President's Report
Sunday 17th May 2015

Good afternoon my fellow opera lovers. 
Welcome to this special day of presenting the wonderful Puccini opera “Turandot in the Forbidden City”.   I assure you this will indeed be a memorable experience !

Also making this day special will be our brief AGM which will be held in the lunch break interval to approve our financial statements and elect our new committee members.

And thirdly, although very sad for me, is the special announcement that I shall not be standing for the President’s position this year.  

For the past 8 years I have had the privilege and honour to hold this position and, I would like to say that I have had one of the most wonderful experiences of my working career.

Like all of you, I wish the new president, and all of those who will work with this person, an exciting and positive future for all.


I am so grateful for the collegial assistance I have enjoyed from all those associated with my committee and most importantly, I must thank:
Wis Jablonski, past president for his sage and often very humourous and supportive advice.
Len and Elizabeth Anderson, for their dedication and support in receiving and banking the monies taken at our workshops.
Karin McKinney, – also for her strong “front desk” support to her friends, the Andersons.
Robert Sanderson, for his kind and professional support.
Jean Raleigh, for taking care of our name badges and teas.
Ann Jurrjens, for recently taking on the responsibility of the secretarial role.
Nancy Sutherland, for her generous donations towards our Christmas functions.
Barry Joy, for his generous professional support in preparing our financial statements and sharing his knowledge in running our financial affairs.
Pam Gorwyn, for her generosity in sharing her vast knowledge of opera  and her private DVD collection with us for use at our workshops.

And especial thanks to Joanne Press and
Dulcia Wiseman (who now sadly lives in NZ) who worked tirelessly during our “settling in phase” when we moved to  the Southport centre.

 

Lyn Buxton  (Life Member)  worked tirelessly with her friend Eileen O’Mara, in preparing our teas at the St Andrews room.   Lyn has very recently celebrated her 90th birthday and I would like to ask Lyn to come forward to receive our tribute to offer our congratulations and very best wishes on attaining such a wonderful age. Many happy returns, Lyn .

I particularly enjoyed organising our special events such as the Phantom of the Opera screening at Nerang, our first free concert at the Arts Centre where we had to turn people away as there was no more room left in the Gallery (not even standing room).   We also did special live performances at the Domain Retirement Village, Halcyon Waters and Gardens on Lindfield.   Many great friendships have developed and flourished from these involvements, and for this I am truly grateful.

I have especially enjoyed the process of researching and designing the notes for each workshop and I am happy to continue with this responsibility.

Finally Friends, before I hand over the baton (along with boxes of paperwork, DVDs and Friends of Opera historical papers) I would like to mention that I am more than willing to assist in any way possible in the way forward of our Society. 

Liz Assenza