KAWANA ISLAND RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2019
CHAIRMAN/PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Dear Kawana Islanders
KIRA members may recall that when I took on the role of President, I sought approval to refer to the title as Chairman as it had a far more meaningful connotation. For me, the role was to facilitate the voice of your Committee members so that the KIRA Committee can benefit from the highest level of discussion and most diverse range of views when dealing with the matters before it. It is pleasing to report that this has been achieved and expectations exceeded.
Even though we started with a full Committee complement of 6, The only real issue we had at the start of this year was that we still failed to attract a person to the role of Secretary to the Committee at the last AGM. However, this was quickly resolved when one KIRA member “convinced” Barbara Taylor, of the benefits of fulfilling the role of Secretary. Thank you Barbara – this has made a huge difference in the running of KIRA. We then still had a vacant Committee Member position which was quickly taken up by Sharon Conboy, so we have been able to function with a strong, vibrant and highly enthusiastic Committee.
That level of enthusiasm has in fact meant that we have had five people step forward to assist KIRA and so to take advantage of that , we have designated these people as Assistants to the Committee. They have thus attended Committee meetings but have not been eligible to vote on Committee matters. Notwithstanding, their participation has been extremely positive. and we have been very fortunate to have their assistance.
Given this level of community spirit and enthusiasm for KIRA, your Committee is therefore recommending that for 2020, we expand the number of Committee Members from 6 to 10 which will give full participation rights to our Assistants. This also recognises that the people who live on Kawana Island have competing demands on their time and are not always available to attend Committee meetings and assist/participate in events.
In terms of achievements, we have had a very productive year with the principal outcomes as follows:
. Highly successful Community Day – around 350 attendees
. New gym equipment at Double bay completed
. Enhanced KIRA Mirror Mirror presentation
. Kawana Island dog-off-leash area approved and due for commencement
. Half basketball court approved and due for commencement
. Highly regarded wine-tasting night held – full house
. Kawana Island spruce-up initiated
. New KIRA website launched
. KIRA Mirror attracts its first major sponsor for its website
. KIRA attended Councillor-only session to inform all Councillors about KIRA and its work
. Garden competition held
Items currently being worked on include:
. redesign of play area at Island Park
. improved lighting for access path at Kawana Island footbridge
. additional paying sponsors for KIRA website to be sought
. upgraded remote access facility for boats for Kawana Island lock
. Island spruce-up campaign which will require on-going effort
. presentations by Division 4 candidates for election
. additional KIRA activities for Kawana Islanders to be identified
Hopefully, Islanders will see that we have been giving KIRA our best effort and we want to improve on that. This means that we rely on constructive input from Kawana Islanders to bring to notice the issues of concern to you. We recognise that we can’t can’t satisfy everyone’s wishes all of the time but we do our best to read and meet our community’s expectations.
In terms of who should be thanked, there are numerous individuals but mention must be made of the support KIRA has received from Cr Connolly and Sunshine Coast Council for the support of our Community Day in particular. Mirror readers will also be aware of our two island sponsors, the Kawana Island Convenience Store and Mykies. In addition, KIRA is very appreciative of the initiative of Karen Jones of Next Property Group who has just taken out a year’s sponsorship of the KIRA website and provided a valuable boost to KIRA’s finances which continue to be healthy. This result would not have been possible without the huge amount of work by Chris Bourke our IT guru and Committee Member. The reaction to our new website has been very positive and we will continue to be proactive with the site and Facebook and appreciate any input/content Islanders might have to share, whether it be ideas, general feedback or photos to share.
Finally, it would be impossible to finish this report without making special mention of your amazing KIRA Committee and its Assistants.
This a very unique group of highly intelligent, dedicated and energetic people who do what they do for the benefit of the Kawana Island Community and as Chairman, I thank them most sincerely. It has been a pleasure working them.
On behalf of your KIRA Committee, thank you to all Kawana Islanders for your support.
Denis Carroll
Chairman & President
KIRA