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October 2015
eNews
Little Ship Club
(Queensland Squadron)
Commodore’s report
The AGM has come and gone and all in the ‘blink of
an eye’. A new Board in place with big shoes to fill.
The Club Trophy Night was well patronised with
some interesting recipients in attendance.
Our Fishing Section excelled, acknowledging the
expertise of their anglers with many members
making numerous appearances to collect awards.
Of note was the number of junior anglers who in
some cases left Mum & Dad in the shadows. The
Fishing Section should be proud of its commitment
to the youth of our Club and for their inclusion in
the sport of angling. There is no
doubt that the continuance of the
section is guaranteed under the
current leadership and high level
of activity from members.
Our annual
Putt-Putt Championship
held on the morning of Saturday
10th October was an outstanding
success. The Club’s well maintained
‘greens’ were a challenge to some
of our professional participants.
It was noted that some competitors
were looking for ‘greens’ many,
many metres away causing some
members to scatter once the ball was struck. Again
our youth excelled and it was wonderful to see Mum,
Dad and the family participating. We will be looking
for an even larger, more competitive field next year.
At the AGM on Sunday 11th October, Honorary Life
Membership was awarded to Bettyann Webster, a
Member with a long and distinguished history in the
Club and particularly with the Game Fishing Section.
The process of evaluation of a person’s suitability and
their credentials to allow consideration for Honorary
Life Membership is arduous and nominees are much
scrutinised to ensure that they meet the highest of
standards before being recommended.
Honorary Life Membership is the highest award any
organisation can bestow on a member and as such
I commend the PC & HLM Committee for the
nomination of Bettyann and the attending Members
of the AGM to ratify the award.
We are moving into a new phase of consolidation.
The previous Board’s objective was to stabilise the
Club and make the organisation a viable operation.
Our new objective is to modernise operations, make
them more efficient, expand our services to our
Members, and continue to increase profitability and
membership and reduce wastage.
Long-term planning by way of a
Strategic Plan is required so that
incoming Boards have a mapped-
out process to follow with identified
objectives factored in from year to
year. Members should be aware
that there will be some heartache as
we move forward and plan for the
future, with particular emphasis on
the mine closure in 2019. This will
have serious effects on the Club if
we do not plan now. Members will
be kept appraised of decisions taken
to ensure the Little Ship Club’s longevity.
Moreover, we should all take note that nothing is
for free and while membership offers certain benefits
abuse of those benefits will not be tolerated. The
utilisation of the Little Ship Club as a residential
marina will be an area of review.
The Board is looking forward to providing and
maintaining a community-based boating club that
fosters a friendship and politics-free environment for
all to enjoy with an emphasis on family involvement.
Regards
Roger J. McDowall
Commodore
PCLM Tony
Neilson speaks
at the AGM
about the
Honorary Life
Membership
deliberations.
Photo by Pam
Mobsby
Retiring
Commodore
Lyle Watkins
presents
Bettyann with
Honorary Life
Membership.
Photo by Pam
Mobsby