GREY COMPETITIONS SOCIETY

Greymouth Evening Star, 19 October 1939, Page 11

GREY COMPETITIONS SOCIETY

PRESIDENT’S ANNUAL REPORT On behalf of the Committee, the President (Archdeacon J. A. Jermyn) will present the following report at the annual meeting of the Greymouth Competitions Society, this evening: — The 1939 Festival reached a high standard and the competitors in ail sections were commended by the judges for their genera) excellence. We wk’.re fortunate in our selection of judges and we -ire indebted Io them for their painstaking reports and especially for their ready advice and helpful criticism given to individual competitors privately after the Competitions. In some cases the judges reported that performances were well up to Dominion standard. Finances: You will notice that we have a small credit balance. Other competition societies in New Zealand have not been so fortunate this year. It is interesting to compare the results with last year’s working. There is a drop of £4l/6/7 in door takings and in the sale of season tickets. This is accounted for by . the inclement weather on the first three days; on tho Tuesday evening the Competitions were interrupted by n severe electrical storm; but the attendances improved immediately the weather cleared. The arrangements for the sale of season tickets did not prove satisfactory; this is a matter which calls for reorganisation. Further, the Committee perhaps erred on the generous side by admitting season ticket holders free to both demonstration concerts and in permitting 3ZR to broadcast both concerts without fee- This represented a loss of £25 or more. There is a slight falling off in receipt of entry fees, £5/13/6. Unfortunately the Royal Academy of Dancing held annual examinations in August. This affected the preparation of competitors in the dancing sections. In company with other Societies, particularly Wellington, which was severely affected, we have obtained an assurance from the Royal Academy that there will be no clash next year. There is a falling off of £l4 in donations. However, these shrinkings are more than counterbalanced by a saving of £l7 in the cost of printing, which was done locally, by tender. There is a further saving of £2l/13/- in Judge’s fees, due to the adoption of a more economical system of payment; and a saving of £B/3/4 in the cost of prizes and trophies, despite the fact that this year cash prizes of five shillings were given to winners. You will observe also the sale of programmes and advertising space has increased by £l4/2, while the. ordinary general expenses were cut down by £7. Had we been favoured with better weather and had we been a little less generour with our demonstration concerts, your Society would have been in a strong -financial position. The Committee trusts that the generous policy of this year will bear good fruit next year. , Ou - thanks are due to our donors for valuable prizes and trophies; to the artists, who arranged a concert some months before the competitions; to Miss L. Brown,’ who assisted the judge in the dancing section; to Miss Meiva Moss who kept the box office; to Ford’s Music Store and Robert Francis Ltd., for the generous loan of pianos; to Mr. S. Shuttleworth for his services as auditor and to Messrs T.

McCarthy and Garner for general assistance. Tlie teachers in all sections have been of tho greatest help to the competitions and wo trust that they will meet with the support they deserve. The Press at all times has eni couraged the cultural side of the Competitions and we are indebted to them for generous notices, for their full and accurate reports of the results and of the judges comments. Wo strongly recommend that the services of the present Secretary, be retained and that provision be made for tlie payment of an annual fee and that this be made adequate, Mr. 0. Joyce has now obtained a through insight inter z the financial side of the Society’s work and lias improved its organisation. Il has been the custom to vote a small honorarium to the Secretary, but no payment this year would compensate Mr. Joyce, or the staff of Jamieson, Joyce and Co., for the time and energy spent on the Society’s affair. We are confident that next year the Secretary will place the finances on a sound footing. The incorporation of the Society makes it obligatory that intending members of the Society should be I proposed and seconded by present members and duly elected. Members who withdraw must send in a formal written resignation. We recommend that the annual subscriptions be fixed at such a reasonable limit as to encourage the election of many net, members. The stability of the Society depends upon the strength of membership. Now that the affiliated Debating Clubs who founded the Society have definitely withdrawn their support, it is necessary to make a wider appeal to the public. The annual festival makes an important contribution to the cultural life of the community; its scope could be widened and its usefullness increased in many ways. M e appeal first to the young artists on the West Coast to take advantage of the opportunity afforded by the competitons festival, to develop their talent-, and we appeal to the public for a continuance of their generous support.