Winding up the year in a positive mood Update from President David Newman Everyone is busy at this stage of the year in the time-honoured ritual of “getting the place tidied up for Christmas and ready for the New Year”. It’s the same for staff and committee members at your club. Next year will be pivotal for the club’s future as the committee takes decisions that may lead to an Extraordinary General Meeting in the first quarter to come up with a strategy to make sure we provide welfare services for our veterans and all other members. Hopefully, along the way we will cement in our role as a community hub for the district. Next week, the President’s Letter will come out on Tuesday and will contain the full text of a report I commissioned to set out the options for the club to stay viable from 2024, including input from your committee which meets on 27 November. Please think about it over the break and into the New Year and get any comments or suggestions through to us ahead of any EGM that may be necessary. No one has a monopoly on good ideas. No group better represents why we are here as an RSA than the King’s Empire Veterans’ Association formed by Lord Ranfurly in 1900 to recognise all Veterans who had served since 1842. The initial name was the Empire Veterans of New Zealand. Although the National body was wound up in 2020, the Silverdale branch still remains with one other in the country and meets on the second Tuesday of the month at the Hibiscus Coast Community RSA. The pictures opposite show the group celebrating an early Christmas at the club yesterday – supporters are always welcome. There’s plenty of events planned between now and the 22 December when we will close until January 9 in the New Year for the Christmas New Year break. If you have not planned your company event this week, check out what the club offers. We even have a bus, van or car available to Page 4
pick up or drop off from one to 17 members at a time. We finally got sign off on the building warrant of fitness with the installation of a full ventilation system in the main club area -- ironically just in time to have our new WoF for next year signed off in mid December. That should make the summer a lot more comfortable in the club. We are ready to get the roof and fascia painted once the weather breaks and are prepared for our health and safety inspections for the restaurant. Among the repairs during the year was the return of one walk-in chiller and one walk-in freezer which has improved kitchen operations and planning. We still owe the best part of $50k on capital expenditures and repairs and maintenance plus final payments for the new Pokies. It has been an expensive if essential task to bring the club back to being compliant and safe. The consequences if we did not do it and how we escaped notice for so long do not bear thinking about. I am delighted that this committee took the bull by the horns and got ourselves out of the scourge of Covid in good shape, compliant and safe. Now we need the same commitment and member support to shore up our future The access road saga grinds on but we have advanced to a stage of open communications zeroing in at all levels on daily maintenance,
