Alison Watson helps establish new member events: beach days an end of year party

Alison Watson served as President from 2015/2016. During this time, the Board continued to work hard on the By Laws but, unfortunately, still ran out of time to complete them, as new regulations meant more changes. We also recognized the need for younger women to meet with others their own age where they could make friends, support each other, and explore the islands in a more adventurous way. So the Young Explorers was born. It has been great to see this group grow and include young mums and babies. The very popular ‘beach days’ which filled a gap in the summer schedule also started and have continued each summer. We introduced the end-of-year party for all members, bringing together the new islanders and general membership parties into one well attended extravaganza held at the zoo. Our art exhibition was held once again, generating $12,000 for local charities. We sent 11 large laundry baskets of goods to the Family Centre for distribution to those in need at Christmas. We also introduced the Christmas presents for the elderly in need scheme. Everyone was given a Christmas tree ornament with a gift idea attached. These were wrapped and delivered to some of the seniors homes where they were very gratefully received.