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PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Welcome to the winter edition of our magazine. It is a pleasure to report to you again about our Club and its concerns. The 43 floor office tower to our north and west continues its growth ahead of schedule. Current expectations are that ANZ will be in occupation by 30th June 2013 and Freehills by 31st July. It is our understanding that these two will occupy over 80% of the lettable space. A new 3 storey building to be known as 167 Castlereagh Street will be erected to our immediate north. Its roof line will be below the window level of our magnificent dining room, and sunlight will be retained from that level up to our roof. The earlier demolitions exposed parts of our northern wall which, together with our rear or western wall, will be repaired, rendered and painted (after unnecessary ducting has been removed) at no cost to your Club. I thank theGeneral Manager for his valuable assistance to me in achieving this result.
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PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Dear Fellow Members, I begin by thanking those members who have enquired over the past six months about my health. Their concern and good wishes have been heartening. My doctor’s report is good. This edition of our magazine includes the Director’s Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 30th June and I commend these to your attention. The regularity with which Registered Clubs in this state are seeking amalgamation or are simply closing is a matter of concern and it is against that background that you will be pleased to read that we have again made a profit. On your behalf, I thank the Board, Management and Staff for their combined efforts, without which this result would not have been possible. The massive construction to our immediate north and west continues to grow and is planned to be completed by January 2013.
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PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Dear Fellow Members, Before preparing this report I have read a copy of the General Managers report. It is, as usual, wide reaching and detailed. Little point would be served by covering the same ground and so, on this occasion, my report will be on a personal note. On 30th of March I was working in my office at the Club preparing material for the Board meeting to be held on 6th of April. After lunch I was returning to my room when I suffered severe chest pain. After about forty five minutes without relief, I telephoned Warren Lewis who quickly called an ambulance. I was then taken to St Vincent’s hospital emergency ward where tests showed that one artery was completely blocked. Two stents were put in place and shortly before 6.00pm. I had passed through the recovery ward and was placed in the acute care ward...
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PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Dear Fellow Members, Since my last message the Club has suffered the loss of a number of Members. Amongst our losses have been two former Directors, Lindsay Graham and Ron Maguire. Notes about their service to the Club appear on the opposite page of this magazine. We also lost on the 13th February Clarrie James O.A.M and on the 20th of April Jill Graham (Lindsay’s widow). The Club was represented at all three funerals and a wake was held in the Club for Clarrie’s, family and friends. They will be sorely missed. The Board recently and successfully concluded the sale of its Heritage Floor Space, having previously been authorised to do so at the Annual General Meeting. The price obtained was most satisfactory and the resultant funds will be put to good use. The Board has now to negotiate an appropriate Neighbourhood Agreement with Grocon which will be developing the site to our immediate north and west.
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PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Dear Fellow Members, All members should have received my message of 7 September about the forthcoming Board elections. A reading of the annual report, which appears in this edition of the magazine, will indicate that the Club, like all others, will require a Board for the next two years which is experienced and able to make difficult decisions. All nominees for Board membership consent to attend, if requested, a meeting with a person or persons nominated by the Board to discuss their understanding of the desirable attributes and the duties of a Director. I urge you to consider carefully any nomination and to look well to your ballot. In an article in this edition I have set out in some detail major events in the life of the Club over the past year. Accordingly, I shall use this opportunity to report on those responsible for various aspects of the Club’s activities.
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PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Dear Fellow Members, On 3 June, the Vice President Mr Lindsay Payne will resign from the Board of this Club. The Board will thus lose a hard working member who is currently also the longest serving member. Lindsay Payne joined the Board in 1993 and has served in a number of capacities including Treasurer, Convenor of the Finance Committee, Convenor of the House Supply & Staff Committee and Vice President. Lindsay has also been active in a number of sub-clubs including the Veterans’ Association, the RSL Masonic Sub-branch, the Sydney Birthday Club and the Touring Group. I have no doubt that he will continue to show a great interest not only in these groups but also in the life of the Club as a whole.
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PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Dear Fellow Members, Since I last wrote to report to you, the Vice President, the General Manager and I have once again attended the Annual Conference of Clubs NSW as the representatives of this Club. A new feature at this conference was an elective seminar on the subject of club amalgamations. It was well attended. The fact that such a seminar was held at all is indicative of the state of the club industry. Every month brings closures or proposals for the amalgamation of clubs. One city club has ceased trading, others are in financial difficulty and still others are in the process of amalgamation. Your Club has not been left unscathed by the financial downturn but your Board is confident that with prudence and effective administration we will come through the overall economic trough with all colours flying.
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PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Dear Fellow Members, Since my last report, much has been happening in the Club, for the betterment of yourselves, your guests and our hotel guests. The long awaited air conditioning work on floors, 8 to 11 and some small adjustments to the existing air conditioning on floors 6 & 7 will when you read this have been completed. This work has revealed some other areas where remedial treatment is necessary and your Board and Management will deal with these problems both promptly and prudently. As reported by the General Manager in this edition of the magazine, additional work has also been undertaken to improve our hotel bathrooms. All of these works are vital...
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