President’s Desk
Kia Ora Koutou,
Another month ticks by and the snow has been teasing us and then melts! Hopefully, these snowfalls are indicating a solid season ahead on the maunga!
Your committee has had a busy month dealing with the usual club business and amongst the correspondence we received an email advising us that the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill had had its first reading and was now before the Māori Affairs Select Committee for consideration and submissions were open.
We had a timeframe of about 2 weeks to read the document, discuss and put together a draft submission for you the members to be aware of, so we could include any feedback in our final submission.
I wish to extend my gratitude to the committee who took the additional time and shared their knowledge, this has been extremely valuable – thank you!
Last HiTAC I put a call out for anyone interested in being involved in a sub-group working on the 100th jubilee celebration book (or something similar), Andrew Jordan is willing to drive the project. He has advised that Finn is willing to be involved and Gail is also.
In reality, the period to reflect upon will be the last 25 years – as a book was printed for the 75th jubilee. Things that could be mentioned are things like the renovation downstairs, the power cable upgrade, trips with photos included etc etc….
Please consider what you could contribute to the book and email the secretary.tac@outlook.com
This weekend was the costume party at the lodge, if you missed it, you missed out on some laughter, stories and great kai as usual. See below to see what characters turned up!
In preparation for Snowcraft courses we have been checking our equipment, i.e. ice axes, crampons etc and the committee has decided to upgrade some of our gear for safety and consistency. This will make it easier and safer for everyone, for example one set of instructions on how to use your ice axe because they will be the same make & model.
Subscription fees have been rolling in nicely and the 31st May is your final day to keep your membership up to date. After this date I will be auditing the database, deactivating fobs, archiving unpaid memberships, and removing the email addresses from HiTAC.
I usually make the time each year (and I will again this year) to call unpaid members first just in case the email notification ended up in the junk file. If you could check that you have already paid your sub this would be very helpful!
There is a changing of the guard on our booking team. After many years of service Greg Banks is stepping down from being the first point of contact for non-members bookings at the lodge. I wish to acknowledge Greg’s service to the club and extend our thanks for all he has done! This hasn’t gone unnoticed – thank you!
Greg’s 2IC Gail Geange is stepping up into that main coordinating role with Stephen Miller coming on board as the secondary contact person. Welcome back to the booking crew Stephen!
Hope to see you at club night!
Sheryl Hamilton
Madam President