2019 Club Service Awards

To members in recognition of service

It is always a pleasure to honour the contributions members have made to the club across the year at the AGM.

Elaine Rowse (service as secretary and newsletter editor)

Elaine second from the left with other Johnsonville dancers – Alan Cassidy, Désirée Patterson, Pat Reesby, Janet McFadden, Linda Tooley and Loralee Hyde – at Hogmanay at the Masterton Summer School 2017-2018

Elaine is standing down from the committee after two years as club secretary and newsletter editor. She generously took on the role at the end of 2017 before she had even completed her first year of dancing with the club.

This is quite a demanding job, especially as a new dancer, when you are still finding your way in the dancing world. It means you’re not free to focus just on your own dancing, you need to be thinking about many other things on club nights.

The secretary’s role is pivotal in keeping us all informed. For Elaine it has involved keeping abreast of all the events in the region, keeping up a flow of information, and the weekly commitment of producing the club newsletter. This is in addition to correspondence, collation of membership information, attending committee meetings and contributing to club events.

Elaine has brought her great organisational skills to the role, while continuing to run her own business. She also made life much easier for new dancers over the last two years, kindly bringing a selection of her dancing shoes along to club for dancers to try on and purchase (missing out on her own dancing to do that).

Her final contribution to the committee was the excellent suggestion that we split the secretarial and newsletter responsibilities of the role, which is what we have done for the new committee. By separating the administrative and communications aspects, it creates two more manageable roles each with its own focus.

Thank you Elaine for all you have given to the club.

Allison Kay (service as treasurer and more)

Allison took on the role of acting treasurer in 2014 when Barbara Thompson was no longer well enough to continue. She has continued as treasurer for 5 more years since then, and is a great asset to the club for much more than her weekly banking duties.

She reliably keeps the accounts up to date, has an intimate knowledge of the finances, and pro-actively advises the committee in our financial decision making.

Over time her role has become busier. Increasing numbers of club members each year, and increased numbers of social events mean she has to manage and monitor more payments of both club subs and registration fees.

With the move to a shared annual dance over the last two years, Allison has been part of the joint annual dance sub-committee, with responsibility for the budget and accounts. She is also responsible for processing RSCDS payments, never an easy task.

Separately from her treasurer role, over the last few years she has been kitchen co-ordinator for our winter social dance and dinner, and her mulled wine has become a highlight of the night.

Finally she is a great support and a “safe pair of hands” for the club when I am overseas. I have been overseas a lot in the last few years, leaving her with extra responsibility. Thank you Allison for your continuing commitment to the club.

Maureen Sullivan (service as committee member with special responsibilities)

Photo: John Patterson

Maureen has been a dedicated committee member for the last three years. If my memory serves me right, she has attended every committee meeting, tartan night and event and rarely (if ever) missed a club night. And that is despite the fact that she is also a member of Tawa club.

Since she joined the committee she has always been happy to help in any way she can, and has taken on many extra duties including:

  • co-ordinating the potluck contributions for the summer ceilidh
  • co-ordinating the hall volunteer roster when Rod and I have been away
  • taking on the responsibility for opening up the hall in our absence, and always being there for hall setup
  • giving event notices at supper, and all notices when I’m away
  • maintaining a listing of events for the noticeboard, and as a reference
  • standing in when no member of the executive is at club

She is always willing, completely reliable, and has made a great contribution to the smooth running of the club and to my peace of mind whether I’m here or away.

Thank you Maureen for all that you have done, and continue to do.

Nancy Tay (service as a committee member)

Nancy put up her hand to join the committee last year when we made a call for extra members. As with Elaine, it is quite a big ask to join the committee as a first year dancer, but Nancy is both a responsible and giving person, so she made that commitment.

It is always valuable to have a new dancer on the committee. Those of us who’ve been dancing a while can forget what it’s like, so we’ve really appreciated Nancy’s input and her caring nature. She is standing down from the committee this year to focus on family responsibilities, but she will continue to serve the club in whatever way she can help most. Thank you Nancy.

Kristin Downey
President
6 November 2019

Photos: Loralee Hyde except where noted

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