KPS President - Annual General Meeting Report, April 27 2022
KPS has managed to
work through the very trying Covid-19 period well placed to continue
to be a strong and financially stable club. As of lunchtime today, we
have 100 Active Full Members, 21 Associate Members, a healthy bank
balance and up to date technology with our recently acquired laptop,
projector and public address system.
Covid upset all our
lives but despite all the trouble it has caused, it gave KPS time to
establish a new computerised management system which has proven well
worthwhile for the smooth running of the club. Also, we can now meet
remotely, if need be, and can utilise judges elsewhere, particularly
for electronic images and can hear from remote speakers. All are
good things.
We continue to have
a great relationship with our landlord, Boronia West PS and we were
only too glad to help last November when the school could not get a
commercial photographer to photograph the kids. KPS stepped in and
photographed the kids so they didn’t miss out.
In recent times, our
volunteers (some committee members, some not), have worked
tirelessly to ensure KPS was active during the lock downs and into
the future, for which I sincerely thank every person who has
contributed to our club.
We couldn’t have
done it without you.
Notable changes that
have occurred in recent months are, as mentioned earlier, the
adoption of online management for KPS and new technology but also we
responded to member’s concerns about grading standards and
introduced a 3rd level for a more even system of
evaluations. We also took steps to help ensure the future financial
viability of KPS by increasing the membership fees whilst simplifying
the membership structure.
I would like to
thank the retiring committee members, Julie Bird, Jane Lolkema,
Janette Anderson, Lyn Sloane, Peter Knight and Gary Dawson, all of
whom have been great KPS members in their time in office.
Julie was a
committee member long before I joined the club in 2013 and has always
been a voice of common sense and prudence, particularly when it came
to some of my more outlandish suggestions which to me at least,
seemed to be good ideas when I thought of them.
Thank you Julie.
Lyn was our long
term Treasurer for many years and kept KPS on an even financial keel
and after relinquishing the mantle of Treasurer became our Membership
Officer and also, vitally, looked after our coffee/tea/biscuits
supplies and was known to very occasionally buy dark chocolate Tim
Tams, one of Australia’s greatest inventions.
Thank you Lyn.
Janette has been a
member of KPS for more than ten years including a stint as President
where she acquitted herself brilliantly in the role despite being not
at all sure she would cope. Always ready to volunteer for tasks, her
leaving the committee will ensure that she will be missed. I hope she
still dresses up for our special events for it was always worth
waiting to see how Janette would present for such events.
Thank you Janette.
Compared to the
other retiring committee members, Jane is a relative newcomer to KPS
but none the less has been a keen contributor to KPS and the
committee, particularly in her role as Equipment Steward, keeping
track of all the items of gear that KPS has acquired over the years
for the benefit of our members.
Thank you Jane.
Peter has done an
amazing job as Image Steward, particularly as he was instrumental in
introducing KPS to the Visual Pursuits software that not only runs
the competitions so well but also allows for the automation of online
membership fee collection and reminders, thereby reducing the amount
of work required by our treasurer and membership officers.
Thank you Peter.
Gary, amongst many
other things, was the force behind the KPS Monochrome Interclub and
in recognition of this and all his other valuable contributions to
KPS over the years, including his period as President, we plan to
have the ‘Gary Dawson Trophy’ to be awarded to the KPS Monochrome
Interclub Aggregate Winner, or words to that effect.
Thank you Gary.
I would also like to
thank Peter Collens for fulfilling his role as Treasurer so well and
so efficiently. Unlike me, his spreadsheets all seem to balance and
make sense. I am in awe of his skills there. I used to run my own
little business and needed to have an account titled ‘No Bloody
Idea’ where odd amounts of money that either turned up or were
needed elsewhere could live. Nothing like that needed by Peter. A
side hustle of Peter’s that helps KPS immensely by turning junk
into cash, is selling 2nd hand equipment for us at the Box
Hill Photographic market.
Thank you Peter.
Rob Sloane has been
KPS Secretary since Moses was in short pants and is an absolute
stalwart of KPS, which without his input in so many ways, too many to
list here, would be a much lesser club.
Thank you Rob.
There are of course
other members who help the club in so many valuable ways particularly
Bec for her role with our syllabus and most recently the very
successful Benalla excursion where Bec and Theresa organised a great
weekend for members.
Thank you Bec.
Thank you Theresa.
Likewise, Robyn
Varley, who has organised the Sea Lake excursion, three times now in
the Covid period so hopefully it will be third time lucky in 2022.
Thank you Robyn.
A non-committee
member who needs to be recognised for making a great contribution to
KPS is Gwyn Davies for volunteering to delve into the mysterious
world of government grants. Gwyn, who is obviously fluent in
‘grant-speak’ enabled KPS to receive nearly $5000 which has
enabled us to update all our major technology.
Thank you Gwyn.
One of the special
activities that KPS undertakes is the Tuesday Walk which has become a
bit of a fixture on our calendar as it has proven to be extremely
popular and for this we have to thank Ray, aided by Murray.
Thank you Ray.
Thank you Murray
I am sure I have
forgotten someone, or more than one, for which I apologise for there
are quite a number of members who help out in both official
non-official ways for a swag of jobs that are required to run a club
such as ours. Such as Lois, who is a bit of a chameleon and who never
seems to be at a meeting but is a vital part of the newsletter team.
Sincerely, thank you
one and all.
Noel Butcher
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