate to have been involved with the majority of our present people for several years now and I believe our Staff are the equal of any I have seen anywhere, they are hard working, polite and very organised. These remarks are based not only on the comments made by our own members but also those of the many visitors we get who either are just daily visitors or staying in house.
If you have the chance check out the website and in the comments site see the testimonials of what others think of us and our staff. Well done staff you are meeting the challenges presented by the changes of moving with the times. A personal thanks must go to our Pensions Officer Ray Terrill who always goes the extra yard to help those in need.
The Company this year has made steady progress, we have increased activity in most areas and the real success is the increased occupancy of the Motor Inn, this we know is due to the increased use of an internet presence and further updating of this is in the pipeline at the moment. The Restaurant is continuing to be the jewel in the crown and further promotions for this and for increased activity in the club is in the planning stage.
The inability to use the Hinton Lounge over the wedding and Christmas season cost us dearly and it is one area we must face reality on.
As mentioned earlier the huge price rises we have faced over the last year and seem to be continuing is making trading hard and the task the Board members have faced this year is not easy and the task will not get any easier. We believe the results this year is a good reflection of what is happening in the business community and the Company financials are available for members to peruse from the office. Due to the sensitivity of these documents they can only be seen by members and may not leave the premises.
The present Board consists of myself as Chair, Vice President Fred Milligan, Max Blackburn, Brian Darrow and Russell Williams and the Manager as Secretary to the Board. A lot of time is given freely by these members for no reward so on your behalf I thank them for this duty.
The only regret is that we have not been able to lower the mortgage as much as we would wish, have no doubt this is a aim of all who serve you; but there must be a trade-off between this and updating the facilities we have, with finances as they are we have to make decisions and live by them.
In conclusion I would like to say I do put myself out there for members to talk to me and do listen to the good and bad, unfortunately it is the wider picture of the progress of the club that is my aim, I will always try to satisfy most request, some it may not be the time for or the staff available, in general though the remarks I hear are positive and full of encouragement for the way we are progressing, the same goes for the next year is that if we can't afford it, it won't happen.
To help us further all you need to do is to use your Club, join an activity and be part of the forward movement.
The final word is a big thanks to all those who put themselves forward for their Sub-Clubs, it is around you our activities continue, also for the continued help from the Women's Section and congratulations for holding a very successful National Conference in our club.
It has been a pleasure to be your President over the past year and sure not all is exactly as we want it; but we are on the right path to building the club into the future.
Thank you.
Bob McLintock
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