To members in recognition of service

Allison Kay: Nine years on the committee

Allison is stepping down from the committee after 10 years of service, nine of them as treasurer as well as a part-year as acting treasurer, when Barbara Thomson was unable to continue due to illness.

Allison’s extended service as treasurer was acknowledged at the 2022 AGM, when she handed over the reins to Christine Crewdson. Her final job as treasurer was to supply a comprehensive deskfile as a reference tool for Christine, with detailed information on the role of club treasurer.

It is typical of Allison’s strong sense of commitment to the club, that she continued on the committee a further year to provide any backup and support that Christine might need. Allison is now retiring from the committee in the knowledge that she has ensured a seamless transition from one treasurer to the next.

As outlined at last year’s AGM, Allison has been involved in the organisation of many events during her years on the committee, in addition to her financial duties.

She served on the shared annual dance committee from 2018-2022, supervised the kitchen at mid-year dinner socials, and has been involved on the catering side for any number of club events. Despite leaving the committee, it’s fantastic that Allison has offered to continue to help with catering for future club events.

Allison has always been an involved and totally reliable member of the club committee, and I am grateful to have had her input and support over the last 10 years. Thank you Allison.

John Markham: Eight years on the committee

John is another stalwart of the committee, having served as a general committee member for the last eight years. I think he may have missed only one meeting in those eight years, and it has been a pleasure to work with him on the committee.

John brings the valuable perspective of someone who has danced for over 50 years, and also been a member of other Wellington clubs Kelburn and Ngaio. He is always positive and supportive, appreciating and acknowledging the work that others do to keep the club running.

John is the epitome of a willing worker. He has been a constant help with hall setup for club events, and will forever be associated in my mind with the club’s tartan bunting, as he has strung it up so many times over the years.

He has volunteered on the supper team since at least 2018, starting as a casual supper helper then becoming a monthly supper team member. He has also been part of the summer Beginners’ Class poster team, putting up posters each year in January to publicise our classes – initially in Ngaio, then in Thorndon once he moved into town.

Then there are the special contributions that John has made. When still working as a PE teacher at Onslow College, he taught Scottish Country Dancing to his students as part of the PE curriculum and brought them along to club, giving both groups a lot of fun.

John is also a regular performer at the club’s Summer Ceilidhs, starting with the very first one held in 2014 at our home in Newlands where he kept us all entertained with his humorous recitation of the The Lion and Albert. At later Summer Ceilidhs at the Johnsonville Bowling club, John has acted as quiz master, and also sung for us.

John is a very loyal member of Johnsonville Club, and has served it well. He even came along to club on crutches after his hip replacement, despite being unable to dance. Although he is stepping away from the committee, like Allison, John plans to continue to help whenever he’s needed.

Thank you John for your commitment to Johnsonville Club, and all you’ve done for it.

Maureen Sullivan: Eight years and more

Maureen last received a service award in 2019 for her work co-ordinating potluck food at the summer ceilidhs, the hall roster when Rod and I were away for extended periods over a number of years, being key holder and opening the hall during those times, and standing in when all members of the executive were away due to travel/illness.

Four years on, Maureen continues to serve the club, and is now in her seventh year as a committee member. She has continued to co-ordinate potluck offerings at the Summer Ceilidh since her award in 2019, and has been second in command in the kitchen at our midwinter dinners at St Johns for the last few years, giving Allison some time out of the kitchen.

Maureen comes early every week for hall setup, and produces a master running list of events across the Region, updating it weekly for the noticeboard. Robert and I find this list invaluable in keeping track of upcoming events for inclusion in the newsletter, and for planning purposes to avoid clashes with other clubs’ events.

Last year Maureen developed a comprehensive Khandallah Town Hall storage cupboard inventory, so we know what the club has in storage. She made a master list split out into sub-lists for each shelf so we know where to find things and where to return them to.

This year, Maureen took the lead in organising the very successful Stars and Stripes dinner. Whenever we move to a new venue or use a different caterer, there’s lots of initial work to be done. Maureen put in a lot of time liaising with both the Johnsonville Club re the venue, and the chef of the Capital Bistro for catering.

Additionally, Maureen is a volunteer on the summer Beginners’ Class poster team each year, putting up posters around Johnsonville. She is also a backup for sound equipment setup, and has been a tester for John Homes’ deskfile instructions on how to set it up.

All in all Maureen gives service to the club on many different fronts, and has now added tutoring to the list. Thank you Maureen.

Aline Homes: Club Artiste

Aline Homes has been a member of Johnsonville Scottish Country Dance Club since 1982, and was awarded Honorary Life Membership in 2011. She has served on the club committee, the Wellington Region committee as a Johnsonville delegate, and used skills from her preliminary certificate to act as relieving tutor at club.

Although Aline is not able to do a great deal of dancing these days, she retains an active interest in the club and has continued to create wonderful floral displays at club Annual Dances – something she’s done since at least 1995!

She also created decorations for any number of theme nights over the years. The wall hanging at this year’s Stars and Stripes Ceilidh was one from the past, on the theme of ‘a moonlit night’ and was perfect as a centrepiece for this year’s celebrations.

In 2022, Aline added ‘club bard’ to her artistic endeavours, sharing her first story with us at Halloween. In 2023 she added St Patrick’s Day. It is not an easy thing to stand up in front of the club and offer us her version of ancient Celtic tales. We are grateful for the ancient knowledge and verse-making Aline shares with us at our St Patrick’s Day and Halloween celebrations.

More recently Aline has done some video recording of dances at club events, the most significant being Johnsonville dancing Linton Ploughman for the New Zealand Branch’s PickUp 52 centenary project.

Thank you Aline for your commitment to the club over so many years, and the richness you add to our lives through your artistry.

Elizabeth Judge and Maura Beattie: Supper team and more

Last, but most definitely not least, Elizabeth and Maura are both members of our very much appreciated supper team. They give up their own dancing time at club to bring us a hugely welcome cup of tea and a biscuit, and also volunteer as supper helpers at events like the annual dance.

Supper co-ordinator Elizabeth Ngan says ‘they both deserve a medal’ for always being there to help without being asked. And always with a smile and a cheerful word.

Elizabeth Judge has now been volunteering for at least four years, possibly longer. I have a picture in my mind of her helping Elizabeth Ngan cut up cake at Johnsonville Bowling Club in 2020, and I believe she was already offering a helping hand at suppertime in her first year of dancing at Johnsonville School Hall in 2019.

As long-serving supper team members have stepped down, Elizabeth has stepped into their shoes as someone to be relied on to do whatever is needed in the kitchen, with no fuss and a great attitude.

Elizabeth’s caring nature means she also encourages and supports new dancers who may happen to live along her route to the hall by offering them a ride, and helping them feel at ease once they reach their destination.

Additionally, this year Elizabeth was involved in club community outreach – a visit to Newlands Brownies. Elizabeth was one of an enthusiastic set of volunteers, who spent the evening demonstrating for and dancing with the brownies, as part of their badge promoting good health through fitness.

Maura Beattie also joined the club in 2019, and became a supper team member in 2021. She then joined the club committee at the end of 2021, and brings her knowledge of the supper team to committee discussions. Maura does the purchasing of supper supplies, and has represented the supper team on the Annual Dance sub-committee and New Dancers Celebration sub-committee.

Maura also contributes to other activities with her committee hat on. She helped with protracted process of sorting, recording, and repacking the contents of the store cupboard, and is responsible for checking and updating the club’s first aid kit annually.

This year Maura has also taken on extra duties, co-ordinating Beginners’ Class poster distribution in January, and organising the upcoming club Christmas Lunch in December. She also continues to be responsible for booking the venue for our committee meetings, and picking up and dropping off the key.

Thank you Elizabeth and Maura for your cheerful and willing service. It is wonderful to have helpers who are always ready to lend a hand, and quietly step in when needed.

Kristin Downey
21 November 2023