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A Historical Record of the NZ
Federation of Operatic Societies
Founded 20 February 1960
1980 - 1989
| 1980 | |
| Patron | Sir Arthur Harper, KCVO, CBE, JP |
| Vice Patrons | Tim Blennerhasset, Stanley Campbell, Donald Thompson MBE, Mostyn Duddridge |
| President | Brian Jackson (Wellington) |
| Immediate Past President | Jim McKenzie OBE (Hamilton) |
| Vice President | Jim Fenton (Invercargill) |
| Executive - Zone One | Sandra Sewell (Auckland) |
| Executive - Zone Two | Nola Speir (Tauranga) |
| Executive - Zone Three | John MacGibbon (Dannevirke) |
| Executive - Zone Four | Betty Dallas (Greymouth) |
| Executive - Zone Five | Betty Bridgman (Alexandra) |
| Hon Secretary | Ella Duddridge |
| Hon Treasurer | Frank Terry, MBE |
| Member Societies | 91 |
| Reflecting on the Federation's first 20 years, President Brian Jackson said in his annual report, "our entrance into the 1980s has been interesting and rather vigorous administratively. We have had a our problems sustaining "Spotlight". We have been short on cash. With the assistance of the Methven Choral Society we launched our first commissioned musical. We have been aware of difficulties experienced by member societies in a number of ways, but overall there has been a strong sense of loyalty and cooperation within the membership of the light operatic movement which continues o make our venture as a Federation of all our societies well worthwhile. Contributory areas like the Capital Assistance Fund and our national library have continued to expand and demonstrate their value to members repeatedly". The AGM featured the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Federation with over 160 officers, delegates, observers and guests attending. The opening address at the meeting was delivered by Mr Ken Comber, Under-Secretary to the Minister of Internal Affairs, who had maintained a close interest and helpful liaison with the Federation. He expressed appreciation and admiration for the hard work and dedication that went into amateur operatic productions and the high standard of them. However, he felt the Federation should adopt a more "self help" policy financially noting that per capita levies to Dominion levels in sporting bodies were far higher than that of members of operatic societies. He suggested that an amalgamation with the Theatre Federation could benefit both bodies in respect of finances, administration and shared activities. He closed his address by recognising the importance of organisations such as operatic societies to community life. The Council for Recreation and Sport assisted the Federation with a grant of $13,100 from the National Projects Scheme and a later supplementary grant of $2,000. At this time the Capital Assistance Fund stood at over $31,000 providing a valuable source of funds at very low interest rates for those societies that had contributed to it. | |
| 1981 | |
| Patron | Sir Arthur Harper, KCVO, CBE, JP |
| Vice Patrons | Tim Blennerhasset, Stanley Campbell, Donald Thompson MBE, Mostyn Duddridge |
| President | Brian Jackson (Wellington) |
| Immediate Past President | Jim McKenzie OBE (Hamilton) |
| Vice President | Jim Fenton (Invercargill) |
| Executive - Zone One | Sandra Sewell (Auckland) |
| Executive - Zone Two | Nola Speir (Tauranga) |
| Executive - Zone Three | John MacGibbon (Dannevirke) |
| Executive - Zone Four | Betty Dallas (Greymouth) |
| Executive - Zone Five | Betty Bridgman (Alexandra) |
| Hon Secretary | Ella Duddridge |
| Hon Treasurer | Frank Terry, MBE |
| Member Societies | 88 |
| Activities of the Federation continued in respect to the disbursement of freight and travel subsidies, the Manual of Administration was updated and Mrs Betty Dallas continued her research into the past ten years of the Federation with a view to its completion date. A new lowest level of subscription ($30) was introduced for societies effectively in recess but who wished to continue their affiliation with the Federation. The Capital Assistance Fund continued to effectively serve members and grew to over $37,500 with interest rates on loans from the fund continuing from 0-8% depending on how long the borrowing society had contributed to it. The library recorded record activity with 2,180 book movements and it was recognised as a national asset. The financial report delivered to the AGM indicated that the financial difficulties faced by the Federation, partly due to the loss on the production in Christchurch of Jesus Christ Superstar had largely been overcome thanks to societies responding to the one-off additional levy and the doubling of membership subscriptions. A generous donation from Mr Donald Thompson was used to launch a fund for a Presidential Chain of Office. An increase in subscribers to Spotlight had reduced the drain on administration funds. Editor John Barrett resigned on health grounds, and Mrs Linda Thompson was appointed. Support for the magazine was strong with Delegates to the AGM suggesting that suitably knowledgeable people should provide copy of technical interest and more advertising material should be sought. As a further service to societies, Mr MacGibbon compiled and distributed a Hireage Schedule in which societies recorded what material they had for hire and to be updated from time to time. A carved Kauri trophy was donated by the Bank of New South Wales to the Federation for presentation annually for the year's best programme. The trophy, called the Wales Bank Annual Programme Competition trophy was carved by N. Clark of Blenheim. | |
| 1982 | |
| Patron | Sir David Beattie, GCMG, GCVO, QC, Governor General |
| Vice Patrons | Tim Blennerhasset, Stanley Campbell, Donald Thompson MBE, Mostyn Duddridge |
| President | Brian Jackson (Wellington) |
| Immediate Past President | Jim McKenzie OBE (Hamilton) |
| Vice President | Jim Fenton (Invercargill) |
| Executive - Zone One | Sandra Sewell (Auckland) |
| Executive - Zone Two | Nola Speir (Tauranga) |
| Executive - Zone Three | John MacGibbon (Dannevirke) |
| Executive - Zone Four | Tony Flannagan (Greymouth) |
| Executive - Zone Five | Betty Bridgman (Alexandra) |
| Hon Secretary | Ella Duddridge |
| Hon Treasurer | Frank Terry, MBE |
| Member Societies | 86 |
| Shortly after the AGM, the Federation mourned the loss of its esteemed Founder Patron, Sir Arthur Harper who died aged 83. Sir Arthur has been under the employ of the Internal Affairs for 40 years, organising five Royal Tours in that time. He was knighted in 1959. He was Patron of several theatrical societies and was a keen sportsman. At the AGM, the new Presidential Chain of Office was presented to Mr Jackson by Sir Arthur and suitably inscribed lapel badges were presented to all former Presidents. Not being favoured with any funds towards the Freight Subsidy Scheme from the Council for Recreation and Sport, the scheme was jeopardised as the rising costs were too great for the Federation to meet. Contact with the QE11 Arts Council by the Federation during the year was minimal, but societies were urged to keep regular liaison with their Community and Regional Arts Council. Efforts to promote and provide training facilities on a national basis, particularly for master classes in the principal aspects of theatre progressed only slowly but two schools were assisted through the Federation and with financial help from the Southern Regional Arts Council in Timaru and Greymouth. The Federation sought funds from the Lottery Board for a series of training schools during the year by Mr Alexander Bridge of England who has been recommended by Mr Campbell. The Capital Assistance Fund maintained a very active lending programme and topped $40,000. Concern was again expressed regarding the future of Spotlight despite the increased revenue from advertising decreased circulation. Entries for the JC Williamson Trophy were small, and it was realised how difficult it was to make fair comparisons between well-prepared but often very different standards of entry between small and large societies. It was generally agreed that a change of specification was needed. | |
| 1983 | |
| Patron | Sir David Beattie, GCMG, GCVO, QC, Governor General |
| Vice Patrons | Tim Blennerhasset, Stanley Campbell, Donald Thompson MBE, Mostyn Duddridge |
| President | Jim Fenton (Invercargill) |
| Immediate Past President | Brian Jackson (Wellington) |
| Vice President | Nola Speir (Tauranga) |
| Executive - Zone One | Sandra Sewell (Auckland) |
| Executive - Zone Two | Ray Spence (Te Awamutu) |
| Executive - Zone Three | John MacGibbon (Dannevirke) |
| Executive - Zone Four | Tony Flannagan (Greymouth) |
| Executive - Zone Five | Betty Bridgman (Alexandra) |
| Hon Secretary | Ella Duddridge |
| Hon Treasurer | Frank Terry, MBE |
| Member Societies | 85 |
| Attendees at the AGM stood to respect the memory of the late Sir Arthur Harper and Mr Len Barnes, the first Vice President of the Federation. Later in the year, notice in Spotlight announced the death of its former editor John Barrett. John had turned the magazine into a lively, informative publication about performing arts in NZ and filled it with his own bright style and wit. The AGM and subsequent Executive meetings discussed the possibility of workshops, schools and seminars. The idea of working in with the newly formed New Zealand Association of Theatre Technicians was mentioned. Mutual benefits from such a liaison included allowing the Spotlight editor to reprint articles which originated in Association's magazine Profile, the encouragement of operatic members to become members of NZATT, financial assistance from the Federation for NZATT schools in the regions and the use of our hireage schedule by that body as a resource. Funds for the Alexander Bridge tour, from the Ministry of Internal Affairs were not forthcoming to the Federation decided to continue arrangements fro the visit using its own financial resources. Spotlight editor Linda Thompson, continued to maintain a high standard of editorship in the magazine with a good supply of copy provided by the societies. In order to further reduce costs it was decided to reduce the number of issues per annum to five. The Executive was delighted to receive a request from Chappell and Co for the library to become the NZ distribution agent for perusal copies and production sets. As Chappell and Co's whole operation had moved to Australia, it was felt this was best for societies to avoid two-way freight. Licencing of productions however, would continue to be made from the Sydney office. This years saw the completion of a project that was started five years previously 506 perusal copies were bound at a total cost of $7,000. The societies who opted to use the Federation's group insurance scheme through General Accident Assurance benefited themselves in using the best scheme available to societies with the most competitive terms, as well as helping to boost the Federation funds by way of commission by $2,800. | |
| 1984 | |
| Patron | Sir David Beattie, GCMG, GCVO, QC, Governor General |
| Vice Patrons | Tim Blennerhasset,
Stanley Campbell, Donald Thompson MBE, Mostyn Duddridge, Jim McKenize OBE, Frank Terry MBE |
| President | Jim Fenton (Invercargill) |
| Immediate Past President | Brian Jackson (Wellington) |
| Vice President | Nola Speir (Tauranga) |
| Executive - Zone One | Sandra Sewell (Auckland) |
| Executive - Zone Two | Ray Spence (Te Awamutu) |
| Executive - Zone Three | John MacGibbon (Dannevirke) |
| Executive - Zone Four | Tony Flannagan (Greymouth) |
| Executive - Zone Five | Philip Lee (Invercargill) |
| Secretary/Treasurer | Shona Brown |
| Member Societies | 83 |
| This year saw the retirement of three of the Federation's eminent people. Frank Terry the Foundation President had also acted as the Federation's Treasurer for 18 years. Mr Jim McKenzie's term as Immediate Past President ended after a total of 16 years on the Executive and Mrs Ella Duddridge relinquished the position of Secretary after 20 years service. Extensive and affectionate tributes were made to all three at the AGM and Messrs Terry and McKenzie were made Vice Patrons. Training within the movement received further attention in the consideration of a remit "that the Executive to be requested to actively promote a school for the training of directors". To this end, in part, the Executive began planning an extensive tour of the country by noted British director of musicals, Mr Alexander Bridge. It also began compiling a list of directors available for societies to employ for productions, training schools, seminars and workshops. Consideration was also given at the AGM to the method of electing Zone Councilors in a remit advocating their election by societies in their own zone only, as frequently people had to vote for nominees they had very little knowledge of. The method was approved by the meeting. A questionnaire sent to societies regarding the assessing of subscriptions to the Federation received a very poor response by societies, but the general consensus was that the current system of aligning it with gross annual takings (excluding restaurant charges) was approved with the addition of an upper level, that of $300 for societies whose gross takings were in excess of $20,000. As a way of becoming more closely aligned with the NZATT the Federation became a Corporate Member and offered to pay the registration fee of one person per society to attend the NZATT training schools as well as encouraging individuals to join. The library expanded considerably in this year, with the addition of 500 perusal scores and scripts from Chappells as well as their productions sets with the proviso that they be available to anyone on request. The Capital Assistance Fund also reached a milestone topping $50,000. | |
| 1985 | |
| Patron | Sir David Beattie, GCMG, GCVO, QC, Governor General |
| Vice Patrons | Tim Blennerhasset,
Stanley Campbell, Donald Thompson MBE, Mostyn Duddridge, Jim McKenize OBE, Frank Terry MBE |
| President | Jim Fenton (Invercargill) |
| Immediate Past President | Brian Jackson (Wellington) |
| Vice President | Nola Speir (Tauranga) |
| Executive - Zone One | Sandra Sewell (Auckland) |
| Executive - Zone Two | Ray Spence (Te Awamutu) |
| Executive - Zone Three | John MacGibbon (Dannevirke) |
| Executive - Zone Four | Tony Flannagan (Greymouth) |
| Executive - Zone Five | Dennis Schwartz (Wanaka) |
| Secretary/Treasurer | Shona Brown |
| Member Societies | 83 |
| For many societies the highlight of the year as far as the Federation was concerned, was the five week tour of New Zealand by leading British operatic director, performer and writer Alexander Bridge. Mr Bridge conducted lectures and weekend seminars throughout the country exhibiting his considerable expertise in all facets of theatre. The grant from the Council for Recreation and Sport at $13,300 was the same as for several previous years and comments at the AGM from members indicated their belief that a disproportionate amount was being dispersed to sporting organisations. Once again Spotlight's falling subscription rate, 15% in 12 months, and the increased costs of 36% over the same period caused the Federation considerable concern and societies were again urged to make special effort to increase its circulation. The comprehensive insurance policy package prepared on behalf of the Federation continued to serve the participating societies. Commission to the Federation this year reached almost $4,000. Freight and travel subsidies continued to be in keen demand by societies to help defray costs of movements of sets and delegates costs associated with travel to the AGM. A remit at the AGM continued the ongoing issue of whether the AGM should be decentralised. The following remit was eventually carried after much debate and it heralded the "new look" conference - "that the Federation's present policy of holding every second AGM in Wellington be rescinded and that the Executive ask societies who may be interested to host future meetings submit their application to the Executive for its consideration". This has proved popular with several societies applying to host the AGM each year. Hosting societies have provided their own particular mode of hospitality and entertainment, and the addition of trade displays and displays by societies in the foyer of conference venues have all added colour, interest and information. During the year a publicity pamphlet was produced by Mr MacGibbon on behalf of the Federation, explaining the structure of the Federation and the services it offers. This was widely distributed to societies, schools, other theatrical organisations and people with a vested interest. Having completed his term as Immediate Past President, Mr Brian Jackson was farewelled from the Executive on which he had served for 14 years. During the year the Capital Assistance Fund passed the $60,000 mark, a significant sum which enabled the fund to provide worthwhile assistance to societies. For the first time this year, the "Chappell's Disaster Trophy" was awarded at the AGM. This is to be awarded annually for the best disaster story submitted to Spotlight by a society. | |
| 1986 | |
| Patron | Frank Terry MBE |
| Vice Patrons | Tim Blennerhasset,
Stanley Campbell, Donald Thompson MBE, Mostyn Duddridge, Jim McKenize OBE, Frank Terry MBE, Ella Duddridge |
| President | Jim Fenton (Invercargill) |
| Immediate Past President | Brian Jackson (Wellington) |
| Vice President | Nola Speir (Tauranga) |
| Executive - Zone One | Sandra Sewell (Auckland) |
| Executive - Zone Two | Ray Spence (Te Awamutu) |
| Executive - Zone Three | John MacGibbon (Dannevirke) |
| Executive - Zone Four | Tony Flannagan (Greymouth) |
| Executive - Zone Five | Dennis Schwartz (Wanaka) |
| Secretary/Treasurer | Shona Brown |
| Member Societies | 89 |
| The Federation was pleased to confirm the position of Patron upon Frank Terry in recognition of his involvement in its establishment and for his continuing interest and support, having served 18 years as Treasurer. In January, thirty people attended a nine day residential school conducted by Mr John Banas of Wellington. Held in Scots College Wellington, it was for directors of musicals and was one of the most significant steps ever undertaken by the Federation. All participants were high in their praise of the organisation and content of the school. The extent of their directing experience varied and all left the school requesting another one. ‘Spotlight’ Editor Linda Thompson continued to maintain the high standard of the magazine, and circulation figures remained fairly constant. Once again the question of having a joint publication with the Theatre Federation arose as it was considered there was a demand for a national magazine covering the performing arts. Another pleasing aspect of the magazine was that there was an increasing demand for advertising space by societies and companies. From the editorial point of view this was a much more satisfying year with five 20-page issues being produced with interesting content on theatre techniques, background and profiles and synopses of shows held in the library. A directory of directors available to societies was also published. Accumulated funds of the Capital Assistance Fund continued to escalate totalling $66,444 at the end of the year. It was noted that the value of the fund had almost doubled in five years. Chappells Music this year decided to discontinue using the Federation’s library facilities for rehearsal sets and these were returned to Australia with only perusal sets remaining. Recognising the importance of the travel subsiding in assisting people to attend AGMs, this was continued, but the freight subsidy was discontinued to free up funds for other purposes. With the introduction of Goods & Services Tax, societies were required to decide whether to register and were instructed on the operation of the tax collecting scheme. With the changes occurring in the administration and funding of recreational needs with the apparent change in emphasis to sport alone, it was felt that the voice of the more cultural side of recreation might be lost, and to that end an Amateur Arts Assembly was set up, based in Wellington, with Shona Brown as its first Chairman. | |
| 1987 | |
| Patron | Frank Terry MBE |
| Vice Patrons | Tim Blennerhasset,
Stanley Campbell, Donald Thompson MBE, Mostyn Duddridge, Jim McKenize OBE, Frank Terry MBE, Brian Jackson, Ella Duddridge |
| President | Nola Speir (Tauranga) |
| Immediate Past President | Jim Fenton (Invercargill) |
| Vice President | John MacGibbon (Dannevirke) |
| Executive - Zone One | Sandra Sewell (Auckland) |
| Executive - Zone Two | Ray Spence (Te Awamutu) |
| Executive - Zone Three | Donna Philpott (Wellington) |
| Executive - Zone Four | Tony Flannagan (Greymouth) |
| Executive - Zone Five | Gordon Bain (Invercargill) |
| Secretary/Treasurer | Shona Brown |
| Member Societies | 89 |
| This was the first year the major source of funding was handled by the newly formed Hillary Commission which saw fit to maintain the current level of grant of $13,000. However the actual structure of the Commission with its heavy bias towards sporting interests was considered cause for concern for all arts related groups. The President stressed that as one of the largest of these, the Federation must take on the responsibility of ensuring that the performing arts maintain a high profile and must not become neglected under the broad banner of recreation. The Annual General Meeting in Auckland was one of the largest in the Federation’s history, with 48 societies represented, some with quite large delegations. It was obvious that the policy of moving the Annual General Meeting around the country was a popular one with many societies offering to host it. The ultimate decision made each year regarding its venue was based on ease of access by air and any special feature of the host society. Denis Brown of Wanganui relinquished the position of Administrator of the Capital Assistance Fund, which at this stage stood at $67,000, after many years of service. A tribute was paid to him at the Annual General Meeting and Jim Fenton took on the role. Signs of change in Government funding policies and the resulting need for the performing arts to be more closely allied, led the Federation’s Executive to the decision to shift the library to Wellington where it was housed in a room next to the Theatre Federation. Jack Stewart of Wellington was then appointed librarian. When Jack Hancock took over the Federation’s library in 1973 the books arrived at his home in Tokoroa in a couple of boxes. At the time of the shift to Wellington fourteen years later, the move took three truckloads. Maintaining the library and servicing borrowers was a seven day a week job and as the number of volumes grew, Jack’s wife Margaret was appointed Assistant Librarian and they shifted to a larger home to accommodate the collection. Societies donated their collections of books. Perusal sets were professionally bound over a ten year period at a cost of approximately $9,500. At this time the library collection, valued at more than $80,000 was considered the largest collection of musical shows in Australasia. Individual sales of ‘Spotlight’ increased but the bulk order decreased by a greater amount, though the nett financial loss in revenue was reduced by increased income from advertising. The distribution of individual copies were now handled by Impress Ltd of Auckland and were attractively packaged in plastic, while Times Commercial of Hamilton continued to distribute the bulk orders. This year the business management of the magazine was transferred from Jim McKenzie to the Secretary/Treasurer. This year the Federation made two submissions to Government Commissions. A comprehensive submission was made to the Royal Commission on Society Policy pointing out the advantages of involvement in the movement, the need for improved financing both at national and local levels, the need for the provision of skilled personnel to work on a regional basis and emphasising the importance the Federation places on the involvement in theatre by our youth. The submission to the Hillary Commission Recreational Task Force outlined the history of our Federation, the services it offers, membership and strength of the amateur musical theatre movement and the need for funding and advisory services. | |
| 1988 | |
| Patron | Frank Terry MBE |
| Vice Patrons | Tim Blennerhasset,
Donald Thompson MBE, Mostyn Duddridge, Jim McKenize OBE, Frank Terry MBE, Brian Jackson, Ella Duddridge |
| President | Nola Speir (Tauranga) |
| Immediate Past President | Jim Fenton (Invercargill) |
| Vice President | John MacGibbon (Dannevirke) |
| Executive - Zone One | Sandra Sewell (Auckland) |
| Executive - Zone Two | Ray Spence (Te Awamutu) |
| Executive - Zone Three | Donna Philpott (Wellington) |
| Executive - Zone Four | Tony Flannagan (Greymouth) |
| Executive - Zone Five | Gordon Bain (Invercargill) |
| Administrator | Shona Brown |
| Member Societies | 89 |
| The death of Stanley Campbell this year one of the Federation’s esteemed Vice Patrons, was recorded with regret. For many years he took a vital interest in the performing arts and made frequent and wise contributions to the AGMs. The name change from Secretary/Treasurer to Administrator reflected the changed nature of the job which now requires much wider communication and organisational skills especially at the upper levels e.g. the preparation of submissions to Government bodies. The president’s Annual Report recorded with pleasure that this Federation, in comparison with similar bodies of other arts pursuits, provides a very wide range of services to its member societies. An increase in subscription rates brought in more funding and the new category of Associate Membership was entered by Joseph Weinberger of England and John Herber Ltd of Christchurch. The Hillary Commission grant was increased to $20,000. This was targeted to specific projects and some will benefit societies by facilitating actions by the Federation’s Executive to make it more accessible to, especially the more remote, societies. More regular injections in to the Capital Assistance Fund by participating societies saw it increase to $94,000 with eleven societies currently enjoying loans. Regular demand from societies and increasing demands by schools - sixty schools this year - continued to prove the worth of the library. Acknowledgement was made at the Annual General Meeting in Rotorua, of the contribution by Desley Blanch of Alexandra who had supplied a number of synopses of shows which were missing from the library. More perusal copies were provided by Chappells. Some older shows, no longer in demand were culled from the shelves and housed elsewhere to make room for more volumes. A request to Tams Witmark for the library to be permitted to hold perusal copies of musicals they control, was declined. Five issues of ‘Spotlight’ were again produced from a disappointing amount of copy provided by societies, though this was of a higher quality. The magazine is now despatched by Gallagher Mailing Services of Auckland. A second School for Directors was held this year at Scots College, again directed by John Banas of Wellington. Attendance by several of our Executive members at Amateur Arts Assembly meetings has assured our Federation is well informed and making a worthwhile contribution to AAA deliberations and actions. The survey of professional fees paid by sixty-four of our societies again provided some interesting statistics. A total of $98,414 was paid to directors ranging from $200 to $6,000. Fees to musical directors ranged from $20 to $1,200. Musicians were paid $77,723; set designers $11,972; stage crew $6,495; lighting designers $1,050; front of house staff $5,236 and artistic administrators $48,742. Miscellaneous fees added another $44,010 to the grand total of $322,000 a convincing figure which proves the extent to which amateur societies are supporting professionals. | |
| 1989 | |
| Patron | Frank Terry MBE |
| Vice Patrons | Tim Blennerhasset,
Donald Thompson MBE, Mostyn Duddridge, Jim McKenize OBE, Frank Terry MBE, Ella Duddridge, Jack Hancock |
| President | Nola Speir (Tauranga) |
| Immediate Past President | Jim Fenton (Invercargill) |
| Vice President | John MacGibbon (Dannevirke) |
| Executive - Zone One | Sandra Sewell (Auckland) |
| Executive - Zone Two | Ray Spence (Te Awamutu) |
| Executive - Zone Three | Donna Philpott (Wellington) |
| Executive - Zone Four | Tony Flannagan (Greymouth) |
| Executive - Zone Five | Gordon Bain (Invercargill) |
| Administrator | Shona Brown |
| Member Societies | 84 |
| With an increased grant from the Hillary Commission, it was possible to hold two full executive meetings with obvious benefits to the executive itself, and to societies, with updated information and services being provided. Two key areas were targeted for special attention, taxation as it affects societies and the hardy annual problem of performing rights and royalties. Threatened legislation by Government to include previous exempt non-profit making organisations in the tax net was averted by pressure from many community organisations. Obituary: Federation members were deeply saddened by the sudden death of Brian Jackson, currently a Vice Patron and a former President of the Federation from 1979—82. Brian was a very talented tenor vocalist with a wide repertoire. Societies and the Federation also enjoyed the benefits of his considerable executive ability. Features of the 1989 conference were the very warm hospitality afforded by the Invercargill Society in the ‘deep south’ and the numerous attractive trade displays by corporate members and professional firms. These have become very much part of the conference scene, the trades people joining in socially as well as professionally and becoming part of the very friendly atmosphere of conference. Requests for both perusal and production material continue to flow into the library The Commission funds enable the continual update of material and the binding of existing material. A comprehensive new library catalogue was produced this year. Spotlight: This was a good year for our in—house magazine, with improvements both in sales and advertising income as well as a consistently high standard of copy from societies. This year the Capital Assistance Fund enjoyed its greatest increase in funds since its inception, due in part to the Executive adding $6,000 of general Federation funds to enable more grants to be made to societies. The total fund this year stood at $109,000, proving to be one of the most popular services provided to societies by the Federation. Encouraged by the success of the two previous training schools for directors, a further one was planned for May in Palmerston North with John McKay as the Director. The timing of these schools in the calendar year is a real problem and that factor, together with the considerable commitment required over a number of days to make the course worthwhile, seems to have a real effect on the patronage of these schools. The travel subsidy scheme set up to encourage societies to send delegates to the ACM continued to prove most successful and its worth is reflected in attendances by a wide representation from smaller and more remote societies. The insurance package set up by Federation in association with General Accident this year, returned $5,000 by way of commission from the company. This is a useful provider of funds for the Federation and a worthwhile service to societies. The Federation’s Vice President and Administrator currently represent the Federation on the Amateur Arts Assembly. This representation is considered vitally important at this time with the advent of the new Ministry of Arts and Culture. There is a nervousness regarding the future funding of organisations such as the Federation with new policies for arts funding imminent. With entries for Federation competitions varying considerably in number and quality, two changes were made this year. The programme competition was divided into two, a single page and a multi—page. The disaster award was replaced by a poster competition which it is hoped will prove more popular with societies. After years of suggestions that the Federation should have a new logo, the existing one being thought too ‘operatic’, ideas were sought for a new one. However, few submissions were received, none of which were thought by Executive to be suitable in their original form. The Executive took this as an indication that no change is really necessary. But it remains open-minded, however, on the matter of the logo and also suggestions for a name change for the Federation. | |