Firstly my apologies for not being here. If Bob is reading this then I am stuck out in the Tasman somewhere and simply unable to swim that far to get here.

Thank you all for being here, and I will try keep this short.

We now have 120 members, with approximately 50 members playing in our weekly competitions.  Many of you make a point in staying for the presentation every week which definitely adds to the club atmosphere and supports the basic philosophy of the Vets club, which is to socialise with other members.

I would like to sincerely thank all our supporters:

• Paul and Sarina for their generous support of our members draw each week.
• Selva for his support in providing the trophies for our Club Championships.
• Greg Hall and in the past, Luke Brabant for helping in the smooth running of the Vets and for putting up with my seemingly continuous changes to formats and rules etc.
• Peter Rickard for his help in establishing our relationship with Horizons Golf Resort and enabling us to remain a viable and financially stable entity.
• Greg Ramsey for his invaluable help in establishing the Vets and his continued assistance by providing advice and ideas.

I would like to pay special tribute to our Committee. Bob Treloar, John Lee and Alan McDonald. A finer group of Australian manhood has never before been assembled. All of them have performed superbly, to the extent that I am proud to say that we have not had a single committee meeting during the year, everyone just does their job and gets on with it. All of the committee has nominated to serve on the committee for next year and I would like to recommend that the membership endorse these nominations.

My biggest regret this year has been the apparent inequality between men’s and women’s winners in our competitions. As you know, ladies currently get a handicap advantage in Stroke and Stableford competitions, but not Ambrose and Best Ball competitions. This will change in February next year with the introduction of the World Handicap System which will see the ladies get additional handicap consideration in all club events.

Lastly I would like to thank you, the members, for your support and encouragement throughout the year. The club was established so that you could enjoy your golf and the social interaction that goes hand in hand with that. If you have enjoyed yourselves, then the club I think is a success.

Sincerely

Ian Barnard.