AABC Association Reunion
Wagga Wagga NSW
Saturday 22 October 2011
President's report
Welcome - Welcome to Wagga ladies and gentlemen. I distinctly remember the welcome Viv Law gave to Nobby Neilsen and me when we were posted to 3 RAR at Enoggera in January 1961. He took us to the OR's Boozer and he said, "This is a Mess.... Keep it that way". A special welcome to all our new Association members and a very special welcome to all our Association member's wives/partners. I know a large number of you have travelled many kilometres and some not so many, to attend the twenty second AGM & Reunion of the Australian Army Band Corps Association and I thank you for that. We have amongst us one of the brave matelots we should belatedly thank for the mutiny they staged many years ago for better pay for Service musicians. Two threes and then NOTHING!! Not even a wrong note. Dean Butler nearly went to jail so that we could get the money we deserved. Thanks Dean. (Good old matelots). I trust you will all enjoy what our Organising Committee has in store (it started off pretty well yesterday) and that you take this opportunity to meet up with as many old mates as possible.
Annual Report - The Association was in very good shape when I took over from Bob last year (it was not a mess and we have kept it that way) and it remains that way today. Why is that? Well firstly, I believe that apart from the actual members of the Association it is also because we have an excellent committee made up of members of that Association who are firmly committed to their Ccmmittee positions. Thank you Ivan, Kevin, Shad, Neville, Bob, Bill and Johnno. If you ever take on the presidency of an organisation make sure you have a secretary like Kev Noon.
Secondly, We also have a very professionally produced and highly informative newsletter (‘Noteworthy News') headed up by our diplomatic and talented editor, Stu Colhoun. ‘Keep those articles and photos coming in'. Thank you Stu.
Thirdly, the position of President of the Association is made that much more comfortable with the 100% support I, and the Association have from the AABC Directorate and the Defence Force School of Music (DFSM). Ian and Gordon, along with their respective staff are bloody wonderful with their assistance, advice and personal commitment to the Association. (I have had a conversation about the Association with Gordon while he was at a private dinner party and with Ian whilst he was in the midst of a staff meeting and neither put me off). On behalf of the Association members and especially the Committee, I thank you both sincerely.
Last but by no means least, I and any member of the Association can call our Patron and/or our Honorary Colonel at just about any time and they both treat you like an old friend. We are very fortunate to have that sort of patronage in the Association. Thank you Jim and Mark. There are just four of the reasons we are in such good shape.
What have we done in the past 16 months? We have unveiled the two poems at our Association Memorial, (thank you John Seagg and Bill Charlton), we have sorted out the Presentation Trophy problems, we have attended the planning meetings for the Balcombe Gates (thank you Shad and Neville), we have saved and stored John Kennewell's collection of band memorabilia, (thank you John Franklin), we are on the way with negotiations in regard to the AABC Association museum display at Bandiana, (thank you Gordon), we made a ‘thank you' presentation to Eleanor Kirby at Picton High School for playing the bugle at Bill Sheehan's funeral earlier in the year, we are about to take charge of and responsibility for Bill's medals which will ultimately be housed in the AABC Association's museum display, we worked through a few little hiccups in regard to this AGM in Wagga (thank you to all involved in that), we organised a nationwide, fund raising raffle and with the assistance of our Editor, Stu Colhoun ,we now have our website archived in PANDORA at the Australian War Museum in Canberra. (See AABC Website).
So here we are in Wagga for the 2011 AGM & Reunion and it would not have happened without the hard work and extra hours put in by some quite outstanding Association members, Peter Guest, Mario Vidal, Byron Bootes, Mick Avramovic, Geoff & Sandra Wilson and Laurie Agent, ably assisted all the way by the indomitable Kevin Noon.
We have a unique situation at this AGM and reunion in that we have most of the music directors / officers commanding (OC's) and warrant officers of the Corps attending the functions planned for the weekend having just been involved in the AABC Conference held at Kapooka.
We had a situation earlier this year where financially, we stood on the edge of a huge precipice. However, with the involvement and generosity of many members of the Association and with the setting up of a successful raffle we are now able to take a giant leap forward.
Our final thanks go to all the unit representatives for keeping up to date with what is happening in their respective bands and the Corps as a whole. On that note, to coin a phrase, congratulations go to all the members of the Corps who were involved in the trip to Basel, Switzerland in July this year. Ian McLean wrote a glowing report in the latest newsletter and I received an email from Andy Perren, a Basel local who attended the Tattoo and praised the Band of The Australian Army Band Corps to the hilt. (I hope you read his e-mail in the latest Noteworthy News).
Our next AGM and reunion will be in Melbourne in October next year with the Melbourne organising Committee in the throes of arranging the festivities as I speak. Have a great weekend, keep pumping out copious crotchets and quavers, hopefully in the right order and.... make some big sounds and get in touch with an old mate. It will do them a lot of good, as it will you.
Thank you.
Patrick Steer
President
AABC Association
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