TO DOWNLOAD THE 2012 RNSWBA ANNUAL ... - Bowls NSW

State President’s ReportOnce again I take much pleasure in presenting to you the2011-2012 report. As President of Bowls NSW I have derivedmuch pleasure as well as considering it a great privilege toserve the Association and its members in this most importantrole. While it can be somewhat demanding at times I haveenjoyed immensely visiting many clubs and meeting bowlersfrom around the State during the year. In last year’s report Imade mention that in my opinion the year 2011-2012 wouldbe pivotal in the future of the Association and I believe thathas certainly proven to be the case.To enable the Association to become more progressive andcompetitive the eventual submission of and subsequentadoption of the Association’s new Constitution was crucial toa successful future and I am pleased to advise that that theaffirmative vote was 86.4%, well in excess of the 75%required. The Board, together with assistance from several ofour State Councillors, completed the new Regulations whichnow complement the new Constitution and the successfuladoption of such has allowed the Association to move forwardin a positive manner. I am also pleased to advise that theAssociation has made the successful transition from being anincorporated association to now being a company limited byguarantee after recently being accepted by ASIC.I commend the Executive which continued to conduct regularmeetings until the adoption of the new Constitution afterwhich it became the Interim Board and continued to holdregular Board meetings to conduct the Association’s businessas well as implementing new policies and procedures, many ofwhich are required by corporate governance rules that willserve the Association well into the future and enable it toimplement its strategic and business plans. I personally thankmy Executive of Senior Vice President Vince Beard, VicePresident Lyle Keats and Treasurer Ron King for the manyhours of untiring labour they have afforded the Associationand in particular over the past 12 months when importantdecisions had to be made and many procedures had to be setin place to ensure the successful transition to theAssociation’s present position. I am sure that many wouldnot be aware of just how much of their time these menwillingly donate to the Association. Thank you, Gentlemen.I also acknowledge the efforts of the Audit Committee underthe auspices of Chairman Lyle Keats which has ensured thatthe Association’s finances remain in a healthy state. I alsothank the members of the various State sub-committees, likemany of those unheralded volunteers in the sport who alsowillingly donate their time and efforts for the betterment ofthe sport and the Association. Hopefully the membersappreciate the time and effort given by these volunteers forlittle or no reward and often even without a word of thanks.In this modern era technology plays an important role both inbusiness and in our lives generally. To enable the Associationto remain abreast of the times as well as with other sports,the Interim Board decided that while the Association’swebsite had served the membership well it was now past itsuse-by date and was sorely in need of an upgrade. A newwebsite has now been built and is much easier to navigateand therefore is more user-friendly. Iam confident that the members will findit to their liking.The Interim Board was well aware of thecommunication problems that haveexisted for some considerable period oftime between the Association, Zones,Districts and Clubs and that previousattempts to overcome the problems hadnot always proved all that successful. Itwas with this in mind that the Board decided that all theAssociation’s postal mail-outs would cease as from July andthat all relevant correspondence would be sent via email tothe Zones, Districts and Clubs from that time. All the relevantparties should now be aware how to gain access and no doubtwill be utilising the Association’s new “BowlsBox” system.The new Constitution decrees that the member clubs in futureshall have the voting rights for the election of the AssociationBoard and the Interim Board, being forearmed with theknowledge that the new BowlsBox system would beoperational, made the decision that from and including 2012,future Association Board elections would be conducted online. Therefore all literature and data in relation to upcomingelections and the eventual voting by the member clubs, whichwill be a straightforward procedure, will be conducted on line.This decision was made in the knowledge that this new votingsystem would be simpler, quicker, less labour-intensive and bea financial saving (ie no stationery, printing or postage costs).It should never be underestimated the enormous burden ofwork undertaken by our CEO Greg Helm in the compiling ofthe new Constitution, the new Regulations, designing newforms and the many policies as well as overseeing the buildingof the new website and the BowlsBox system. All this was inaddition to his normal duties and we owe him a huge debt ofgratitude for his devotion to the Association and the sport.My sincere thanks go to Executive Secretary Jennifer Hiramafor her continued loyal support especially to the CEO and theBoard during a year of change. Many thanks go to our variousState sub-committees and internal departments led byManagers Courtney Allouche, Michael Beaumont and RexDavies who, in company with our very loyal staff, havecontinued to provide very important services to ourmembership which I am sure appreciates their efforts.The business world has continued to be severely affected by aharsh economic climate and unfortunately there is little lightat the end of the tunnel at this time. Lawn bowls, like manyother sports, has suffered and sponsorship is very hard toobtain due to many businesses experiencing financialhardship. One only has to communicate with people involvedin the wholesale and retail sectors to quickly realise that thegeneral public is just not spending money with many sufferingfinancial hardships themselves. Our CEO has managed toretain the bulk of our sponsorships and to those sponsors Iexpress our gratitude and a sincere thank you for theircontinued loyalty and generosity to the Association.The Association’s net profit of $112,199 last year was alwaysgoing to be difficult repeat and so it eventuated that way but IBowls NSW, 2011-12 Annual Report & Year Book Page 3