By RON LANE
FOR surf lifesaving clubs throughout Queensland, the June July period is a very busy one in our winter calendar. The major dates during this period are of course the annual general meetings and in some cases such as Noosa the Old Boys Reunions.
At Noosa, the AGM weekend started on the Saturday evening prior to the Sunday morning AGM, with the Old Boys Reunion. This was a great success with some 40 plus members both men and women, in attendance. For some, it was their first visit in 30 or 40 years and as one can expect many tall tales were exchanged and old mateships rekindled. The formalities were under chairmanship of Life Member Ross Fisher. On the agenda were such matters as a distinctive old boys’ logo, upgrading of their constitution, redesign of club dress shirt and discussions regarding the application for blue cards. The discussions were sometimes heavy, and as one can imagine on occasions hilarious.
However, the establishment and consolidation of these old boy groups within our clubs is of utmost importance for it helps to maintain a deep sense of pride and tradition. Without these two virtues, organisations, in particular those who specialise in the protection of human life, will often be found wanting. The other factor is of course experience. The opportunity to pass it on to the new generation of patrol members is to be encouraged. Try as you may, you cannot push a shopping trolley through your local IGA and purchase $50 worth of experience. It only comes with years of patrolling, decision making and hard work.
In his welcome to members, Ross took the opportunity to introduce a special guest to the meeting. He was none other than Barry Maloney, a foundation member, and life member of the West Beach Surf Lifesaving Club in Adelaide South Australia. Barry, who answers to the nickname of Dackless, and his wife Dorothy now live in retirement on Noosa Waters. Apart from his club duties and obligations, he is also the proud author of a book entitled, A Tin Shed on the Beach, a series of short stories on the early days of the club.
For the season ahead, Ross Fisher was returned to office as president and Trevor Cleary was elected secetary. A calendar of events for the season ahead will be forthcoming.
On Sunday morning, the annual meeting of the senior club was held. Attended by 90 members, the meeting was chaired by Gerard O’Brien who sat in for president Greg Cowie, absent because of family obligations. There were two new appointments to the management committee, one being director of life saving, (club captain) Joe Cirillo in place of Dan Capps and director of administration Peter Leek, replacing Gina Lynch. Both of these appointments were unopposed as Capps and Lynch retired after years of service to the club. The appointment of Cirello puts him in the hot seat as this is the club officer responsible for all aspects of club life.
“My priority is to do a top job between the Red and Yellow flags, for this is what we are all about,” said Cirillo. Cirillo’s career started back in 1982 when he obtained his bronze medallion in the Marboubra Club in Sydney, a beach renowned for big surf. With a background such as this, it is obvious that Cirillo definitely has his goals set in concrete, but like good captains will always be approachable.
On Sunday Peregian Club will hold their AGM starting at 9.30am. Best wishes and our support. Next week, we will take an in-depth look at the vital statistics of our three clubs for the 2013/14 season.
