President’s Report
As outgoing President, this will be my last report for the Newsletter. At our Annual General Meeting on Saturday 25th November, I stepped down and John Groom was elected to take on the role of President. The remaining office bearers, being willing to continue in their roles, were re-elected. See the list of Committee Members on the website page – About Us. Minutes of the meeting will be distributed to all members in the coming week.
The year is coming to an end on a good note. As reported at the AGM, our finances are solid and our member numbers are steadily growing. What is particularly pleasing is the significant growth in the number of activities (45%) and participation rate (55%) over the last year or so. The number of leaders has remained roughly the same, which suggests that they are stretching themselves further to keep our program busy and interesting. We would really like more members to help spread the load. If you would like to find out more about leading, please don’t hesitate to contact one of the committee members or simply talk to a leader you know. We also need to work on putting activities into the program at least 2 weeks ahead, preferably more. While the fickle weather does make forward planning difficult, most members like to plan ahead to some degree. When dates are left open to the last minute, it seems that the same few leaders are always filling the gaps. Also, people thinking about joining the club will find little of interest if there are weeks of blank dates, for example, no weekend walks, or no bike rides. Please consider putting in your activities well in advance, not only to secure your preferred date, but also to give everyone an idea of what we can look forward to.
It has been a long haul since we were first advised of the insurance issue regarding e-bike riders. We have now finally arrived at the point of applying for affiliation to Bicycle NSW. Given the take up of e-bikes and growth in participation in our cycling activities, it makes sense to be affiliated to the relevant peak body. It will bring with it ride leader training and protection as well as cover for the club and individual cyclists. We continue to be affiliated with Bushwalking NSW with respect to our bushwalking activities. Thank you everyone who has supported the decisions we have made in addressing the issue.
We are now moving into warmer weather, holidays and the festive season. We wish all our members a safe and happy Christmas – and all the best in the New Year.
Penny Howes