Chair’s report

Chair

James Glissan AM ESM QC

From the Chair

Members stand tall in year of change and challenge

It was the great Martin Luther King Jr. who said, “The true measure of a man is not how he behaves in moments of comfort and convenience, but how he stands at times of controversy and challenges,” and this year every one of our members has stood tall in the face of change and challenge, to their enduring credit.

In an emergency on the water, our members call on their resilience, adaptability and commitment to get the job done, and in the face of an ongoing pandemic, severe flooding and frequent poor weather, have this year drawn deeply upon all these qualities.

The tempering qualities of this year’s difficulties has seen our members emerge the stronger, and I thank every one of them for their efforts, with not one emergency call missed out of the record 4,251 received.

Thanks too to the NSW

Government for their unwavering support, which has enabled us to make further enhancements to our vessels, buildings and equipment. This support has helped us become not just the best resourced volunteer marine rescue organisation in the nation, but an organisation that is truly world-class, able to hold its head high in any company, and something every member should be proud of.

A great organisation is, of course, built on more than boats, ropes and buildings – it relies most of all on its people, and I want to thank every member of the service, staff and volunteer, for their contribution.

Part of this contribution included support to the flooding emergency in March that saw the most significant coastal floods in a generation. I want to thank all members who participated, whether undertaking rescues, taking calls in the Public Information Inquiry Centre, pulling shifts in an Emergency Operations Centre or helping to evacuate the displaced – your efforts brought credit to yourselves and our Service and are sincerely appreciated.

The unsung heroes of our Service are surely our radio operators, quietly providing essential communications between the public, our crew and our emergency service partners. Their efforts might be out of the public eye, but they are very much in the forefront of what we do, so I am delighted that this year has seen so much achieved to support them through the upgrade to our radio and telephony systems and the opening in June of the new State

Communications Centre in Belrose.

At our 2021 Annual General Meeting held on November 20, we bade farewell to Mid North Coast Regional Director John Lynch. John has proved a most able member of the Board, bringing vast experience and skills to the role. A ‘lynch pin’ of the Board, John will be greatly missed, and on behalf of the Board I thank him for his distinguished service.

The vacancy left by John’s retirement has been filled by Forster Tuncurry member Roman Mazurek, who was elected unopposed. A sincere welcome to Roman. I and the rest of the Board look forward to working with him.

Thank you to all the Board members for their work over the past year, and for your confidence in returning me as Chair, and I look forward to reaffirming my commitment to working for the advancement of the organisation and the care and well-being of all our members.

I end reflecting on the many successes we have achieved despite the impediments the year has thrown in our path. That we should be in such a strong position is in no small part due to the leadership of Commissioner Stacey Tannos and Deputy Commissioners Todd Andrews and Alex Barrell. I thank all of them and our staff for their professionalism and dedication and the care they have shown for our membership and the boating community.

As always, my deepest thanks goes to our members. Thank you for your efforts in this most extraordinary of years, and I look forward to catching up and shaking hands, or at least bumping elbows, with you next year.

Good sailing

Jim Glissan

In an emergency on the water, our members call on their “ resilience, adaptability and commitment to get the job done“