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My two years in the chair as President has come to an end and I would like to thank everyone in the club for making it a very enjoyable experience. The two years have gone quickly and with the help of everyone I feel we as a club have had a good time trying new ideas and creating new social events which have been supported and enjoyed by many.
One of the many good things about being the President was to see things happen and to see ideas bloom. This last year, apart from the great and varied walks programs on the Wednesdays and weekends, I got much pleasure seeing activities like Laurel Hills where we explored the Hume and Hovell track, the week in the Blue Mountains with walks to the Bluegum Forest, the Canberra two-day International walk, and many other event which were supported by so many of our club members.
The co-operation with other walks clubs could have been better to my liking, but Ron Anderson and Rhonda Guy went a long way to fulfilling my idea of inter-club events, and I thank them both for their sterling efforts. I would like to add a special thanks to Ray Spratt who helped me out at Laurel Hills, and to Dot Gallagher who has worked very energetically with the Andante walks.
The Sydney City trips like The Cedar Exhibition, Historic James Barnett Buildings and lunch at Doyle's all went off well. The leaders get-together went well too and I hope it will be repeated. The car camps to various places were popular too, such as Newnes and Kangaroo Valley. Bike rides and canoeing gave variety to our walks programme, as did the general meeting's invited guests talking on geology, travel, first aid and so forth. Flavouring the walks with field studies of geology, bird watching and history all added to make my year of presidency very enjoyable and rewarding.
I personally would like to thank all of the committee members who have carried out the work behind the scenes to instigate the ideas that are dreamt up by the committee. Without Peter Dalton my job would have been another experience. I won't say what! Peter has been great to work with and backed up by our trusty Treasurer Nick Lloyd who has kept the books in balance, I was able to sleep peacefully at night.
Brett Davis, who has done a wonderful job with the Ettremist, has made great moves to keep the club a most progressive one, leading the bushwalking clubs of Australia with our web site and electronic modernisation. All we need now is the members to catch up with our super modern club.
To all the walks coordinators, Sandra Kelley, Sylvia Arthur, Karen Davis, Sue Bosdyk, and Dot Gallagher, and to the fifty or so club members who have led walks, I have a very special thank you, as this job, being one of the most important jobs in the club, takes a lot of work and time to make the walks schedule as good as it is.
To Yuriko, my good wife, who campaigned for me last year during the election and who has been our coffee convener for the last year, and to Margaret Brown, our social organiser who has kept the club in the front row seats at the Nowra Players for many years, a big thank you to you both.
Finally, thanks must go to my Vice President Sandra Kelley who has stood by me when the weather got rough, who would go to the helicopter and do my job, and was always there to give a helping hand when I needed it.
To the incoming President I would like to wish her all the support that everyone gave me and I know she will enjoy the position of President because it was ten times better than I had ever imagined. It has been my pleasure to serve the Shoalhaven Bushwalkers who are really a very appreciative lot.
Outgoing President - Lauri Ball - August 2005
