Presid ents Perspective

Hi Everyone,

The most important thing I’d like this newsletter to convey is the fact that our chapter will be holding its AGM on the 11th April and that you should, if at all possible, be there.  Details of when and where are noted below.  Seriously, do try and come along and make your feelings known about how the chapter should be run.  This will be my last newsletter as president so that should give you a hint as to one of the jobs up for grabs.

There has been a bit of misunderstanding surrounding what’s happening with regard to the 2007 fly-in. To the best of my knowledge, the following is the basic outline of what’s gone on and what is now planned.

At our last AGM we decided that our chapter would not be involved in running the 2007 fly-in and it was our intention that the national executive should be informed of this decision.  For one reason or another it seems that information never got through, (officially anyway).  The Otago chapter indicated that they would be interested in running the event and some information was given to them, by our members who organised the 2005 event, to help them get things under way.  It seems the Otago group didn’t let the national body know of their offer either.  So, when the executive got a proposal from the Ashburton Aviation museum, via a person who is both an SAA member and a museum member, to run the event on behalf of the SAA at Ashburton, they decided it was worth pursuing.  To that end a meeting will be held at the Ashburton Aviation museum on Sunday 29th April where members of the SAA national executive and the museum people will try to come to some arrangement for the event.

I think it’s obvious that there has been an unfortunate lack of communication between the national body and ourselves and I think it is particularly regrettable that an arrangement should have been made without the Canterbury chapter – or any South Island chapter being aware of it. 

I feel that as a chapter we should stick to our intention not to run the event as a chapter initiative, but if anyone wants to be involved on a personal basis, they should go to the meeting on the 29th and offer their services.

I realise this is not really a big deal in the broader scheme of things but it would be nice to have a little more certainty in how this is handled, don’t you think?   Incidentally, many of our chapter members, including myself, are also members of the museum and I’m sure we wish them every success in their efforts, should the current proposal go ahead.  They’ve always been of huge assistance on the previous occasions we’ve run the event at Ashburton.

Finally, thanks to everyone who has supported the things we’ve done as a chapter over the last year. Good turnouts to chapter events justify the effort of arranging them.  See you at the AGM………..

                          Cheers,         Al. Murray

Finally, a couple of items of humour………….

    “Bacon and eggs - A day's work for a chicken, a lifetime commitment for a pig.”    

    “The gene pool could use a little chlorine.”

    “The reason some people appear lost in thought is because it’s unfamiliar territory.”