Patron-in-Chief: Mr John McIntosh
A warm welcome to the MHSOBA Green Maroon & Black Patrons’ Club Annual General Meeting and Dinner as we celebrate 25 interesting but challenging years seeking to deliver value to the School Community.
Special thanks to our Principal, Mr Jeremy Ludowyke, who manages to attend all our functions, and who keeps us abreast of developments both within the School and with the changing world of Education. Jeremy will be a primary contributor to the discussions about our role in the School Community over the next ten years.
Special thanks also to the members of the Executive Committee who devote so much time to their portfolios, to the general activities we are engaged in and to the many items and problems we address throughout the year.
We celebrate our 25th Anniversary at a time when the School is formulating a Strategic Plan to guide it forward to 2027, the Centenary of the move to Forrest Hill. It is therefore appropriate that we examine what our own role should be over the next few years. To this end, we have appointed a Directions sub-Committee made up of younger GM&B members who will review not only the services we might offer the broad School Community, but how we can best combine our efforts with the School, its Students and Staff, the School Council, the Foundation and the broad reach of the MHSOBA.
Our first Forum of the year addressed these issues and, although the numbers were down because it was held in School Holidays, the results were excellent. We came away with many well formulated ideas, and with the input from some special guests – the Group Leaders from our Junior Leadership Program. They brought a new dimension to the discussion.
Our second Forum, to be held on Tuesday 15th October, will be the opportunity for the Directions sub-Committee to present to us their view of our future. I commend this Forum to you and look forward to your participation.
Dr Ajai Verma has led the Mentoring program through another successful year but must pass on the baton as he concentrates on his busy General Practice. We are looking for a couple of candidates to take over the role. Thank you Ajai for a job well done over several years.
Due to overseas commitments, David Saul has had to relinquish his positions as Deputy P-i-C and head of the Junior Leadership Program. He will remain ex officio on the Executive Committee. Wayne Chow has taken on the JLP leadership, ably assisted by Daryl Brooks who becomes Deputy P-i-C. It has been a seamless transition, and the Program has had its most successful year to date. It now affords the participants an opportunity to gain two points towards the MHS Diploma and has become an integral part of the School’s co-curricular activities. Our sincere thanks to the Group Leaders without whose time and effort we could not run the Program.
Keith Elsner is taking a well-earned break from the Committee after many years. We will miss his leadership, experience and patience. Thank you, Keith. Introducing the concepts and practice of Entrepreneurialism and Innovation to our students has proved difficult but we continue to seek opportunities and would welcome input from our members.
Scott Green intends to relinquish his role as Treasurer during the year but will continue his sterling work with our new up-and-running website, and with his role on the Directions sub-Committee. The new website is just the start of our commitment to radically improve the two-way communication with our members. We are also actively exploring other platforms.
Robin Tuckerman’s Heritage portfolio has seen amazing progress in the cataloguing and preservation of the School’s heritage collection. Luke Savage has invested countless hours rescuing, sorting and cataloguing. Peter Stathopoulos has assisted greatly with the digitising of many records. Thank you, gentlemen, for a remarkable job.
We appreciate the time Peter Stathopoulos devotes to our Committee in keeping us abreast of MHSOBA and School Council matters.
We are indebted to Colin Axup for his wise counsel particularly on the new Directions sub- Committee.
Nick Psyhogios who organised the great Footy Lunch just prior to the Grand Final last year, has joined the Committee. He is more than ready to repeat the exercise but on a bigger and grander scale. Watch your inbox for the opportunity to join us at this premier event.
We acknowledge the remarkable success of John Wertheimer and his MHS Foundation. It has been an inspiring year.
Our thanks to John Dodd, Alan Munday and the late Jim Russell for their representation on the School Council sub-Committees. We are seeking to improve our assistance to the School Council.
Our Secretary, Simon Bowen cracks the whip, and keeps the Committee in order (when he is not diving among his beloved Tiger sharks). Simon has agreed to take over from Colin as Executive Officer during the year (in addition to his role on the Directions sub-Committee). This will be by far the biggest change your Committee has undergone.
Colin, as a founder of the GM&B, and as a Past President of MHSOBA has an unparalleled knowledge of the School and of the Old Boy community. He has worked tirelessly in every role. Continuity will not be lost as Colin will remain on the Committee looking after Membership. We acknowledge his unique contribution. A job well done Sir. And thank you Simon for accepting the challenge. You may find that your time with the sharks is tame by comparison!
Ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you for your presence and enjoy the evening.