W.A.C.Y.—2000 a hopeful venture

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32810, 10 January 1972, Page 4

W.A.C.Y.—2000 a hopeful venture

(N.Z.P.A. Stag Correspondent)

LONDON, January 9. “Hopeful, London, N.W. 10”—that is the telegraphic address of one of Britain’s most hopeful ventures, the “World Association for Celebrating the Year 2000.”

Four New Zealand cities and towns —Nelson, Upper Hutt, Wanganui, and Tokoroa—have now joined this association which from humble beginnings as an eccentric dream has now become an international reality. It has signed up, in all, 103, member cities and towns and from 15 countries in its efforts to ensure that the good things in the world are celebrated between the years 1995 and 2005. LONDON INVENTOR The inventor and secretary of W.A.C.Y.-2000 is Mr John Goodman, a 42-year-old London man who makes his living entertaining children at parties. He founded W.A.-C.Y.-2000 in 1963 at the height of the nuclear scare, saying: “I thought we should prepare ourselves for the possibility that the worst would not happen. This association was the biggest undisaster I could think of.”

Consulting maps of the world, Mr Goodman has since spent about $7 from his own pocket in stamps each week, mailing circulars and letters to mayors, town'

clerks, and civil authorities all over the world. He invites cities or municipalities to join W.A.C.Y.2000, free of charge and with no obligation, though members are invited to display their membership by planting trees that will grow to maturity about the year 2000. Mr Goodman acknowledges that replies have been slow to come in, but among the 103 members are Anchorage (Alaska), Bulawayo (Rhodesia), Hong Kong, Mons and Knokke (Belgium), Nairobi, Oklahoma City, Santiago (Chile), and the Teeside complex of cities in northeast England. NEW ZEALAND RESPONSE Mr Goodman has been pleased with the response from New Zealand. Besides the four municipalities which have become members, Christchurch, Wellington and Rotorua have all told him of city tree-planting programmes, while the Rawene Country Women’s Institute (Northland) has joined as an associate member.

Eventually Mr Goodman wants New Zealand to have its own national W.A.C.Y.2000 committee of the type set up in several other countries.