WOODEN BOAT ASSOCIATION of SOUTH AUSTRALIA – PRESIDENT’S ANNUAL REPORT 24-25

2024-2025 was my third year as your president. There are no written rules regarding the length of the term of office and whilst there may be some benefit to the Association in the utilising the benefits of accumulated intellectual knowledge it is also beneficial for gradual change to introduce fresh ideas. So how long is long enough? My opinion is that the optimal term is around 4 to 5 years. For this reason I am nominating again for the position of President at the AGM. I thoroughly enjoy the role but wish to make it clear that if anyone else aspires to the position please put your hand in the ring.
Many other committee members have also served for a number of years, so I suggest that all WBASA members consider succession planning for the association. If you are thinking about it, even if it’s not quite the time right now, still let me know so we can start building a list of prospective committee members.
It seems to me that the year has passed very quickly, perhaps because we certainly crammed in many events. There was also the Australian Wooden Boat Festival held in Hobart and the SA Wooden Boat Festival was also held this year. This festival again attracted many wooden boats and gathered the boating community together. I still am amazed at how many wooden boats there are in our part of the world with a significant number of them not yet WBASA members. Either we have not communicated strongly enough the benefits of membership we offer, or we do not offer enough to attract them. I have stated previously that we set a target membership number of two hundred for this year, and whilst we have welcomed a significant number of new members, we also have lost a number, either from health issues or a change of lifestyle. Therefore, we haven’t quite achieved this objective, but we are well on the way. We have available to you all our WBASA flyers that explain our association together with an invitation to join. Please obtain some from our membership officer and spread them around your group of friends and contacts.
The committee has continued to work hard to broaden the appeal of membership with things such as door prizes, the Golden Rowlock award, a raffle at the Goolwa meeting, more Goolwa meetings, a welcome pack for new members, a fine range of merchandise and clothing, good speakers and topics, Crow’s Nest and our great calendar.
Please become more involved in your club by attending general meetings and events, or joining the committee, or coming forward with your ideas to make the club more interesting to you or with suggestions for events. We must remain proactive in furthering WBASA’s relevance and attraction to wooden boaties. The association has existed now for 35 years \, lets make sure that is just the start.
That said WBASA is in fine shape,
Financially income and outgoings are well balanced with a modest surplus in our bank account to manage contingencies.
Membership stays strong and our numbers are steadily growing.
Merchandise is going great guns with new items being introduced regularly. Merchandise is a significant source of income for the club.
Crow’s Nest continues to grace your letter boxes or computer screens every two months and is still a key attraction to members.
WOODEN BOAT ASSOCIATION of SOUTH AUSTRALIA – PRESIDENT’S ANNUAL REPORT 24-25
Every year our calendar is produced for you to look ahead and plan for the events that appeal to you. These are very popular with members achieving sales of around 100. 2026 Calendar will be available at our October meeting in Goolwa.
Main events over the past year have been many and diverse and they worked alongside Classic Boat Days, thus usually providing two events per month. In addition, we held our general meetings every two months. A core group of members regularly attend our boating events and meetings, but there are some members that do not. If you haven’t been joining in we encourage you to give it a go. You will be welcomed and they are great fun. The on-water events keep your boat in running order and you also get to experience the ultimate pleasure of being in a wooden boat with water sliding under your hull and in the companionship of likeminded others,. An experience difficult to better.
I would like to thank the 24-25 committee for a very successful year’s work.
Stephen Conway has been Vice President and also does a brilliant job as our editor of Crow’s Nest. Further to that, his energy within the club is exceptional.
Our Secretary Carolyn Gibson has religiously provided both committee and general meeting minutes very promptly and in a concise form that is easy to read and succinct.
Our Treasurer Rosi Hardy has faithfully and accurately managed and recorded our financial affairs keeping us on the straight and narrow.
Our Membership office Gerri Dobson has been an exceptional proactive ambassador for membership and leaves no stone unturned in recruiting new members or indeed in reminding any lapsing members the benefits of renewing.
Chris dobson has continued to produce our calendar for several years now. It is not an easy task taking considerable time and accuracy.,
Rob Gibson has enthusiastically embraced our merchandise portfolio. He regularly proposed new items and he enthusiastically brought his display of goods to all meetings and many events..
Our Classic Boat Day organiser Allan Durden has worked tirelessly in planning ahead for our Classic Boat Day events. Allan also managed our website for us, keeping it up to date and relevant.
Our events were consolidated and planned by Aarron Pearse. He has also planned a year ahead with the framework for 2026 well underway. Next year we intend to expand the details of events and provide monthly advice ahead of time.
Luke Carpenter has greatly assisted in event organisation and ideas for improvement. His value to the committee has been invaluable as he is our younger member ambassador and is always looking for means to support the interest in preserving and using wooden boats for the next generation.
My thanks to you all in sharing the workload of running our organisation so competently.
The impending election at the AGM means that all committee positions are declared vacant which is your opportunity to get involved.
WOODEN BOAT ASSOCIATION of SOUTH AUSTRALIA – PRESIDENT’S ANNUAL REPORT 24-25
Finally, our thanks to you, our members. Your participation in the association’s activities is the key to its success and growth. Have a think about what you would like to see within WBASA including suggestions for events, for speakers and topics of interest. I repeat that it is your organisation and the committee is only its management structure. We welcome your comments and suggestions for continuing improvement. Please become more active in our affairs and activities. It is a lot of fun and you won’t regret it.

Thank You
Graham Hardy