RSA expands membership

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 12, Issue 550, 23 August 1994, Page 11

RSA expands membership

This year's Ohakune RSA annual general meeting was held under the chairmanship of club president Ces Allerby with 10 members of the local association and district president, Joe Mainwaring, who complimented the Ohakune branch on its financial position. Mr Mainwaring reported on the nationwide increase in the saies of poppies and noted that the same trend had been evident in Ohakune' s Poppy Day saies. He suggested that saies could be further enhanced by profiling local RSA members' wartime experiences in the Bulletin in the weeks prior to ANZAC Day and by recruiting school children to act as mobile collectors around town instead of relying only on a single collection point. Another agenda item was recruitment. The diffieulties associated with recruiting new members from the ranks of those who had seen active service overseas was acknowledged but two other categories of membership were seen as a guarantee of the future of the RSA. A category known as 'service members' opens up membership to serving members of the Army, Navy and Air Force as well as the Police and Territorials and those who completed their Compulsory Military Training in the 1950s-60s. Another category opens up membership even further: spouses and children of RSA members are also entitled to become 'house' (formerly 'associate') members who can enjoy all the amenities of the RSA and receive a specially minted House Member' s badge, but not vote. Ron Walkley agreed to seek out potential members within the Waimarino community. Anyone wishing to join the RSA can contact Ron Walkley at Machinery Supplies, Clyde Street, Ohakune phone 385 8309. Election of officers: The following RSA members were elected to the 1994/95 committee: Ces Allerby (president), Gordon McNie (vice president), Dennis Beytagh, Noel Richardson, Ross Saywell, Ron Walkley, Pat Whale (members).