DIRECTORS REPORTS

John Rodwell VICE PRESIDENT

Looking back at 2015, I really enjoyed using the big club’s facilities without the internal hoardings and partial closures which were necessary to undertake the great improvements in club amenities undertaken over previous years. Since I joined the Board in late 2007, we have spent well over $100 million on developments. I do not take credit for this, as the masterplan used was the result of many years of work by the Board and management before I joined.

One thing the Board is conscious of, but may not be so obvious to members, is the efficient way the club managers and staff have kept all services running smoothly during the enormous changes made over these 8 years. The experience gained will again be useful during the extensive redevelopment of the Club’s restaurants during 2016. This will crown the achievements to date in providing for members a first class club which is the envy of many others.

As the Club progresses and modernises we still keep in mind its history. In the last journal the new history display in the lower level of the big club was highlighted. The display has provoked a lot of favourable comment from members and visitors. I recommend standing in front of it for a few minutes to read the sections and watch the changing photographs.

Any more photos and memorabilia associated especially with the early days of the Club would be appreciated and can be incorporated in the display. The Board has also recently commissioned Gary Lester, author of the Club’s history, True To Our Traditions, to commence work on updating that history. This will be made available only in a digital format, an e-book, so copies of the original, handsome edition are still valuable, and available for only $20 at Reception. (Proceeds to the Asbestos Diseases Foundation.)

While on the subject of writing, the Revesby Writers’ Group is a small but active sub-group of Revesby Workers’. The group is privately publishing a collection of “fact, fiction and fun”, under the title The Revesby Bus. Twelve members have contributed 32 very individual pieces, with idiosyncratic titles. My favourite title is “Aerodynamics for dummies.”

Another of our newer sub-clubs is the Australian Native Orchid Club. The club holds two colourful exhibitions on club premises each year, one in September and then the main competitive show for members in October. Visitors are very welcome. Its informative website is available from the Workers’ website.

From newer sub-clubs to the oldest, I recently attended the 53rd annual general meeting of the Men’s Golf Club. The club is going from strength to strength, with 60 playing members, recent recruits and willing new office- bearers. It also has a dynamic and humorous website, available from a link at the Workers’ main website.

Finally, some news from the Board Room. Board members have been previously supplied with laptop computers, to assist them with their duties – much of modern communication is of course digital, from email to social media and online conferencing. The Board has recently adopted the use of software to move to a paperless meeting system.

The typical Board meeting would have 2 inches or more of papers to be read and digested. With the new system, all documents for a meeting are securely available, and can be updated, read and annotated, anywhere, anytime. We have come a long way from the beautiful, handwritten minutes of the first Board meeting in 1961.